Ng Yeow Chong
Singapore
“Sir, there is a creche called Lee Kuo Chuan Creche which is not in Kuo Chuan Constituency as the name implies but it is actually in Mountbatten Constituency.”
“As I have said earlier, those who wish to go abroad by air or by sea are usually advised by the travel agencies to apply for a re-entry permit first before buying their tickets.”
“My point is this. Why cannot these people be informed of this requirement in one way or another? As suggested by the Member for Punggol, why not put up notices somewhere near the Woodlands Checkpoint to remind those blue identity card holders who wish to go across the Causeway to apply for a re-entry permit before leaving?”
“Sir, I would like to make a small point. I would like to ask the Minister whether he has ever thought of looking into the ages of meter readers. How many of them are between the ages of 40 and 50 years? Have they been subjected to eye examinations? This is to avoid mistakes in meter reading, as we have so often heard.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, is the Minister aware that some Special Pass holders are former permanent residents? They have lost their permanent status because they have contravened certain Immigration rules and regulations, for example, returning from Malaysia without re-entry visas.”
“Sir, I want to stress to the Minister the importance of a sufficiency of fire hydrants in all housing estates. I wonder if there are sufficient fire hydrants in all HDB estates. Encik Othman Bin Wok: Sir, in answer to the question by the Member for Mountbatten, the answer is "yes".”
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Every one of 313 lines we hold for Ng Yeow Chong, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 7 of 7.
“Sir, in view of the explanation given by the Minister, I beg leave to withdraw. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $4,162,750 for Head 0501 ordered to stand part of the Estimates. Head 0601 -”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move. That the sum to be allocated for Head 0501 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 3104. Mr Speaker, Sir, I notice that there is a provision of $1,500,00 set aside for Staff for Singapore Missions Overseas. What I would like our Minister to do is to inform us whether this sum of $1� million actually includes the remuneration of Singapore diplomats to he assigned to foreign countries. Mr Speaker, Sir, it is considered that we should set up trade commissions in foreign countries instead of setting up embassies, so as to minimise our expenditure. The primary aim of our Government in setting up embassies in foreign countries is to foster good relations with these countries, and by doing so, we will ultimately gain their confidence and eventually trade with them. Therefore, it is more economical and practical that, for the time being, we establish trade commissions in those countries which are likely to trade with us. Later on we can set up embassies, because it is considered that our resources are rather limited at present. Perhaps the Minister for Foreign Affairs can enlighten hon. Members of this House with his comments.”
“I beg leave to withdraw. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $820,850 for Head 0105 ordered to stand part of the Estimates. Head 0301”
“Government vehicles are not insured, so that this item is to provide for all damages that may he caused to other vehicles, the damage having been caused and the accident having arisen due to the negligence of our own drivers. The increase of $5,500 for this item has come about through the separation of Singapore from Malaysia. As a result of the separation, many vehicles, which prior to Malaysia Day belonged to the Singapore Government, revert to the Government of Singapore after Singapore Day. So with the increase in the number of Govern ment vehicles in Singapore, this item has increased by $5,500. As to the allegations of sabotage, there has been no evidence of this. But whenever a Government driver has been grossly negligent, disciplinary proceedings have been taken against him. In fact, in the past few years, a few drivers have been dismissed because of gross negligence. I can assure the hon. Member for Mountbatten that this figure has not been increased because of an increase in the number of accidents or more heavy sabotage by our own drivers.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to he allocated for Head 0105 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 2001. Mr Speaker, Sir, it is observed that there is an increase of $5,500 for this expenditure as compared to 1965. An increase in this amount may give rise to vandalism by drivers who often take advantage of breakdowns to stay idle. There are common allegations against our Government drivers, though these have not been substantiated, that they deliberately cause breakdowns and send their vehicles to the P.W.D., Kallang, for repair, so that they can stay idle. As to why these drivers intentionally cause these breakdowns. I am afraid there is no need for me to mention here the reasons, which are best known to all. As their services are essential and important, we can hardly afford to go without them in our daily life. For example, the drivers of the Health Department, the P.W.D., the Social Welfare Department, the Veterinary Department, etc. provide valuable services to the public every day. Since our Government cannot afford to maintain many vehicles, readily available, as replacements in cases of breakdown, I sincerely urge the heads of departments concerned to exercise greater care by supervising the drivers in order to bring down to the minimum the consequential cost of repairs and accidents involving Government vehicles. The Minister for Law and National Development (Mr E. W. Barker): Mr Speaker, Sir, may I first explain that this vote is to cover the cost of damages to other vehicles which have come into collision with Government vehicles.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I just want to be very brief. Is it the intention of the Government, as a protective measure, to countercheck the registration of citizenship by birth? Then there is no other way out but to accept the evidence of a birth certificate with the name of the child. But surely there are many ways whereby we can establish whether a claim is genuine, such as birth certificates with names of younger brothers or sisters showing the parents' names identical with those of the one who does not have his name on his certificate. I think that should also be accepted as sufficient evidence. 5.56 p.m.”
