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, several Members have spoken on foreign policy. I would like to take up one point. I see that with the establishment of our so many overseas missions, only the High Commission in London has a Trade Commissioner. As far as I can remember, the Trade Commissioner's Office in London was set up long before the High Commission was set up. As I said yesterday, trade may not be a provider of employment in our economy. However, I am of the opinion that trade is still a vital factor in our economy. In this respect. I would like to suggest to the Minister for Foreign Affairs that Trade Secretaries be appointed to overseas missions so that they can help to promote trade between Singapore and the many countries in which we have such missions.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I fully support the amendment moved by my colleague, the hon. Member for Aljunied. I notice that we have such a Commission set up in Johore Bahru which is about 16 miles from us, In fact, it is much nearer by the Causeway. I would like to believe that the primary purpose of setting up this Commission is to iron out the difficulties encountered by our citizens who travel to West Malaysia on the restricted passports. I may be wrong, and I hope the Hon. Foreign Minister will explain fully on the setting up of such a small Commission in Johore Bahru when we already have a Commission set up in the capital of Malaysia.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, taking one point from the Hon. Minister's reply regarding the grades, I would think that in the Estimates there is always such a thing as probable un-expenditure. Why not have a proper uniform grade, and where an Ambassador has been appointed part-time I think he should draw a part-time salary? Is it correct? I am not quite satisfied with the answer and I will take a vote on that.”
“I take it that the office of Confidential Secretary is filled by a locally-recruited officer in the U.K. If I remember correctly, going through the other overseas missions, I do not see any Confidential Secretary who has been recruited locally. There is none, in fact. I just want to know what sort of confidential secretarial work this Confidential Secretary is doing and, if it is so confidential in nature, I think we should rather have our own home-based staff than a person recruited locally.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 0501 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1001. Sir, with your permission, I wish in the course of my debate to touch on Amendment (2)* which stands in my name in respect of subhead 1201. I notice that several overseas missions have been established and are headed by High Commissioners and Ambassadors, Against their designations are the salary codes and their grades. Sir, it is interesting to note that we have different grades of High Commissioners and Ambassadors, Just to quote, Sir, the High Commissioner in Kuala Lumpur is Grade III, salary code 1-4. In New York, the Ambassador holds the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Grade II. The High Commissioner in London is Grade II. I can go on drawing examples of the same, and we then come to Hong Kong where the High Commissioner's grade is IV. Sir, I shall be extremely grateful if the Minister for Foreign Affairs will explain this to the House. * Amendment (2) reads as follows: That the sum to be allocated for Head 0501 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1201. I have also been informed that some of our foreign missions are housed in fiats. In other words, the fiat serves both as the office and the residence of the Ambassador or the High Commissioner. Sir, in this respect, will the Foreign Minister state the number of missions which have proper offices and accommodation? I now come to Amendment (2) standing in my name regarding subhead 1201. Sir, under this subhead "Locally-recruited Staff", I take it that the staff have been recruited locally. In this case it is in London. If one goes down the list one comes across "Confidential Secretary". This is the post I wish to enquire about.”
“Sir, I am satisfied with the answers given by the Prime Minister and I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, one last question. According to the Hansard of 15th December, 1966, there were nine winners for these scholarships last year, but this year there are only seven. I wonder why.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 0104 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 2009*. * The same amendment also stood in the name of Mr Yeah Ghim Seng. Sir, I can well remember that the subject of the President's scholarships was raised by my colleague, the hon. Member for Aljunied, in this Chamber on the 15th of this month last year. The Prime Minister in his reply stated that the recipients -I quote from Hansard, Volume 25, No. 10, : '...are people who have won signal distinction for themselves to merit special privileges for further education.' The Prime Minister further stressed, in the same column, Sir, and I quote: '...it is hoped to continue a supply of men not only well qualified and competent in their own fields of study but with all the social and other graces which make for the difficult-to-define quality called leadership.' Sir, I can imagine the fierce and keen competition by our brilliant students to win such a high honour. In this respect, Sir, I shall be grateful if the Prime Minister will explain the reduction made in the vote next year, that is, from $143,000 this year to $110,000 next year. Also, will he inform this House of the number of recipients of the President's scholarships this year and the likely number next year?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I thank the Prime Minister for his reply and, on that note, may 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 0104 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 2005. Sir, much importance has been stressed on industrial development not only to promote industrial growth but also to maintain the survival of our economy. I note that the sum of $21,600 will be allocated for the "Industrial Development Scholarships Scheme" next year as against $49,200 this year. Perhaps the Prime Minister would care to elaborate on this. Sir, such scholarships will definitely help the industrial development of our young Republic. In this connection, I shall be grateful if the Prime Minister will state the number of scholarships that will be available as against the number this year.”
