Ow Chin Hock
Singapore
“Thirdly, I believe that Mr Simon Tay referred to links with ASEAN+3. Let me say that we do not preclude any such flexibility. Indeed, APEC is an established forum linking Australia and New Zealand with ASEAN and East Asia.”
“Sir, I am not an expert on the Constitution, but I am aware that the Supreme Court's ruling is different from Mr Estrada being impeached and convicted in the Senate. NUCLEAR WEAPONS AND UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES IN SINGAPORE (Facilities) 2. Mr J. B.”
“However, we are mindful that nowadays, Singaporeans who like to experience living and working overseas, have many other attractive career options, in both private and public sectors.”
“Sir, let me thank the Minister on behalf of the 3-room flat dwellers. My supplementary question is: in future, if any rebates are given, will the Minister consider making the amount of the rebates inversely proportional to the size of HDB flats, in other words, the smaller the flat the greater the amount of rebates?”
“Lastly, clause 8 of the Bill also proposes to amend the Banking Act to allow the Singapore branches of foreign banks to transmit information to their head offices or other overseas branches for data processing.”
“These requirements would help to ensure that such businesses are run in a proper manner, and that records are kept to provide an audit trail of transactions, in order to deter illicit transactions from being conducted via such businesses. However, these requirements impose additional costs on the licensees.”
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“The number of posts provided under this subhead remains unchanged in this fiscal year. Similarly, under expenditure control, Subhead NB-03, the number of posts provided was 20 in FY 80, and it increased marginally to 22 in FY 81. Again, in this fiscal year, the number of posts under this subhead still remains at 22. Oh the revenue side, under Subhead NF-01, the number of senior inland revenue officers and computer service personnel remains unchanged at 26 between FY 81 and FY 82. Given all these data and facts, I am concerned about whether the shortage of manpower in the civil service in general, and the skilled financial management staff in particular, will slow down the implementation of PPBS. If it does, what steps does the Ministry of Finance propose to take to alleviate these problems? The paper submitted by the Permanent Secretary (Finance) (Budget) to the Estimates Committee on 27th April 1981 is concerned more with the technical aspects of the implementation of this new budgetary system. I am more concerned with the benefits or values of the system in terms of cost-benefit analysis and the so-called fiscal marksmanship. I shall deal with the second issue here. Studies by my colleagues in the National University of Singapore show that in the past, Government expenditure has been consistently over-estimated while, on the other hand, revenue has been consistently under-estimated. During 1966 to 1978, the margin of error - the difference expressed as a percentage of the estimated expenditure - varied between 5.1% and 9.1% in the recurrent expenditure. In the case of development expenditure, the margin of error varied between 15.1% and 35.5% for the same period. As for revenue, the percentage varied between 9.0% and 24.2% from 1966 to 1975.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head N be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead NA-01 of the Main Estimates.* In moving this amendment, I wish to raise some points concerning the PPBS, which stands for Programming and Performance Budgeting System. In response to a criticism by the former MP for River Valley in 1975 and his so-called classic example of "50-cycle generators" which was mistaken for 50 bicycles, the Hon. Minister for Finance agreed to refer the matter to the Estimates Committee for recommending a more effective budgeting and financial control system. The Estimates Committee first recommended the implementation of PAR (Programme Analysis and Review) in its Report presented to Parliament on 11th August 1975. The PAR system was subsequently modified and improved on. The budgets for FY 76 and FY 77 were recast to test the new budgetary system. The present system consists of four components: (1) programme structure, (2) budget preparation, (3) budget analysis, and (4) programme monitoring. This new system was first implemented in FY 78/9. In the Report of the Estimates Committee presented to Parliament on 31st August 1981, the Budget Division was reported to state that "most of the technical problems with PPBS and its procedures have been resolved." There is a general shortage of manpower in the civil service. This is evident from the fact that in FY 81 there were 7,918 vacancies which represented 11.5% of the 69,016 posts provided by the approved establishment list. In the Ministry of Finance, the number of vacancies was 595, which represented 14.6% of the number of posts approved. If you were to look at the Budget Management Programme, under Subhead NB-02, the number of posts provided increased from 44 in FY 80 to 47 in FY 81.”
“Meanwhile, workers work with the barrel of the gun pointed at them. From this, we can see that mere shouting of "socialism" slogan will not provide the people with their daily necessities or with a livelihood. To solve these problems and to raise the standard of living of the people, hard work and positive action is required. A former editor of one Da Gong Bao ( ) newspaper told me that previously the socialism practised in China "If everybody else lives in a straw hut while you live in a tiled house, then you should pull down the tiled house in order to be equal with the others." The socialism in China today is: "Through modernization, more and more people who originally lived in straw huts should be able to live in tiled houses." This quotation is worth pondering over seriously. To sum up, this year's Budget is a careful and cautious one. In respect of expenditure, it meets the requirements of the economic restructuring in the 1980s. Attention is also being paid to the housing needs of our people. As regards taxation, there is no new tax or any increase in tax rate. On the contrary, there are several tax concessions even though some of these are insignificant. The present Budget shows the concern of the Government for the world economic situation. It also reflects the careful manner of a former banker on the part of the Minister for Trade and Industry. In view of the stormy world economic situation, it is always worthwhile to be a little cautious. It is hoped that when the storm has calmed down, the future Budget will be able to bring more and better news to the man in the street, our ordinary citizens. ( ) Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the Motion by the Minister for Trade and Industry.”
