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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“I beg leave to withdraw my amendment too. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Mr Speaker, I think the Parliamentary Secretary has missed my point. I was not in any way complaining that, though I am a member of the Urban and Rural Services Committee, the question of making drains and the metalling of kampong roads should be brought up at such sittings. I must point out that, in fact, I have brought up this point that when we metal the small kampong roads, we make sure that there are drains on both sides of the road. That is the point I wish to stress.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I too have similar complaints about the poor condition of some of the roads in my constituency. I notice some roads have been metalled in my constituency but no drains have been made, i.e. roads are metalled without drains on both sides. Very often these roads do not last long. Also, such kampong and agricultural roads are made up of laterite and, when repaired, will last for only a couple of months. Heavy thunderstorms will wash away what has been put on top of these roads. Sir, I would suggest that, as far as possible, every effort should be made to metal such roads and also to provide drains so that public funds will be spent usefully. It is better than just repairing the road by dumping and levelling a few hundred lorry loads of earth because after some time, if a heavy storm comes along, it washes away all this earth. So the funds are not worthily spent. Sir, I would request the Minister concerned to look into this matter and give it due thought.”
“In that case, Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendments. Amendments, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $4,826,820 for Head D 06 ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I am glad to hear the Parliamentary Secretary say that our Government will consider building children's playgrounds on merit. I am sure that in all or most of the rural constituencies such playgrounds will be an added means of recreation to the many under-privileged children in such constituencies. Here, I would like to raise one more question, and that is, if I were to help in locating a suitable site for the consideration of building a playground in my constituency, would the Minister concerned consider this matter seriously?”
“Sir, under these two subheads, I notice that 50 children's playgrounds will be provided and there is also a provision for improvements of beaches. Now, in the Punggol constituency there are no children's playgrounds and some of the beaches round Punggol Point are not very suitable for picnicking. I would like to ask the Minister concerned whether he will consider providing at least one of the 50 children's playgrounds in my constituency and also improve the beaches at or around Ponggol Point. Sir, I beg to move.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head D 06 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 010. Sir, I would like to seek your permission to deal with my amendment* on subhead 011 at the same time. *The amendment reads as follows:- (3) That the sum to be allocated for Head D 06 to be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 011.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I must thank the Minister of State for Education for having painted a very clear picture of what the Adult Education Centre would be. Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The following amendment stood in the names of Mr Ng Kah Ting and Inche Mahmud Awang --- That the sum to be allocated for Head D 03 be reduced by $10 in respect of item 001 of subhead 012.”
“In brief, there is no further room for the expansion of office space. Part of the problem of accommodation has been temporarily overcome by the acquisition of the Annexe. But this building has been designed for residential purposes and not for an educational institution. Nevertheless, the Board has been forced to make use of it for some of the classes that cannot be held in the school buildings, e.g. Chinese typewriting, and dress-making classes. The Board has been forced even to make use of garages for conducting its classes. Thus, the photography classes are being run in a converted garage. For all these reasons, Mr Speaker, Sir, I strongly urge that the Government should give greater priority to the construction of the Adult Education Centre and all haste should be exercised to complete it in the shortest possible time. Furthermore, our Government should be more generous in its allocation for the construction of the Centre. The Adult Education Board has done a great deal of good work in the past, and everything should be done to encourage it to serve the society in a constructive and useful way. Sir, I beg to move.”
“Office accommodation was planned for a small staff of about ten persons. Before the present Adult Education Board was formed, adult education was the responsibility of the Singapore Council for Adult Education. The latter was essentially a co-ordinating body, and its scope of activities was limited. It was accommodated in the Cultural Centre. Even then, the Singapore Council for Adult Education had found the Cultural Centre inadequate, especially from the point of view of office accommodation. It had to convert a garage into needed office accommodation. The Adult Education Board, unlike the Council, is a planning, organising, and employing body. The latest figures I secure from the Board show that, during this year, an average of about 57,000 students attend all the Board's classes and courses in any one month. This large student population requires a far larger administration than before. In the Cultural Centre, the office space available has exceeded the saturation point. Any one who takes the trouble to visit the Cultural Centre during office hours will notice this immediately. One of the two lecture rooms has already been converted for use as the General Office, resulting in a reduction of urgently required centrally located classrooms for adult education. In fact, the General Office faces the foyer where the canteen is also located. It is a matter of daily experience that the staff is constantly assailed by the aroma of coffee and the smell of cooking in addition to being disturbed by the chatter of people in the canteen. Senior staff are crammed in the same room. They have no privacy and do not enjoy the other conditions necessary for sustained work and planning. There is no special room available for Board and Committee meetings.”