“g. N.A.T.O, and S.E.A.T.O. I would ask whether we could have defence alliances, in particular, with the countries in South-east Asia so that South-east Asia would be a more peaceful place. I believe this remark should have been directed to the Minister of Defence, but I think the Minister for Finance, who has been privileged to be the Minister of Defence for two years, will comment on this. Last but not least, Sir, I think I would be wide of the mark if I do not hand a bouquet to the Minister for Finance for introducing a painless Budget for next year. He has taken pains to explain to the House the serious problems lying ahead of us and what steps have been taken to try to solve such problems. In other words, he has been both frank and honest in his Budget painting which has given all of us a clear and good picture of what the situation would be like in the foreseeable future. On this note, Sir, may I congratulate the Finance Minister - though he is not present now - for his Budget Statement, and I fully support the financial policy of the Government for 1968. 5.58 p.m.”
“Let us say, for example, a factory may be producing first-class products, but if it has no proper sales organisation, I am afraid the sales would not be up to expectations after all. Hence, the need for Government to consider this matter, as it is within their scope, and this of course will help the industries a lot. Along with this, Sir, I would like to know whether previous suggestions for the setting up of agencies, like quality control agencies and credit agencies by the Government, have been looked into. If they have been looked into, what steps in this direction have the Government taken? This, I believe, would increase the volume of our trade and also the technical know-how of the developed countries, especially those in the engineering and ship-building fields. I have in mind to suggest to the Minister for Finance that more industrial development scholarships be awarded, for I am sure they would be repaid manifold. May I now, Sir, refer to Defence expenditure as contained in the Statement. With the ultimate withdrawal of the British Forces and Bases from the Republic by the mid-70s, we are faced with the question of having to defend ourselves. We know that we cannot depend on the British to defend us after 1975. Hence, the increase in expenditure on Defence. The Minister has made it known that this increase, I quote, "in the Estimates is to pay for the implementation of this Plan". I take it to mean. "the establishment of a total of seven Infantry Battalions which, with supporting arms and services, would provide the elements of two Infantry Brigades." I fully support this in terms of maintaining our survival. I think this expenditure is modest. Most countries in the world have armies of their own and they even have defence pacts with neighbouring countries, e.”
“Their main question: "What steps will our Government take to assist us in our plight that will come within the next five years?" I have also in mind to ask the Minister for Finance whether he will explain an item in the details of Revenue, Class I, Code 160-000, and that is, Current Transfers from Abroad, where a sum of $ 3.675 million under "United Kingdom Mitigatory Aid on account of Services Rundown" will be paid. As I understand it, Sir, the Government's policy on foreign aid is that we do not want aid freely so as to tie our hands and feet in pursuit of a non-aligned foreign policy. Therefore, this mitigatory aid needs to be explained. The Minister has pointed out that industrial growth remains our principal weapon to provide more income and employment. I admit that undoubtedly the Government has been vigorous in encouraging industries, but I would like to add that trade is still vital to us and must be further developed. It may not be a provider of employment, but certainly it is an important digit of our economy. Therefore, I would suggest that trade ties with more countries be pursued. I observed that there have been many trade delegations undertaken both by Government and the traders themselves. I have in mind the establishment of more trade agencies. We can have them in our embassies or otherwise. In other words, we need to build a better sales organisation in trade and for our industrialisation programme, i.e., the factories. I am not saying that our sales organisation is no good. Far from it. But I am of the opinion that we should build up a good sales organisation, both local and abroad.”