“It suffices me to point out that the lower income group, like other income groups, have both the right and the obligation to contribute to the national coffers. Even if their tax rate is only 1% or 1/2%, it will still be educational as it will instil a sense of pride and a sense of participation in nation building. Besides giving tax concessions, the Government also gives special care to people in the lower income group in matters of housing, medicine, education, etc. At present, 70% of our population live in HDB flats, 240,000 of whom are owner-occupiers. In the next eight years, the HDB will build 290,000 units more to satisfy the demand for housing by people in the middle and lower income groups. We are world-renowned for our achievements in the field of housing, particularly low-cost housing for our people in the middle and lower income groups. In the field of medicine, a patient pays less than 12% of the actual cost of a C class ward in a Government hospital. The Government is also paying meticulous attention to the health and medical care of our school children. As regards education, no student because of his poverty will be prevented from attaining the highest level of education if he has the capacity to learn. Taking into account all the various services provided, we find that the real income of our lower income group is much higher than their money income. Let us look around at some of the socalled socialist countries. There, the people are living in dire misery and are suffering excruciatingly. The misery and the traumatic sufferings of the peoples of Cambodia and Vietnam are too well known for me to reiterate here. In Poland, the people have to stand in long queues in order to buy rations of bread and other daily necessities.”
“Finally, let us talk about the principles of Government's taxation, revenue and expenditure. The first point, as the Minister for Trade and Industry has said, "our income tax will never be so high as to deter Singaporeans from wanting to work hard and earn more." The second and more important point, the Government should use tax revenue on education and technical training, to enhance the ability of the people to earn more, but not to subsidize consumption. The third point is related to the question of the distribution of wealth and income. While we have to rely on market forces to make more efficient use of the resources to create more wealth for our nation and people, on the other hand, the Government has to resort to legislative and administrative measures to look after the livelihood and well-being of people with lower incomes and in poorer walks of life. Progressive income tax is a case in point. People of upper and middle income groups bear much higher burden both in tax rate and in quantum than people in the lower income group. The lowest rate of income tax is 4% and the highest is 45%. 91% of the total income tax revenue comes from 19% of all taxpayers. These 19% taxpayers are in the middle and upper income groups whose chargeable income per year is above $75,000. Last year, all taxpayers got a 10% tax rebate, the higher the tax the bigger the rebate, the lower the tax, the smaller the rebate. This is obvious. But there are some people who want to cook up something from this in order to mislead people. As for the personal reliefs in income tax, I believe other hon. Members will comment on it and the Minister may respond.”
“We have to take into consideration the trends of revenue and expenditure for a number of years and the economic strategies for that period. As regards the former, the Government has started cutting down the income tax rates since 1978. The effective income tax rate of our people is now lower than that five years ago, and those in the lower income group enjoy more benefits than those in the higher income group. Furthermore, with the high-wage policy over the last three years, the rate of increases of earnings among the blue-collar workers is higher than that of the professionals and executives. The weekly earnings of the production, transport and manual workers in 1979-80 increased by 14.3%; in 1980-81, it increased by 16.9%. During 1979-80, the rate of increase in weekly earnings of professional, administrative, and managerial workers was 10.5%, during 1980-81 it was 8.7%; while the rate of increase in the weekly earnings of clerical, sales, and service workers was 12.2% during 1979-80 and 10.1% during 1980-81. In other words, during this three-year period the rate of increase in income was highest among the blue-collar workers. The important thing is: the rate of increase in income was higher than the rate of increase of consumer price index (CPI). In other words, the real income of our people in all walks of life, particularly the blue-collar workers, is higher today than a few years ago. Increasing real income with a decreasing effective tax rate is something which people in many countries, including industrial countries, can dream about but cannot get. Yet we Singaporeans in all walks of life can all enjoy the fruits of economic growth at a time of difficult and depressing world economy. I hope we will continue to work hard in order to sustain this condition.”
“Such thinking is childish and ridiculous. It also overstates the value of this Opposition member ( ). He is not important enough to constitute a factor of consideration in the preparation of the Budget. Sir, as we all know, Singaporeans have, in fact, been enjoying painless budgets in the last few years. Another view on this year's Budget is that the few concessions it offers benefit only those in the middle and upper income groups, and not the ordinary citizens in the lower income group. The reasons given are: (1) Most of the ordinary citizens are contributing less than $5,000 per year towards CPF. The tax relief on the full amount of CPF contributions will benefit only those who are earning above $1,800 per month. (2) The raise in the exemption limit in estate duty to the full value of any one residential property has no bearing at all to owners of public housing or those who have no property. (3) Exemption from estate duty on CPF savings will benefit those who have accumulated more than $100,000 in their CPF accounts. CPF members from the lower income groups do not benefit much. (4) Waiving the 10% tax on the fixed charges in PUB bills (in respect of fees for sanitary appliances, refuse disposal, rental of appliances and nightsoil disposal) will only benefit those whose PUB bills exceed $80 per month. Even then, the amount of tax waived is negligible. On the surface, such a view appears to be a correct one. But if one takes a step further, one will discover that this view is lopsided because there is clearly a lack of understanding of the Principles of Taxation. First, when we examine a budget, we cannot consider the revenue and expenditure for only a single year.”