“All community centres have provision for at least one or two classrooms with furniture suitable for teaching purposes. These facilities have at various times been used for adult education, but the use of them has been limited by a number of factors. First of all, the People's Association has a prior claim on these facilities and this has posed a great deal of difficulty for the Board because of the wide range of activities of the People's Association. Furthermore, the classroom facilities are not always suited for the conduct of night-classes. The community centres have many out-door activities which are unavoidably noise-making, and therefore, are distracting and not conducive to the learning processes. In recent years, the installation of television sets has increased the volume of distraction. Finally, the use of the community centres also raises the problems of divided authority and responsibility for the facilities and equipment as encountered in certain cases in the use of the school premises. The only premises over which the Board has direct control are the Cultural Centre and the Annexe, which was previously a government bungalow, now on lease to the Board, on a year-to-year basis. The Cultural Centre was built in 1955. Its construction was completed in 1957. It was never designed to be the Headquarters of Adult Education, as it has since become. It was designed for what its name has clearly stated - namely, a centre for cultural activities. For this reason, the greater part of the building is a 330-seat theatre and a foyer which can be used for art and other exhibitions. As originally planned, adult education facilities were limited to two classrooms with a collapsible dividing partition for converting the two classrooms into a lecture hall, if necessary.”
“They have been designed to cater for the needs of an academic and literary type of education. But they cannot be used for other types of classes for which there is a popular demand, e.g, taxidermy, pottery, silkscreen painting, basket weaving and so on. These classes are of a vocational and craft character. Some of these require special equipment, e.g. workbenches, easels, potter's wheels, baking kilns, and so on. The use of school buildings has also resulted in the difficult problem of divided responsibility. The Board has hardly any teaching equipment at all. For example, in the case of science classes, for which there is a great demand, especially at the pre-university level, the Board has to make use of the school facilities and equipment. In the day-schools, the Principal or a member of the full-time staff is given the responsibility of taking care of them. In the night classes, it is harder to delegate responsibility. However, the problem has been partially solved by employing the Principals or the members of the full time staff as the supervisors of the adult classes functioning in their schools. But it has not always been found possible to employ the Principals or the members of staff responsible for the equipment in the day-schools to be the supervisors in the night classes. In any case, all the staff engaged by the Board in its classes are part-time and time-rated, and, for this reason, it is difficult to delegate responsibility for the care of the equipment. The Board has experienced great difficulty in getting the equipment available for use for its night classes. The inadequacy of it inevitably has affected the teaching in the night classes. The Board has also employed the community centres for its classes.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I think I will need about another five minutes to finish what I want to say. Would I have my five minutes, Sir?”