“Now that I have obtained a satisfactory answer from the Minister of Health, I beg to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $422,526 for Head D 05 ordered to stand part of the First Supplementary Development Estimates of Expenditures for 1965. Head D 11 -”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, this state of affairs is indeed very undesirable as there are some bona tide hawkers who wish to be allotted pitches to make a decent living. When they apply to the Markets and Hawkers Department, they are often told that there are no vacancies. Mr Speaker, Sir,I should he grateful, therefore, if the Minister for Health would kindly enlighten me and this House whether he would take appropriate steps to implement effective control and supervision of hawker pitches not only in the various housing estates in my constituency but also in other housing estates in other constituencies. Sir, I beg to move.”
“Mr Speaker. Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head D 05 be reduced by $10 in respect of new subhead 029. Mr Speaker, Sir, I understand this is an outstanding sum yet to be reimbursed by the Ministry of Health to cover the costs of building 515 covered pitches by the Housing and Development Board for hawkers at Tanjong Rhu Estate, Kallang Airport Estate. Alexandra Hill Estate, and Bukit Ho Swee Estate. The sum that is required for this vote as reimbursement for the Housing Board amounts to $122,526. Mr Speaker, Sir,I further understand that the construction of these covered pitches was approved by the former Minister for Health in 1963 for the purpose of re-siting unauthorised roadside stalls built by hawkers which caused obstruction to traffic and impediment to health and cleansing work in the various housing estates. The Government must he praised for having provided these roadside hawkers with all the facilities of proper hawking pitches. However, I wish to draw the attention of the Minister for Health to this - that the control and supervision of these covered pitches by the Markets and Hawkers Department of the Public Health Division is far from satisfactory. Very often, pitches are left vacant for months and are never allocated when they are applied for by unlicensed hawkers. In Tanjong Rhu Estate, which is in my constituency, the covered pitches, as I have observed from time to time, are not fully utilised and many of them are more often than not left unoccupied. Some of them, I am informed, Mr Speaker, Sir, have actually been allocated but have never been physically occupied by licensees who regularly pay up their licence fees. So far no action has ever been taken by the Markets and Hawkers Department to rectify this irregularity.”
“In fact, there is plenty more that the Parks and Recreation Division of the Ministry of Social Affairs can do to make our country beautiful and attractive, for tourism to prosper alongside with other trades and industries. Social Welfare aids are aimed at assisting unemployed families to subsist in their living. They are not meant to encourage recipients to be lazy and idle and rely on Government for subsistence of living. The amounts in grant are considerably low and it is not an uncommon thing that some recipients take home some crafts from light industries, such as assembling paper bags, boxes, etc. Although the extra incomes are always low, it is more often than not that their social welfare aids are cut or terminated upon their being discovered by the Social Welfare Department. This being the case, it is hoped that the Social Welfare aid schemes could be amended so as to allow these recipients to earn such meagre incomes without affecting their public assistance. Apart from the above suggestions, Mr Speaker, Sir, it is the duty of every Government Backbencher to render his full support to the policy of the Government. I hereby pledge my support to our Right Hon. Prime Minister's motion of thanks to the Yang di-Pertuan Negara's policy speech with full sincerity. 4.26 p.m.”