“Members, including myself, have urged the Government to revise upward the terms and conditions of our teachers and to give them proper recognition. These are the logical steps to take if we expect to have qualified and dedicated teachers and the revised education system to be workable. Sir, we Parliamentarians also have our share of responsibility. We should constantly help to monitor the implementation of the recommendations of the new education policies and give the Ministry of Education the feedback we have from the ground. One way to keep the Ministry officials on their toes all the time and provide a direct channel of communication between MPs on the one hand, and teachers and parents on the other hand, is to have a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education. However, the Ministry of Education may complain of too much or too frequent interference from the Committee. This will probably happen as everyone seems to be an expert on education, looking at the issue from the political, economic, social, historical or even biological and medical viewpoint. The next alternative therefore will be for the Ministry to collate the suggestions and criticisms made by hon. Members during this debate and for the Minister of Education to report to Parliament periodically on the progress and problems encountered in the implementation of the revised education system. Thus, Sir, I support the amendments standing in the names of the Hon. Minister for Health and Hon. Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Labour. 5.45 p.m.”
“If their children do not perform well, they will blame the teachers, the school, the Hon. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, or even the Government. I also share the concern of several Members that streaming will lead to the average and below-average students having to live through life with a stigma on them, just like in the Brave New World. All these are implementation problems; some could be solved, others could not be solved. But in any circumstances, parents should be adequately consulted and their views sought. Therefore, I support the Motion that flexibility in implementation, particularly in accommodating the wishes of parents, be given. Officers of the Ministry of Education must bear in mind that in streaming, they are dealing with sensitive human souls, who have pride, esteem and feeling; they should not be sorted out like computer cards by a sorter. Similarly, the views and opinions of principals and teachers who are in constant contact with the pupils and their parents must be seriously sought. I therefore support paragraph (3) of the Motion standing in the name of the Hon. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education. Sir, no system is perfect; notwithstanding the tremendous implementation problems which have been discussed and highlighted in this House, the revised system appears to be workable. The solutions to these problems and the success or failure of the proposed system will depend largely on the quality, commitment and attitude of principals and teachers on the one hand and the understanding and co-operation of parents on the other. Much has been said on the low morale of principals and teachers and many hon.”
“The parents' examples are equally, if not, more influential. I agree wholeheartedly that the family is the most important factor in moral education. If the students are taught to be respectful and courteous to one another, but when they come home they find their parents using abusive language on each other, how could you make the students believe in what have been taught in school? Similarly, they are told not to gamble, but if mahjong ( ) games go on in their home every weekend, how can we tell them that gambling is undesirable? These cancelling games between school and family must be stopped. In moral education for children, we must also educate the parents. Finally, on streaming, Sir, I accept the principle of streaming. Streaming of students is better than the present singular system. We have provided equal opportunity of education to children of schooling age, yet we have to accept the fact that not all are equally good in learning. We have to adjust the system according to the needs of different categories of students with different capacities, rather than expecting all of them to adjust to the singular system. However, we have to face the reality squarely and that is streaming will bring about some undesirable consequences. As expressed by several Members, because of high expectations, parents will pressurise their children even harder, never allowing them to slip into the bottom category. I wonder how many parents have sleepless nights when their children are taking PSLE or GCE examinations? We have also to ask whether streaming will also aggravate the tendency towards excessive competition, and advance the rat-race to an early age. Parents will never accept that their children are inferior to anyone.”
“The Public Service Commission should try to channel more bilingual graduates to the teaching profession by appropriately adjusting upwards the terms and conditions of service. Members have raised many points on moral education. Sir, I simply want to make some observations. There is a basic incon- sistency in our system. On the one hand, we expect our education system to produce good citizens and people with good character. On the other hand, our elitist education system in particular, and our emphasis on meritocracy in general, assesses our people not in terms of their conduct or behaviour, but rather by their academic qualifications, performance and efficiency in carrying out a specific task. Sometimes, aggressiveness and arrogance are even regarded as signs of a strong and dynamic personality. Perhaps, this is one of the reasons why we have so often heard of white-collar crimes committed by our well-educated professionals. It is therefore gratifying to note that the Study Team has given moral education a rightful place in the curriculum. However, let us have no illusions. Moral teaching is not just imparting knowledge; even students could recite the "do's and dont's" in their lessons perfectly and reciting the stories of Yue Fei, Wen Tian Xiang ( ) vividly does not necessarily mean that the moral teaching is successful. The litmus test is whether these students have imbibed the moral values in them and have used them to serve as the inner mode of conduct, guiding their behaviour all the time. To reinforce the moral lessons they learn from the stories, folklores and texts, all teachers, not just teachers of moral education, should set good personal examples. If they do not even greet each other in school, how do you expect the students to greet them?”