“The use of these facilities means great savings in expenditure, for it involves an intensified use of overhead social capital. For example, the school buildings are used three times a day, for morning schools, for afternoon schools, and, finally for night classes. However, the use of these buildings unavoidably imposes certain limitations on the scope of adult education. To begin with the use of school buildings, the fact that these are used for teaching in day-time, as it should be, means that the adult classes are only run at night. In fact, most of these classes are run after 6.30 p.m. But there is a demand for classes in the day-time as well. In fact, the Board has been conducting with great success language classes for office workers between 7.30 and 9.00 a.m, and between 5 o'clock and 6 o'clock in the evening. Classes for housewives, and other categories of workers whose working hours are confined either only to the morning, afternoon, or at night, cannot be organised because of the lack of facilities. The size of this adult population with leisure in the day-time can be gauged by the fact that the cinemas in Singapore have found it worth while to run shows at 11.00 a.m., 1.30 p.m., and 4 p.m. The use of day-schools has also imposed a limitation on the kind of classes the Board can run. The standard type classroom facilities consist of blackboards and rows of desks and chairs.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head D 03 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 001. Sir, I would like to urge that the plan to build an Adult Education Centre be speeded up, and that the Government should not be unprepared to increase the sum allocated for the Centre should the proposed $1.5 million be found to be inadequate to meet the actual requirements. Since its inception in April 1960, the Adult Education Board has developed itself to such an extent that it has been regarded as an indispensable quasi-government body that provides an invaluable service to the community. In the last five years, the Adult Education Board has developed a system of adult education that is impressive by Asian standards. This programme includes literacy and language classes, a primary and secondary educational system up to and including pre-university classes, commercial education, classes to assist adults preparing for overseas Professional Examinations, public forums, and a wide range of recreational and vocational courses arranged on an ad hoc basis according to public demand. This year, the total student enrolment is above 50,000. The Adult Education Board has managed to cope with this expansion with the assistance and co-operation of the Ministry of Education. The Board has no facilities of its own except the Cultural Centre and a bungalow, known as the Annexe, situated at No. 9, Fort Canning Road. It has relied mainly on Government and Government-aided school buildings for implementing its programme. However, on many occasions it has to make use of other premises like the community centres, Government Social Welfare and Institutional Homes, and whatever accommodation it can lay its hands on.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I think one little point our Parliamentary Secretary raised was that I mentioned regularising unauthorised new houses. I did not say it at any time just now. So I beg to correct that little error. However, I am indeed glad to hear from him that with the completion of the establishment of the veterinary centre in Jalan Serangoon Kechil, 9th milestone Punggol Road, the officer in charge will be instructed to assist in this matter. Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $753,640 for Head 1111 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.”
“So in view of what I have pointed out, I hope the Minister concerned will kindly look into those two matters. Sir, I beg to move. 7.15 p.m.”
“Now I have come across such applications which had to wait for more than two months - I am not simply alleging this complaint, but it it is necessary I am prepared to furnish such particulars, that officials of the Chief Building Surveyor's Department sometimes take up to two months to visit a site and later on when a permit is approved and a $2 fee is paid, even then a house number is not given until one or two months later. So, all in all, it takes three to four months, sometimes six months. The other point is the application for permits to reconstruct existing houses. Sir, in the rural constituencies, many such houses are made up of plank walls and attap roofs. Very often, when such applications are made, the houses are in a very poor condition, and these constituents need to get permission as soon as possible to go ahead with reconstructing them. I would suggest to the Minister concerned to look into the possibility of establishing a small unit in the Chief Building Surveyor's Department purely to look into these two matters and to help the poor people, not only in my constituency, but also in other rural constituencies as well, by facilitating these applications, so that they can get what they have applied for within as short a period of time as possible and with as little inconvenience to them as possible. For example, in order to apply for permission to reconstruct a house, the poor chap will have to go down to the Planning Department to buy two site plans. Many of these people are not familiar with site plans and more often than not they buy the wrong ones because first, they have got to go down to the Planning Department and tell the officer what they want and they are not able to read and understand the site plans well.”