“I think the present facilities are insufficient and in this respect the Tourist Promotion Board should come in not only with the idea of promoting tourism but to find ways and means of developing tourism. Some countries depend largely on the tourist industry and I do not see why Singapore should not exploit it. In tourism, I think there are tremendous potentialities which remain to be tapped. 'With the construction of five first-class hotels totalling 1,509 rooms, 2,500 persons will be employed. Another 16 hotels are under construction giving prospective employment to 3,500 people. And for the next three years, they will generate an additional 9,000 jobs directly in these hotels. That is according to the Finance Minister. He also states that "they constitute a very welcome impetus to our economic growth." Here one can see the importance that tourism can have for us if we tap its rich resources. However, Government participation is not enough and those involved in tourism should understand and exploit it not only for their benefit but also for the benefit of the country as a whole. With this, I come to the problem of unemployment caused by the run-down of the British Bases in the State in the 1970s. How do we go about facing this problem? To find jobs for some 12,000 at the rate of 3,400 each year is another problem and the Minister has accepted this as our responsibility to our citizens affected by this run-down. Since the British Government has already made known to us and to the world in its White Paper regarding withdrawal, I hope the Government will get down to work on this immediately, in conjunction with the Labour Ministry, and put up a White Paper on it, as this problem is already affecting the minds of all those employed in the Bases.”
“We must bear in mind the ever increasing population of the unemployed and to quote the Minister again when he said in his Statement: 'With the prodigious efforts we put in and the vast sums of money and resources which the Government had been channelling towards increasing the growth of manufacturing industries, all that has been achieved is a net increase of some 5,000 jobs each year.' He went on further to state: 'Clearly this rate of increase is inadequate to meet our future needs. It has not even absorbed the increasing numbers of young people looking for jobs.' He further stated: 'To counteract the effects of military reductions and to reduce the number of unemployed persons, we will have literally to redouble our present efforts to promote industrial growth.' It is indeed heartening to note that the Government is fully aware and understands this serious problem. I would say that we must not only redouble our efforts but to "retreble" our present efforts. Now that we have solved many other social problems, I think we should concentrate on this problem and find ways and means of providing the unemployed with employment. This remains the main headache of the day. One of the ways of reducing unemployment is the tourist trade. This is the factor which "will come as a very welcome element generating much local expenditure and providing a large volume of employment," so says the Minister. The tourist industry, to my mind, should be further developed. It is one aspect that will bring us a lot of benefit and good. In other words, it should be commercialised as in many countries in Europe. To develop this industry, we should bear in mind the facilities available.”
“He has traced that - I quote: 'in spite of rapid population growth, the increase in unemployment has been from 29,600 in 1957 to 52,630 in 1966.' I remember well that the Minister for Labour, in reply to my question on unemployment, stated that employment is on the increase and the figure he gave to the House then was in the region of 70,000. He also assured this House that the Ministry of Labour would find ways and means of reducing this high figure through the institution of courses like catering, hotel management, etc. in order to reduce not only this figure but also to provide the necessary avenues to the know-how in such sectors. The Finance Minister went on to say: 'The seriousness of the present position must not be underestimated, for the present level of some 9.7 per cent of the work force, has not very far removed the danger level where social discontent may provoke instability.' I fully agree with him on this. But coupled with this, is the "un-employment created by the reduction of British Forces" and this will aggravate the already serious unemployment problem. One then asks, "How do you propose to go about solving this problem?" The Finance Minister states that the answer is "industrial growth" for it remains our principal weapon to provide more income and employment. I would say that that is quite true, but I would further ask, "How many unemployed would such growth be able to take in?".”