“The remaining 41% of students in the ordinary stream will learn ELl and CL3 (Chinese as a Lower Second Language). All these are, presumably, aimed at reducing the load in learning CL. However, I am not convinced that the time saved through the lowering of CL will necessarily result in the improvement of the standard of their English language. What is more puzzling is that the learning of a foreign language such as German or French or even Russian, is even recommended (Chapter 6, para 2.1.1) for the top 8% of students. Sir, I wonder if these brilliant students have excess capacity and time to learn this extra foreign language. It appears to be too premature a move anyway. I think the Member for Serangoon Gardens will bear me out on this. In the graduate schools of Australia or America, we normally learn one or two foreign languages like German and French, and forget about them after the examination. It will be more fruitful for the top 8% students to learn the regular CL1 instead of the diluted CL1. What is really needed is not the overall lowering of CL. The solution lies in the building up of a pool of effectively bilingual teachers who have gone through the two systems themselves and consequently, know how to correlate, transpose and interpose the two different languages. If there are only few effective language teachers, the system will not produce many good bilingual students. Without the supply of enough bilingual students, there will not be enough effective language teachers and defective language teaching will be perpetuated. To break this vicious cycle, the Ministry of Education should try to retain the services of effective bilingual teachers, who could easily be lost to the private sector and other Government departments.”
“However, there should be a single, unified list of these simplified characters which could be universally adopted by the Chinese newspapers, EPB textbooks and other Chinese publications. Talking about Chinese characters, I have checked with the two major Chinese newspapers. The Managing Director of Sin Chew Jit Poh (SCJP) gave me the following data: No. of characters most 1193 frequently used No. of characters frequently used 999 _____ 2192 No. of characters seldom used 2939 No. of characters rarely used except in Chinese classics 2174 _____________________________________________ Total No. of characters available in SCJP 7305 ==== It is obvious that the Chinese characters frequently used number only 2,192. The Managing Director suggested that people who master 2,000-2,500 Chinese characters should be able to read Chinese newspapers. This is confirmed by the General Manager of the Nanyang Siang Pau, who informed me that the more commonly used Chinese characters in his papers number about 2,500. If literacy in Chinese language means the ability to read and understand what are in the newspapers, then the 60% of primary students would just need to learn some 400 characters in a school year, and for the remaining 40%, the number of Chinese characters to learn per year is even less. This is not an impossible task to achieve. At the secondary level, the Report has recommended the lowering of CL (Chinese Language) in all the streams. For the top 8% students in the special bilingual stream, they have to learn both ELl (English as a First Language) and CL1 (Chinese as a First Language) with the standard of the CL1 adjusted downward. For the next 31% of students who are in the normal bilingual stream, the standard of CL2, again, is to be adjusted downward.”
“Similarly, the learning of Mandarin is also affected by dialect. Tou xian, wo kan mei you ( ) is a direct translation from Hokkien, whereas Bao zhi you mei you mai ( ) is a translation from the Cantonese expression. Sir, for these reasons, it is necessary to encourage our students and young people to use Mandarin as often as possible instead of dialects and parents must, as far as possible, converse likewise with their children in Mandarin, if they do not want to hear from their own children the type of expressions I have just quoted. Further, for Chinese students, there is the complexity of written Chinese. It is true that simplified Chinese characters have created some confusion. Just a few days ago, I heard a secondary student reciting a poem of the Tang Dynasty, xi chu yang guan wu di ren ( ) (instead of xi chu yang guan wu gu ren ( ). Mr Speaker, Sir, for the information of Members, "di ren" means enemy and "gu ren" means old friends. The necessity of having simplified characters could also be demonstrated by the following examples: a student with a name Ting I San ( ) has only six strokes to write, whereas his poor classmate Kwan wan Fong ( ) has to make a total of 50 strokes just to complete writing his name. I counted the number of strokes of the name of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education. I think the total number of strokes was about 36. In the old days, one of the punishments favoured by the Chinese school teachers was to ask the misbehaved student to write his name 100 times. Just imagine how painful it was for Mr Kwan. Each time it is 50 strokes. On the other hand, if Mr Kwan knows simplified characters, he needs to write only 13 strokes ( ). For these practical reasons, I support the use of simplified Chinese characters.”
“Sir, the data on the differences in the median monthly incomes between the Chinese educated reservists and the English educated reservists, quoted by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education two days ago, only serve to further convince these parents that they have made the right and rational choice for their children. To encourage the learning of Chinese, Malay or Tamil as a second language (CL2, ML2, TL2), there must be incentives for students to do so. The minimum proficiency in the second language at the GCE 'A' level as part of the requirements for admission into University, and later, perhaps for entry into the Administrative Service, may provide such an incentive. However, it must be cautioned that in the case of CL2, these measures do not necessarily make it a living language. This brings me to the special problems confronting Chinese students who try to achieve proficiency in both the English and the Chinese languages. The use of dialect has posed a problem. The difficulty for these students is not just that they have to learn three languages - English and Chinese at school and a spoken language - dialect - at home. The problem also arises from the fact that dialects interfere with the learning of English and Chinese, particularly in sentence construction. It suffices here for me to quote a few examples. The Hon. Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Labour has told some of us the conversation he overheard between two nurses. "Johnny is the worst type!". "Why?" "He said he come he don't come type!". This kind of expression is very common. I have come across students from a technical tertiary educational institution using such expressions as "cannot don't go la!" and "mother don't give me come!".”