“Sir, in the course of my Meet-the-people's sessions, I have come across many requests from my constituents who want to apply for permission to reconstruct their existing houses and also to apply for permits to retain their existing houses. Sir, I would like to deal with the second point first, that is: application for permits to retain existing houses. Such houses were built more than 10 years ago, and today, with social amenities like water and electricity supplies being available in many parts of Punggol constituency, many of the constituents in unnumbered houses have come to me to seek my assistance to get for them permits for existing houses in order that they can obtain house numbers so that they can apply for such facilities. Sir, the point is this. The application forms are printed in the English language only, and I also notice that on the form itself the applicant making such an application has no opportunity to state his date of application and that at the back of this form the applicant has to draw a sketch plan of the site indicating where his existing house is and, at the same time, draw a sketch plan of the house. Sir, in the course of rendering such assistance, I find that if I were to request the Minister concerned to see to it that such forms are printed in the four official languages, then I am sure that many of these applicants would be able to fill up the forms easily. The other point is this. The form being duly completed will be submitted to the Chief Building Surveyor who will look into the matter.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 1111 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1001.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I do not wish to prolong this little debate on one particular request. So in view of the explanation given by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for National Development, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $16,430,510 for Head 1110 ordered to stand part of the Estimates. Head 1111 -”
“Mr Speaker, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 1110 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 2015. Sir, this item concerns Public Street Lighting and the next year's estimate stand at $2.6 million. I would like to ask the Minister concerned whether he is aware that Punggol Road, being a public street, has been lighted up from 7� m.s, to 9� m.s. Punggol Road, and whether it is possible that next year the rest of Punggol Road will be lighted up. Sir, I beg to move.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I wish to thank the Minister for his explicit explanation to me, and I beg leave to withdraw this amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Madam Chan Choy Siong (Delta)(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 1108 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1259. Mr Speaker, could you allow me to speak on my amendment No. (3)* too, namely on subhead 1269? *Amendments (3) reads as follows:- That the sum to be allocated for Head 1108 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1269.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 1108 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1111. Sir, at present there are about 60 boats anchored regularly at the jetty at Upper Serangoon Road. These boats are used for deep-sea fishing purposes. I think well over 90 per cent of them have boat licences. But I noticed that these licences were obtained not in Singapore but from our neighbouring country, Malaysia. The size and tonnage of these boats range from 80 horsepower upwards to well over 15 tons. Sir, I do not understand why these fishermen do not obtain their boat licences from our Fisheries Division in the Primary Production Department. I think that licences obtained from elsewhere will do us no good, because we lose revenue. So I would request the Minister for Law and National Development to look into this matter with a view to issuing Singapore boat licences to these boats, so that, in one way, we can get revenue for our country's coffers, which is our due by right. Sir, I beg to move.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I must thank the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Culture and Social Affairs for replying to what I have not asked for; that is, I had intended to raise the matter, but I did not say just now that I wanted information on the number of recipients of public assistance in my constituency. However, I am still grateful to him. Anyway, he has not answered one little point, that is in respect of the $400,000 that has been deducted from 1966 Estimates. I will be grateful if he will be kind enough to enlighten this House on why the $400,000 has to be deducted next year.”
“Under the public assistance scheme, relief is paid on the basis of a means test under which the following limits of income are not taken into account - first, a recipient with no dependants, $10; second, a recipient with one or two dependants, $15; third, a recipient with three or four dependants, $20; fourth, a recipient with five or more dependants, $25. Thus a public assistance recipient who has five or more dependants and who earns, say, $50 a month from casual labour will be allowed to retain $25 of his income. The remaining $25 will have to be deducted from his public assistance allowance. In some cases, however, it is difficult to ascertain the amount of income earned by a casual labourer; and in such cases, a rough and ready rule is applied and the average monthly income is estimated at $40. Each case is, of course, treated on its own merits and where there are special circumstances meriting sympathetic treatment, the recipient is usually given the benefit of the doubt and, where possible, the minimum amount deductible under the scheme is deducted from the public assistance allowance.”
“Secondly, there are cases in which a public assistance applicant has two wives and both of them are included in the assessment for public assistance relief if the department is satisfied that both of them are without income of their own and are dependent upon the applicant. As for the Member for Punggol, it will take a considerable time to go through the records of public assistance pensions for a number of recipients in Punggol constituency, as the records are kept for Singapore as a whole and not broken up by constituency or by area. In fact, a number of requests have been received from Members of Parliament asking for a list of public assistance recipients in their constituencies, and the Social Welfare Department has been hard put to it to provide the necessary information. Members of Parliament who have asked for this information and have not been supplied with it are requested to be patient, is the work involved in the compiling of the information required is quite considerable. It is regretted that it will not be possible to inform the Member for Punggol of the number of applications which have been submitted to him and which have been successful, as this will involve searching through every public assistance file which has been opened for the last 5 or 6 years. As there are about 30,000 public assistance cases in action, it will be appreciated that this involves a considerable amount of work which the public assistance section, which has a lot of work daily, will be unable to undertake at the moment. I think these are the points raised by the Member for Punggol. As for the Member for Ulu Pandan, he has raised the point that public assistance relief be paid to recipients who are engaged in casual work.”