“In this respect, Mr Speaker, Sir, the establishment of an Export Quality Control similar to that set up by advanced countries like Japan, the U.S.A., the People's Republic of China, etc., is essential and necessary so as to lay down the standards of quality of local products and to regulate the qualities of goods before exporting to foreign countries. As far as I know, the Singapore Institute of Management, in co-operation with the Economic Development Board, is imparting knowledge in quality control to managerial executives of local factories and firms. There should be an extension towards setting up a Quality Control Board for export goods. It must be competitive and not just a party dependent on the favour of other countries for their share of markets. That is more practical and permanent in nature. Perhaps our Government may wish to reconsider the encouragement of cottage industries which thrive well in Hongkong and Japan. Goods are first made with materials by machines to become component parts, and are then subsequently assembled at home on a piece-rate basis manually. This type of industries would benefit more persons instead of being confined to a few persons at work in the factories. On the social amenities, it is the desire of the people who live in flats to see more playgrounds for their children. There are many vacant grounds around Housing and Development Board flats in various housing estates, but very few have playground outfits. Traffic circles can be turned into beautiful spots if fountains are built on them. Improvements to the existing parks should also be considered.”
“We have had Indonesian confrontation, racial agitation by communalists, political pressures and now we have economic pressures from Malaysia. For years we have shown that we are a determined people and are ready to stand up and fight for our rights to live and survive. Mr Speaker, Sir, there is no doubt that we will ultimately survive if we pool all our resources together. The people of Singapore have courage, strength, tolerance and ability to work hard for a better future for all. It is the normal practice in this Parliament for Government Members, particularly the Backbenchers, to praise the Government for its policies. But a deviation from this may seem proper for the Government Backbenchers to criticise the Government on its shortcomings as has just been mentioned by our Prime Minister earlier. I have therefore taken this opportunity to say a few humble lines. First of all, I wish to dwell on the subject of local infant industries. With the Common Market in Malaysia not successfully obtained because of separation, our Government has seen fit to establish good relationships with Afro-Asian countries in an attempt to gain their friendship and, at the same time, establish trade links for our export trade. To he self-sufficient in our industries is no good to the economic growth of our country. A nation thrives well on its abilities of exports over imports. There will be no difficulty in exporting local products to countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand or Afro-Asian countries. In order to share a fraction of their domestic markets for our products, the quality and price of our export goods must be competitive if not superior.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I do hope that all hon. Members on this side of the House will express their sincere gratitude to His Excellency the Yang di-Pertuan Negara for his Speech delivered at the opening of the first parliamentary session of independent Singapore on the 8th of this month. I think our presence here today harhours a similar if not the same degree of appreciation for His Excellency who has painstakingly endeavoured to present, not only to us in this Parliament here but also to the people outside this House, the present circumstances of Singapore in its actual perspective arising from its secession from Malaysia on the 9th of August this year. Mr Speaker, Sir, we are proud to be Members of our Assembly which has now become our Parliament as a consequence of recent constitutional changes, an Assembly which has passed effective laws and improved on existing ones. Our Government has emerged in Asia as one which has been most effective, farsighted, impartial and able to withstand the strains of the socialist democratic process in the past few years, during which period no other Government could have achieved greater results in the field of housing, social welfare or even in fostering diverse cultural activities in a multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-lingual society. As Singapore is now a newly independent and sovereign State, no doubt we have to encounter many more difficulties and problems. We can overcome these difficulties with tolerance, courage, intelligence and tact. In the past six years, the people of Singapore have gone through many adversities and withstood a lot of hardships. We have had in our midst anti-national elements creating subversive activities.”