“Nevertheless, I would like to identify some problem areas relating to bilingual education, and make some comments on the implementation of policies and proposals in relation to moral education and streaming. The implementation of our bilingual education policies has posed a number of difficulties. These difficulties have accounted for the unsatisfactory results reported in Chapter 1 of the report. First, there is the question of incentives. We need not persuade parents how important the English Language is to their children. They know that if they want their children to have promising career prospects, and to earn a decent living, the children must achieve a certain level of proficiency in English. On the other hand, there is no such built-in incentive for the learning of the other three official languages. True, the learning of these three languages has been linked with cultural and traditional values. But, Sir, a deficiency in these languages, including the risk of deculturalisation, does not incur obvious disadvantages. I believe that many English-speaking monolinguals do not even feel culturally deprived. Personally, I know of a few English-educated Chinese who are even proud of the fact that they cannot use chopsticks because they are, in the words of one of them, "very European". Given the materialistic outlook, pragmatic thinking and the somewhat calculating attitudes of Singaporeans, we should expect and cannot blame parents for sending their children to English schools, even at the risk of deculturalisation.”
“The basic aims of-education are to arouse curiosity and interest in the pupils, to develop their analytical minds and to teach them basic skills and languages with which they could acquire knowledge on their own. The education system should not aim at producing "walking-talking encyclopaedias" as exemplified by some of the participants in the Science and Industry Quiz who could give the name of a biological object or of a tool instantaneously. Sir, based on the above two general observations, I welcome the recommendation that "the first three years of primary schooling concentrate on language learning more than on the absorption of facts" (Chapter 6, paragraph 3.1.1 a). I further suggest that during this period, the language learning should emphasise more on Chinese, Malay, or Tamil rather than on English, and that the mere acquisition and remembering of facts and figures should be de-emphasised as far as possible throughout the primary and secondary stages of education. Sir, the Report on the Ministry of Education, 1978, has re-emphasised the importance of bilingualism and moral education. It has also proposed the adoption of streaming according to the linguistic ability of the students so that different categories of students could learn at the pace most suitable to them. If we accept the importance of bilingual education and moral education as the objectives of our education system and agree with the concept of streaming, then logically we must accept, at least in principle, the recommendations of Dr Goh's Study Team, as outlined in Chapter 6, paragraphs 2 -3, of the Report. Here, I should indicate that I support the proposed revised education system in principle.”
“Minister for Health mentioned that the education system was supposed to contribute to a rugged society through extra-curricular activities (ECA). The first objective is the nation building aspect of education, and moral education is supposed to take care of this. The second objective is economic in nature, and our education system has been turning out economic agents or economic digits which have contributed to the continuous economic growth of the past decade. Bilingual education, the third objective, is somewhat related to the first two and is also needed to build a cohesive society in our multiracial context. Given our economic structure, our social and demographic background as well as the geo-political factors in the region, it may be rational for us to expect all these to be achieved through the education system. However, Sir, two languages, mathematics and science, moral education and ECA all compete for the limited time and energy of a child. For the system as a whole, we cannot expect the education system to perform these functions simultaneously and produce good results. Rather, priority of objectives should first be established. My second general comment is related to the educational content. I submit that our education system attempts to pump too much factual knowledge and information into the young minds too soon. So, even in the textbooks for Education for Living or Civics, students are supposed to acquire such knowledge as the use of community centres, function of Government clinics, the Constitution of Singapore and the United Nations and its affiliated bodies. Knowledge on these, though useful, may be acquired later.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I hesitated whether to use CL1 (Chinese as a first language) or EL 2 (English as a second language) in delivering my speech, but finally I have decided, for your convenience, Sir, and for the convenience of Hon. Ministers who have to plug themselves into the bench, to use my second language - Singapore English. Sir, my colleagues who have spoken before me have nearly exhausted all the points. Nevertheless, I feel that I should take a stand on this vital issue of education and make my views known on this Report on Education, at least to my constituents, Sir, I am no expert in education and have never taken a child psychology course. However, having gone through 20 years of bilingual education, and experienced two immersions without being suffocated, I feel that I could make some observations and comments here. First, my general comments and observations on our education system. Many hon. Members have mentioned that parents have high expectations of their children, but I wonder if we have ever paused to reflect whether we ourselves have also expected too much from our education system as a whole, overloading it with too many objectives and functions. Sir, first, the system is expected to produce good citizens and this is made clear in paragraph 19 of the Prime Minister's reply dated 10th March, 1979 to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education's letter. Secondly, the system is expected to give our students training in language, mathematics, science and technical know-how and skills, so as to prepare them for a career or employment. Thirdly, at least 80% of students are expected to go through the system and come out as bilingual as possible. Yesterday, we heard the Hon.”
“The library staff told us that before the ban, during the examination periods, about twice a year, the students would even line up one hour before opening time. Sometimes just to show their sympathy, the staff opened the doors slightly earlier for students to come in. As soon as the doors were opened, the place was flooded with students and all the seats were occupied. It always ended up with arguments and the staff members had to act because of complaints from the users of the library that they had no place to sit. I sympathise with the Member because, as I mentioned just now, I also face the same problem. I am always worrying about where the students from the one-room-flats in Leng Kee will go to. But it is not fair to ask the National Library to provide such a service. Just now in answer to the query of the Member for Kampong Kembangan, I did mention that we have established a committee. Hopefully one solution would be, if we can convince the HDB, to utilise the void decks as a place for the students to study. They can be run somewhat along the lines of a community hall. If the place is properly chosen, relatively quiet and even airconditioned, and managed by the Residents' Committee or the Citizens' Consultative Committee or the Management Committee, then this probably is one solution. Just now I quoted the figure of half a million people. It is not possible for the library to provide this service to such a large number of people. With regard to the specific point made by the Member for Punggol about reference books, this can be looked into. I hope he keeps to his promise to withdraw his amendment.”