“Public assistance recipients whose allowance has either been stopped or reduced can always appeal to the Assistant Director (Public Assistance) for reconsideration. On receipt of an appeal, the case is reinvestigated and if circumstances are disclosed which merit the continuance of public assistance relief, the case is reinstated. 5.45 p.m. As for the second point raised by the Member for Kampong Kembangan on housing subsidies, for the time being, the subsidies are only confined to those Malay families who are affected by urban development projects, who have a total income of less than $300 and who wish to occupy Housing Board flats. But as for the others who are not affected by urban development projects, the Government, of course, is willing to study their cases. The other point raised by the Member for Kampong Kembangan is that those who are staying with friends have their subsidies deducted. I hope that the Member for Kampong Kembangan can take up such cases with our Minister. We shall look into these cases also. Coming back to matters raised by the Member for Changi, according to the records of the Social Welfare Department, a total of 163 fishermen living in Changi have been referred to the department for assistance under the scheme. As a result of investigations carried out by the department, 22 of these families have been found eligible and have been given assistance under the scheme. The balance of 141 were found ineligible for assistance under the scheme for various reasons. For example, some have been found to be already in receipt of public assistance; others have found alternative sources of income which render them ineligible for assistance.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I wish to associate myself with the views expressed by my three colleagues who have spoken before me. I notice that $10 million was estimated for this year and $9,600,000 for 1966; a vast sum of $400,000 has thus been deducted. I say "a vast sum" because we know that people look to public assistance not because they like to enjoy the bitter bread of charity but because of extreme financial circumstances. So in view of this, I would like the Minister to enlighten this House on the reason for budgeting $9.6 million for next year. Mr Chan Chee Seng: Mr Speaker, I think one has to face a lot of hard facts in life. Getting money from the Government is one of them and the Government has a duty to look after the taxpayers' money and not just pay it out without looking into the matter. May I, first of all, answer the Member for Kampong Kembangan on the point he has raised just now? As the total payment under the public assistance scheme has been rising very steeply from $7.2 million in 1961 to $9.7 million in 1963, and as a result of reports received by the Department of large numbers of public assistance recipients receiving public assistance under false pretences - the majority of recipients who find jobs fail to report to the Department and continue to draw public assistance although they are no longer eligible - it was decided to start a systematic review of all public assistance cases in April 1964. As a result of this review, it has been found that, on the average, about 20 per cent of public assistance recipients are bogus cases. This review has enabled bogus cases to be closed and the money available for public assistance relief to be diverted to the really deserving cases of families whose heads are genuinely unemployed.”
“(4) That the sum to be allocated for Head 1003 be reduced by $10 in respect of item 1 of subhead 2063.”
“I am not moving. The following amendment stood in the name of Mr Lim Cheng Lock --- That the sum to be allocated for Head 0901 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 3003.”