“Regarding the first point, I have gone into the Main Estimates in detail and would be grateful if the Minister would enlighten the House with more details. In particular, I refer to the Estimates of Revenue, Class I, Code 113-121 under the subhead "Payroll Tax". The estimated revenue is $10.7 million and, according to the previous Minister for Finance, such revenue collected would be utilised for the benefit of the unemployed. I think the House would also like to be informed of the total amount of revenue in respect of payroll tax collected by the Finance Ministry this year and to what good use has it been made of to assist the unemployed. Also, what schemes would the Government introduce to assist those unemployed? So far, to my knowledge, no details have been given regrading the utilisation of the payroll tax. I come to my second point which is the unemployment problem. This problem is not recent; in fact, it has existed for more than a decade. It became so acute in the Fifties that in the general elections of 1959, the P.A.P. romped home with an overwhelming majority of 43 out of the 51 seats it contested. Why was this so? Everybody was given to understand that the P.A.P. would be able to solve the major problems then in existence, for example housing and education and political stability. In the fields of housing, urban renewal, development in the rural areas and education, a bouquet to the Government is well deserved. Everybody agrees that great strides and progress have been made in these fields. However, unemployment today still poses the most serious social problem. The Finance Minister has gone into this problem in great detail.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, there is a saying, "Time and tide waits for no man". True enough, the life of Parliament for this session is coming to its end and with it, fresh elections would be held next year when the people would vote for another group of Parliamentarians into this House. I do not mean that an entirely new group will fill the seats in this House. By this, 1 mean the people, the electorate, will give another mandate to the Government to continue to be responsible for the general welfare and well-being of the State. Today we are gathered in this august Chamber to debate the financial policy of the Government for the year 1968 for which its introduction was made by the Finance Minister in his Budget Statement to this House on the 5th of December this month. Sir, the Minister for Finance has termed this Budget as "a continuation Budget". Well, a continuation Budget has no painful effects on the people in the sense that there are no new taxes for the people to bear. The economy has grown rapidly with the result that it will sustain next year's Budget. This has been fully explained by the Finance Minister in his Statement. I propose to leave other aspects in the Budget to my colleagues, the Back-Benchers. On my part I propose to deal with several special aspects pertaining to the financial policy. (a) Details of revenue as contained in the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure of Singapore for the year 1968 as contained in Paper Cmd. 26 of 1967; (b) The acute problem of unemployment; (c) The tourist trade; (d) Unemployment caused by the military run-down of the British bases in the mid-70s; (e) Industrial growth; and (f) Defence expenditure.”
“Sir, I think it is the duty of every Member of Parliament to fight for more social amenities for his constituency, and I wholly support what the Member for Kampong Kembangan has said. Because of this, today we have this extra sum to be voted for - $1.5 million, "Construction in Rural Areas". In other words, rural services are very vital to the residents in the rural constituencies, and that is why I had the amendment in mind. The Government has now seen fit to bring more social amenities to the rural constituencies, and I think the Member for Kampong Kembangan is right.”
“Sir, I think the Minister has already answered before I can move my amendment. Therefore, I am not moving it.”
“Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $1,500,000 for Head 61 ordered to stand part of the First Supplementary Development Estimates of Expenditure for 1967. Head 67 -”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 61 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 101. Sir, the explanatory note states that a large number of acquisitions have to be completed within this year to meet outstanding acquisition appeals and additional awards made by the Appeals Board, and the sum required is $1.5 million. Could the Minister elaborate on this note?”
“Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment since the Minister has fully answered all my questions. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $213,120 for Head 11 ordered to stand part of the First Supplementary Development Estimates of Expenditure for 1967. Head 61 -”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, could the Minister inform the House, since the setting up of such a school, how many courses the school has organised, the number of students, the schools involved - probably the districts? In other words, how many have benefited and, in particular, what is the duration of each course?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 11 be reduced by $10 in respect of new subhead 501. Sir, I am indeed happy to see the establishment of a regular Outward Bound School at Pulau Ubin. I can well remember that years back we used to send our students to outward bound schools in a neighbouring country. With the objective of building a more robust and rugged society, this establishment of an Outward Bound School comes, in fact, at a very opportune time. I myself had the opportunity to visit this Outward Bound School and to see for myself the courses conducted by the authorities there. Seeing young boys and girls undergoing such tough training to meet our objective is indeed a wonderful experience. Now that the Government has realised that such outward bound training is an effective medium to mould our young people into a generation tough and disciplined in body and in mind, I would like to know from the Minister concerned what type of outward bound activities would mould a tough generation disciplined in body and in mind. Further, when was this Outward Bound School instituted and on what basis, in other words, the type of lectures, teachers and management?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, we have just been given a wonderful illustration of what I would term "inefficiency" on the part of the Ministry concerned in estimating probable expenditure for the year 1967. It is indeed sad for all of us having to come here today to vote for a sum of $660,000 to cover the expenditure incurred. From the explanatory note, one would, in the first instance, be happy to note that there was such a thing as "probable under-expenditure" and, therefore, a deduction of $2 million was made. Here again, we have the Ministry of Culture appointing persons to fill the vacancies and today we are billed for $660,000. This is a very big sum of money and I am sure the Minister will inform the House of the number of vacant posts filled, i.e., how many officers have been recruited, to merit the $660,000.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I am fully satisfied with the explanation given by the Minister for Finance. On that note, may 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 0803 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 2043.* * The same admendment also stood in the name of Mr Tang See Chim. Mr Speaker, Sir, an extra sum of $233,260 is required to meet an increase in payments because of a bigger number of officers who have retired this year. I would be grateful if the Minister could throw some light on the exact number of officers (with their designations) who have retired this year and, if possible, the reasons for their retirement.”
“With the lifting of the suspension of Gammon, can the Minister assure the House that should the piling construction company concerned be successful in any future tenders in respect of the Board's tenders, stringent steps would be taken to ensure that no future fraud or malpractices would be practised?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, will the Minister inform the House of the number of contracts awarded to Gammon and the total sum of the contracts, and how was this settlement of $2.7 million arrived at?”
“Sir, my question is this. Will the Acting Minister for Health consider withdrawing the proposed Bill if all representations, either from religious bodies or otherwise, are in opposition to legalised abortion?”
“Though the Minister concerned acts for the Minister for Health, he is still responsible for the whole Ministry. An hon. Member: Hear, hear!”
“Yes, Sir. My third question is this. Just now the Minister has mentioned that out of 5,000-plus students, 4,000 odd were given places as a result of applications for transfer, is the Minister aware that quite a long period of study days has been lost as a result of these students applying for transfers to schools nearer to their homes?”
“As regards my suggestion to rectify the system -”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I am not satisfied with the Minister's answer to my question asking him to clarify the very phrase he used in his reply just now. Is it or is it not the policy of the Government to provide secondary education to all those students who have passed the P.S.L.E.? The next question is this. Is the Minister satisfied with the system of posting successful students in the P.S.L.E. and, if not, will he take steps to change the system since, over a period of two years, more than 5,000, as he has just mentioned, have been posted elsewhere? Thirdly, -”
“Can the Minister say whether it is correct that, should there be inadequate provision in the 1968 Budget, all students may not be given places in the secondary schools?”
“Can the Minister give us the figures of the expenditure on advertising in respect of the oil companies?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, E think this supplementary question may be slightly outside of the original question, but it is related to it anyway. I was given to understand that there was a proposal to set up an egg factory to turn the surplus eggs into all kinds of nutritious tinned food to be sold to the market. Is the Minister aware of this?”
“Will the Minister give me an assurance that his Ministry will keep a watchful eye on the fluctuations in egg prices in order to protect the poultry farmers?”
“Has the Minister got the statistics to indicate the prices of eggs in the last few years?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, we have been given a very clear picture of what the ASEAN set-up is. But can the Minister for Foreign Affairs say what other positive steps will be taken to implement the agreement reached at Bangkok recently?”