“I think the Member for Whampoa has raised this matter in the debate on the President's Address, and at that time there was no opportunity to answer him. He has mentioned this facility in his constituency. As the Member for Leng Kee, I have more than my share of one-room flats. I have 12 blocks of one-room flats and they represent 27.5% of the voters. So I am just as concerned as he is. The ideal solution would be for this study facility to be provided in the schools or near their homes. Asking the Library to provide such a facility is not fair. It is a matter of priority. What is our function? We have to cater to the need of library users. Library users include school children, and the library is a place for them to use the available reference books or library materials, but not for their private study. In his remarks, the Member also said that if we were to insist that students cannot do their private study in the part-time library set up at the Whampoa community centre, he would rather go without this kind of service. At present we are monitoring the situation and we are particularly concerned about the use in the central library at Stamford Road. He may want to know that the number of seats there is only about 100 and many users, particularly the adults, have, before the ban, complained that students have been occupying all the seats. We find the situation in other branches not that bad, particularly in the mornings. But the point is that during school examinations the situation is worst. I have personally visited the branch libraries and the central library twice and my last visit was just a few days ago, in anticipation of the query by the Member for Whampoa.”
“For the information of the Member, as I mentioned just now, the National Library purchased a total of 84,991 books. The breakdown by language stream is as follows: Malay books 7,175; Chinese books 30,934; Tamil books 1,292; and English books 45,990. This represents an increase in FY 78 of about 9% over the total number of books purchased in the previous year, FY 77. The cumulative figures by language stream are English books 593,005 representing 52% of the total collection; Chinese books 329,969 representing 29% of the total collection; Malay books 143,247 representing 13%, and Tamil books 92,592 representing 6%. Books in the National Library are not grouped by educational level. They are by age groups. There are three age groups. For children up to the age of 14, about 35.4%. For the young people, the teenagers, from 15-19 years old, it is about 9.9%; for adults it is 54.7%. With regard to the composition of local and foreign titles, since the publishing output in Singapore is very low, the proportion of local titles for purchase is rather small. At present we do not have the exact figures but we estimate that the proportion cannot be more than 10%.”
“Parents are also introduced to books suitable for their children and are encouraged to help develop their children's reading habits by reading these stories to them. This year, in commemorating the International Year of the Child, the National Library plans to hold talks on book reading at community centres for parents. In addition, the preparation of booklists, book exhibition, story-telling sessions in the library and talks are some of the other services aimed at the same objective. The final point raised by the hon. Member for Kampong Kembangan is whether the National Library can expand its special service. He asked for more editors of local professional journals to publish new books acquired by the Library. Wherever resources permit, the Library has expanded its services. The Library, in fact, is urging editors of local professional journals like Home magazines and newspapers to publicise acquisitions. Editors of these publications receive regularly the library accession list of new books. The hon. Member may be pleased to know that the Library is, in fact, expanding the selected booklists to 18 this year. Last year it was 13. The Library, as I mentioned, whenever it can, has submitted booklists to target groups. For example, a book list on sports subjects has been given to the Singapore Sports Council and to sports clubs. Book exhibitions and talks have also been organised. With regard to synopses of articles, a lot of work or preparation is required. With the manpower shortage, the Library is not able to offer this particular service. What the Library has done is to provide an index of articles and periodicals. That is the best we can do. The Member for Jurong has asked some specific questions regarding the collection of books in the National Library.”
“For the information of the Member, a committee comprising representatives from my Ministry, Ministry of Education, HDB, People's Association and other organisations, has been formed to look into this matter of providing study facilities for students. 5.00 p.m. Just now, in answer to the query raised by the Member for Punggol, I also touched on the policy of decentralisation. I have also touched on mobile services. The hon. Member wants to know whether the mobile service programme can be offered in conjunction with the People's Association Youth Group and community centres. In fact, all the while this is what we have been doing. Under this scheme, the community centres provide the physical facility and we provide the service. Apart from that, our National Library also has a joint programme with the community centres, the People's Association and the Youth Group. For example, we have lectures for the public, loan of books to the People's Association kindergartens and training of kindergarten teachers with respect to a particular area, say, book development for children. The hon. Member asked whether the National Library could encourage the reading habit. I agree with him that the inculcation of a strong reading habit is best done at a young age. I think the primary responsibility should best rest with the schools and other educational institutions. However, the National Library will do its share. It will continue to help to promote the reading habit. An example of the Library's effort in this area is the visit of library officers to schools when requested, and pre-school book reading programmes for kindergarten children and their parents.”