“I am not moving. The following amendment stood in the names of Mr S. V. Lingam and Mr Ng Kah Ting --- That the sum to be allocated for Head 0901 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1281.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $3,907,970 for Head 0807 ordered to stand part of the Estimates. 4.45 p.m. Head 0901 -”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. Many applications have passed through me at my "Meet-the-people" sessions, in which these people came forward and asked if I could help them to get permits to retain their existing houses. Sir, a permit is obtainable on payment of $2, subject to approval by the Chief Building Surveyor and subsequently the Inland Revenue Department. So it takes quite some time to get such applications approved. I will be dealing with this matter under the Ministry of Law and National Development at a later juncture. A considerable length of time has to be taken, say, three, four or six months, when applications are sent in, and officials from the Chief Building Surveyor's Department may not even go to the site to investigate. Although sometimes permits were obtained, still house numbers could not be obtained.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I think the Minister for Finance has missed my point. I did not imply in any way that the Minister for Finance should ignore the building by-laws. What I said was about the attap houses in my constituency and which were built more than ten years ago. I wondered why action was not taken earlier when they were built. I did not say that the houses were built one or two years ago. I believe - I am not sure if I am correct here - that under the Local Government Integration Ordinance, 1963, unauthorised houses, or illegal houses, as the Minister calls them, built before September 1963 - I am not very sure - could not be pulled down. That is the main reason why. More than ten years ago ---”
“Unnumbered houses. I have pointed out the reasons; that the residents can clearly state their residential address and they can also apply for social amenities like water and electricity supplies which are available; and if they do not have house numbers, even though their houses were built more than 10 years ago, then they will not be able to obtain such facilities. This is the request I am making to the Minister for Finance. Sir, I beg to move. 4.30 p.m.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker, Sir, I was just saying that national re-registration would be implemented next year. Many people will have to state clearly their addresses; but in my constituency there are quite a number of attap houses which were built more than 10 years ago and which are without house numbers. So in the process of re-numbering the numbered houses, I wonder whether the Minister for Finance would give due consideration to my request that such houses be numbered when our re-numbering of houses teams make their tours.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, it is in this light regarding the re-numbering of houses. I know for sure that in my area re-numbering teams are going about re-numbering houses, and that also there are houses without numbers. This is where I should like my request to be made to the Minister for Finance; Sir, if I could proceed along that line ---”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 0807 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 3041. Mr Speaker, Sir, regarding the re-numbering of houses, I wish to point out that in the rural constituencies like Punggol, there are many attap houses which were built more than 10 years ago - of course, these are unauthorised. With this national re-registration about to take place next year, the residents in these old attap houses without numbers would find difficulty in stating their address on the identity cards to be re-issued anew. What I would like to ask the Minister for Finance is whether such houses could be given numbers so that the residents thereof can also apply for social amenities such as water and electricity supplies.”
“When a radio licence officer discovers that the licensee has not changed his address he sends a compound notice for $40. This also is in English. The offence relating to change of address should be explained in four languages in the radio licence. And for the first time, he should be given one week's grace to change his address. If he still does not comply with this, only then should he be fined. The penalty for not having a radio licence should not be lighter than the penalty should a licensee not change his address.”
“I am not moving, Mr Speaker, Sir. Inche Mahmud Awang (Kampong Kapor)(In Malay): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 0807 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1191. Mr Speaker, in this appointment, we still cannot harmonise the law with the fines in the regulations concerning change of address by people who have radio licences if the licensees move out. The explanation regarding change of address was not satisfactory to the people and there was a lot of unhappiness. I support the wish of the Minister for Finance, and it is the hope of the Government, as well as the hope of the people, that as far as this section is concerned, it would be defeated if we could not harmonise law and fines and if this section was not improved. For example, Mr Speaker, A buys a radio and takes out a radio licence. He is of the opinion that he has got a licence and he would not go against the law if he were to stay in another place before the expiry of the licence, because there is nothing on the licence which says that he would be punished if he did not change his address. I believe there are regulations and by-laws in regard to radio licensing. But these are not known to the public except to the radio inspectors. The wording on the radio licence is only in English, and information regarding change of address is also in English. The attention of the owner of the licence is not drawn to the fact that if he does not note the change of address where his radio has been installed, then he has committed an offence and he would be fined. Mr Speaker, there are people who know English who do not even realise this. What more for those people who do not know English? What action has been taken by the radio licence officers?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I am fully satisfied with the Minister's assurance that urgent steps will be taken to destroy such nuisances. Sir, 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 0703 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1001. Sir, I do not know whether the Hon. the Member for Health is aware of the mosquito nuisance that is rampant, I believe, not only in my constituency but also in others as well. I do not know whether strong measures have been taken to eradicate such nuisance. Almost every night, for myself, I have got to get up several times to beat off these mosquitoes. The other fact is the question of flies. It seems to me that this nuisance is also on the increase. I wish to know from the Hon. Minister for Health what measures his Ministry will take to eradicate such nuisances in respect of mosquitoes and flies. Sir, I beg to move. 3.30 p.m.”