“This is not a lawless society and when those charged under the appropriate sections of the law of the country persist in showing utter contempt for the sanctity of the law, they must be severely dealt with. To conclude, if I may, if I were to be the Minister of Defence, I would seek heavier terms of punishment, such as flogging. One stroke of the cane would do these anti-national elements a lot of good and, if not, three would definitely do it.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I just want to make a general comment on the Bill introduced by the Minister of Defence. As far as I know, the Criminal Procedure Code has been in existence for many years, both in Singapore and in our neighbouring country, Malaysia. In the past, magistrates and district judges were held in high esteem by whoever appeared in court. But nowadays conditions have changed and anti-national elements who are misled by their leaders go around flouting the law and destroying public property, for example, breaking traffic lights, street lights and defacing decorative, colourful arches and scribbling anti-national slogans on public buildings and so on. Therefore, not only do they make a nuisance of themselves but they also cause serious damage to public property by way of public funds. However, those caught in such acts are subsequently charged in court. But when these culprits are produced in court, they even behave in an unruly manner and they do not even respect the court of law. All that the magistrate could do is to impose a fine, a mere sum of $50, for contempt of court or, in default of payment, to imprisonment for a term which may extend to two months unless such fine is sooner paid. This measure, I think, would not be a sufficient deterrent. Therefore, with the amendment of this Bill, the magistrate is given the necessary power to increase the fine ten times, as the Minister of Defence has said, that is, $500, and impose a sentence of three months. This is an essential measure. Sir, it is universally known that the judiciary is independent, in which case, in exercising its powers, it makes its authority felt. It therefore upholds the respect for law and, therefore, the flouting of the laws of a country cannot be condoned.”
“Now that the disease is under control, what other steps can be taken to immunise the entire pig population so as to prevent any possible outbreak of swine fever?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, can the Minister say how long will a pig so immunised be immune from such a disease?”
“Will the Minister give me a list of those who have applied for deferment on such grounds, and how many have been favourably considered? Will the cases of those who have already been drafted into two years' full-time military training on the grounds that they suffer economically be reconsidered?”
“Can the Minister of State give me the number of applications on such grounds and how many applications have been favourably considered?”
“Will teacher trainees, for example, who have begun their teacher-training this year and are the sole bread-winners, also be called up for the two-year full-time military training?”
“Government will never wilt under any provocation whatsoever. There must be law and order in our society. Lawlessness will not be tolerated, and until these people get this into them, they should think twice. For that reason, I would urge that further amendments should be introduced so as to empower the Government to deal more firmly with such agitators. Sir, I beg to support the Bill. 4.31 p.m.”
“These people had hoped that our law enforcement officers would be provoked into losing their patience and turning on the children. But far from it, I am glad to note that these officers, in spite of extreme provocation, acted with great restraint and did not lose their nerve. If the agitators had succeeded and a good number of young innocent students had been injured in yesterday's incident - and this is what they had wanted to see - they would have said to foreign correspondents and cameramen, "There you are, the P.A.P. Government is bad and dictatorial. It uses strong-armed tactics on these innocent children who are fighting for a good cause." Such techniques are not uncommon, and if I remember well, there were similar incidents a couple of years ago when the Chinese system of education was slightly modified. Our former Minister for Education, who is now the Minister for Health, was besieged in his own office by students who had prevented him from coming to this Assembly. But we were cool and patient in the handling of such students and in the end justice prevailed and we were proved to be right. As I have said, students have been used by the pro-Communists and Communists to further their ends. Their main objective is to cause incidents which they hope will culminate in a revolutionary atmosphere so that they can achieve their ends. I do not think that the people of Singapore are with them, Far from it - many have come to me and asked, "What are these chaps doing? They behave like hooligans. Why does the Government not deal firmly with them? They are giving us a bad name. Ours is a democratic country where the practice of democracy is still sustained." I think the agitators will do well to get it into their thick heads that the P.A.P.”