“We expect-to purchase 90,300 books and also to make subscriptions to 1,810 periodical titles. The hon. Member mentioned about the change in the Subhead. The Subhead for the maintenance of books and repairs to books was transferred from the programme called "Collection Activity" to the "Loan Services Activity" in FY 79 because the job is mainly done by the staff undertaking Loan services. The amount has not been affected. It has been increased from $128,000 in FY 78 to $154,000 in FY 79. Coming to the specific points raised by the Member for Kampong Kembangan, in fact, some of them have already been answered in my reply to the Member for Punggol earlier on. On the Member's special question relating to computerisation, I am glad to report to the House that Treasury has approved the National Library's proposal on computerisation. It will be implemented in three stages. The first stage is computerisation of the Library's catalogue. This will be implemented in June this year. The second stage will be the computerisation of the Loan and Reference services. Finally, the computerisation of all other aspects of Library services. The whole project, in three stages, is targeted for completion by FY 83. The hon. Member has asked what is the present position with regard to the implementation of the recommendations of the survey which I mentioned earlier. As I have mentioned, study room facilities have since been provided at 44 community centres and 13 schools. In addition, study room facilities have also been provided in churches, mosques and other civic organisations. I do not have the exact figures on this.”
“The survey revealed that if the National Library were to provide this kind of service, then even with the expansion programmes up to 1985, the number of seats in all our libraries will have increased only from the present 1,000 to 5,000 in 1985. And even if all the 5,000 seats are offered to students to do their studies, they cannot accommodate even 1% of the student population. Of course, hon. Members will argue that not all the half million students will be using the library at the same time. However, even if we were to confine this service to the secondary school students or junior college students who are members of the National Library and allow them to do their private study, their number would be over 60,000. It is obvious that the National Library cannot provide this kind of facility; other solutions have to be found for students who lack a proper place to study. So far, as a follow-up of the survey, I believe 13 schools and 44 community centres have provided this kind of service. But I would like to inform hon. Members that since the ban, students have continued to use the library to borrow, read and consult library materials related to their studies as well as to their leisure needs. The level of loans in the three libraries which were surveyed has been maintained and, in fact, it has increased slightly. So the use of libraries has not been affected by this decision. The hon. Member also mentioned about the loan service. In FY 78, $975,000 was earmarked for the purchase of books and periodicals. We spent about $830,000 for the purchase of 84,991 books. The balance of $145,000 was used to subscribe to 1,804 periodicals. This year, we have a provision for the purchase of books and periodicals. It has increased to $1.22 million.”
“A full-time branch library will be provided at Whampoa Community Centre this year and the fifth full-time branch library will be ready in FY 81 at Bukit Merah. With this decentralisation of branch libraries, the need for mobile services would be less. The hon. Member has raised a hot issue, i.e. study facilities for students. The action to bar students from doing their private studies in the libraries was regrettable but necessary in the circumstances. Let me explain. Firstly, the primary function of the library is to encourage members of the general public to read or borrow library books or other materials. The libraries are not designed to provide facilities for students to do their homework or to study for examinations. For a long time, the National Library adopted a very lenient attitude which permitted the students to do their private studies in the library or its branches. At first, this did not seriously interfere with the primary function of the library as a resource centre to all sections of the public, children, young people and adults. However, lately, particularly during examination time, the situation worsened. Not only were all the seats taken up but students squatted between book shelves and in the common area to do their studies. As a result of numerous complaints from members of the public, the practice of allowing private study in the library was discontinued in September 1978. The Library's action was, in fact, prompted by a survey conducted in January 1977, as mentioned by the hon. Member for Kampong Kembangan.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the hon. Member for Punggol has raised three specific points: (1) on the mobile extension library services; (2) on the study facilities; and (3) on the loan services. The mobile extension library services are offered to 11 community centres. The mobile library provides a useful service to readers in the rural areas and in housing estates which are far from the central and branch libraries. As observed by the hon. Member, the majority of the users of the mobile extension library services are young children. In the opinion of our library staff, they are adequately catered for by the weekly visits of two to four hours each. On the other hand, the older children and the adult readers prefer to go to the nearest branch library where, as observed by the Member, there is a wider range of books and more services are available. With regard to the Member's suggestion whether books could be put in the community centre instead of in the mobile library vehicle, this can be looked into. But I think two problems can arise. One is security and the other, manpower. With the cooperation of the community centre staff, I think this can be easily resolved. With the policy of decentralisation of library services in order to meet the needs of the people by the establishment of branch libraries nearer their homes, it is not necessary to expand the mobile services. Indeed, as more branch libraries are established, there will be less need for such services. At present, there are three full-time branch libraries at Queenstown, Toa Payoh and Marine Parade. We also have part-time branch libraries at Siglap, Chai Chee and Jurong.”
“Sir, if I recall correctly, on 10th January 1979, in reply to a question (Hansard, Vol. 38,col. 69) raised by the Member for Thomson, the Senior Minister of State for Education mentioned that a total sum of $86,000 had been given to the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. I think the Member for Jurong, as an artist, realises that the problems of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts are not entirely financial. The major problems are, in fact, organisation and management. As it is a private body, we cannot move in and take over. I have recently been invited to be the Vice-President of the Singapore Arts Council. The President is the Hon. Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Labour. We will see what the Singapore Arts Council can do. But asking the Cultural Foundation to launch a rescue operation at this juncture is not possible because, as I have mentioned just now, the interest we can generate from the investment of the capital fund will only amount to about $30,000 by June this year. Even with the amount given by the Ministry of Education, they still cannot do much. I do not think the financial assistance provided by the Cultural Foundation will be of any help. I must emphasise that the problems are more those of management and organisation.”
“Sir, the Member has referred to the membership of the Appeals Committee. The Committee members are appointed by my Minister for a term of two years. The Member for Anson is not interested. However, if any Member is interested, he can approach my Minister.”