“I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The following amendment stood in the name of Mr P. Govindaswamy --- That the sum to be allocated for Head 0601 be reduced by $l0 in respect of subhead 2118.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I must thank the Minister of State for Education for giving me the assurance that should the Lembaga Gerakan Pelajaran Dewasa over-spend the $1.8 million, then a supplementary vote will be given. Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.”
“The increase in the number of persons the Board catered for was very marked last year and this year. In the last five years the Board has nearly trebled the enrolment in its literacy and language classes. It is expected that given more grants the Board can still expand its activities in the other fields of adult education. Sir, I hope I have painted a clear picture of the activities of the Adult Education Board and I sincerely hope our Minister for Education will look into the matter. Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move.”
“2 million was provided for in the year's Estimates and further efforts have to be made to get a supplementary grant of $435,000 to meet all the financial commitments of the Board for this year. I understand that the Board applied for $2 million for 1966 but only $1.8 million has been put down in the 1966 Estimates. It is apparent that the Board's past submissions for annual grants have not been fully accepted, despite the fact that for 1964 and 1965, Government had to provide later supplementary grants to enable the Board to meet its commitments for these two years. 6.30 p.m. It would interest the House to note the yearly increases in the number of persons attending all the Board's classes and courses for the years 1961 to 1965. I hope the House will bear with me if I give some figures. The following figures speak for themselves. On literacy and language classes - in 1961 there were 11,749 students. In 1962 it was increased to 12,670. In 1963, it was 20,491; in 1964, 27,353; and in 1965, 34,633. Now for the secondary evening classes, in 1961 there were 4,394 students. In 1962, there were 5,712 students; in 1963, 6,934 students; in 1964, 9,854 students; and in 1965, 10,826 students. In the other classes and courses, that is, commercial, vocational, recreational, local and foreign languages; in 1962, we had 7,357 students; in 1963, there were 10,524 students; in 1964, there were 14,858 students; and in 1965, 15,026 students. So you can see, Sir, that every year there is a big increase in the student population in the classes conducted by the Education Board. In 1961 the two main activities of the Board were literacy and language, and secondary evening classes. In 1962 it extended its activities to other fields.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 0601 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 2116. Sir, this concerns, the contribution to the Lembaga Gerakan Pelajaran Dewasa which is also known as the Adult Education Board. From the facts I have gathered, this increase in $600,000 is still not enough. There was an appeal for $2 million for 1966 and only $1.8 million has been provided. Sir, from the facts I have gathered, I would like to deal with this at some length. I strongly feel that our Minister for Education should look into this matter. Since the Lembaga Gerakan Pelajaran Dewasa was constituted in April 1960, adult education in the State has taken on a new meaning and new purpose in keeping with the Government's overall education policy. While helping the State to eradicate illiteracy, other activities have been engaged in to link adult education with the State's national aspirations, i.e. helping to raise the level of living so that all its citizens can have a better life. It is in this context that adult education has come to be regarded as continuing education to meet the urgent needs of adults to forge links between the multi-racial heritage of the past and new knowledge, techniques and those of the present and future. However, it is noted that the adult education programme of the Lembaga Gerakan Pelajaran Dewasa has been somewhat limited by lack of funds. Perhaps, Sir, the following grants made by the Government for last year and this year will help to explain. In 1964, only $900,000 was provided in the Estimates for Adult Education. In the course of the year, it took much convincing to get a further supplementary grant of $300,000 to help the Board meet its commitments for the year. Again for this year only $1.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in view of the assurance given by the Minister of State for the Prime Minister's Department, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. 4.00 p.m.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I seek your guidance on this point, because I feel this is a matter of great importance - where all along Malaya Hall -”