“Sir, allow me to reply to some of the remarks made by the Member for Alexandra. First, let me emphasise that the constraint faced by RTS is not entirely financial. Financial constraint is just one of the problems. In fact, there are other constraints. Let me quickly go through them. Firstly, there is the constraint of the form of organisation, and that is one of the reasons why we propose to convert RTS into a statutory board. Secondly, we have to import TV programmes from the United States, Hong Kong, Taiwan and other countries. We cannot dictate to these TV stations or studios what themes or stories they should produce. In many instances, we cannot accept these films. Therefore, we face the problem of supply. I will give a specific example. Taiwan produces quite a number of TV programmes. We televise the so-called Chinese drama serials once a week but, in their case, it is televised everyday. Many of these Taiwan films cannot be shown here for obvious reasons. One is political. They have a different political outlook, and the other reason is that some of the films are violent kung fu films. In the case of the United States, we have recently rejected a top-rated entertainment programme called Three's a Company. I think the hon. Member for Alexandra knows about this particular TV programme. I have shown this to the hon. Members for Jurong and Kolam Ayer.”
“- we could invite Members to a viewing session of all those cuts and probably the videotape on the well-known pornographic production of Deep Throat. However, I want to point out that we have never prohibited the exhibition of any good wholesome films. In fact, we encourage the screening of these films but we will not permit the screening of scenes that can have an undesirable impact on our population, particularly the younger ones. I hope I have answered all the questions.”
“In the last few months the Straits Times has published as many as nine letters from its readers and, in fact, the Straits Times also sent a reporter to interview all the members of the Appeals Committee. They came out with three reports plus an editorial. Last year, as mentioned by the Member for Alexandra, we said that we would look into it. We have studied this question carefully and have now come to a decision. We have decided against it. There will not be any film classification. The reason is that we are not convinced that a classification system will result in better quality films to be shown. On the contrary classification may encourage an influx of films on violence, sex exploitation and pornography. To satisfy myself, just a few weeks ago, senior officers of my Ministry and I went to the Film Censorship Board to look at all the cuts. We are convinced that at least 90% to 95% of those cuts ought not to be shown under the most liberal category of film classification. If hon. Members are interested - 4.15 p.m. Some hon. Members: Yes!”
“He is going to be here for two years with effect from last September. He is here as an expert in scenic design for colour TV. We are trying to get a script writer from Taiwan to conduct training courses for RTS staff. He was supposed to be here last year but unfortunately because of some delay, we may not be able to get him until the second half of this year. The Member also asked about the present status of the Training School. The proposal to set up a training school for RTS staff was first submitted to the Ministry of Finance in 197 3. Well, Members know the answer. Later we had to revise our proposal in July 1974 to meet the expected increase in costs and there has been no firm decision on this project up to now. I believe that in December 1978 we modified our proposal somewhat and forwarded it to the Ministry of Finance. I hope we can hear the good news sometime this year. The Member for Changi also asked a very specific question on the sub-titlers. We have altogether 10 such posts in RTS. The breakdown is as follows: Six English and Chinese, three English and Malay, one English and Tamil. There is still a vacancy unfilled. The qualifications for sub-titlers are that they should possess a GCE certificate or its equivalent with at least 3 'O' levels and are proficient in their relevant languages and English. But I am sad to note that the starting salary is $400 for GCE holders and $600 for HSC holders. These low salaries are not able to attract the right people, and that is why we could not expand this service rapidly. I agree with the hon. Member that this is a very important service but because of manpower constraints we have to put up with the situation. Now, film classification.”
“I think the Member is happy with the new format but he is not happy to look at the faces of some of the news readers. I think he is referring to one or two particular faces. Let me inform the Member that it is very difficult to find a good news reader because nowadays some people insist on the BBC standard of pronunciation. If the hon. Member has somebody in mind, who is good looking and can pronounce like the BBC announcers, please let us have his name. Let me answer the point raised by the Member for Changi. This is also related to RTS' programmes. He raised six questions. First, he asked whether the producers and senior technical staff have been sent out for overseas training. For the information of the Member, in 1977, RTS sent out 16 staff members, including six from the Programme section, six from the News section and four engineering and technical staff. In 1978, RTS sent out 20 staff members, including four from the Programme section, eight from the News section, seven from the engineering and technical field, and one from the Commercial section. For the first three months of this year, we have sent out four officers for overseas training. His second question is, is there any difficulty in sending out staff for training overseas? The answer is, of course, there is. Partly, the problem is money. Another problem is that there is a shortage of staff. Whenever RTS sends a staff member or a producer out for training, the manpower in that particular section is depleted by one. The Member also asked whether we have a foreign expert presently stationed at RTS. The answer is yes. We have the Chief Director, Stage and Design Division, Programme Servicing Department of the Japanese Station NHK to help us. Now he is in RTS.”
“As I have mentioned, with the financial constraints, this is the best we can do. In the case of Chinese feature films, sometimes we can get a film within three years of production from independent film distributors in Taiwan. Other Chinese films are controlled by two major film distributors in Singapore, and we cannot convince them to release the films to us earlier for the same reasons that I have mentioned for English feature films. In the case of Malay feature films, most of them are from Indonesia. Again, we are facing a problem here, and also for the same reasons. The Member also made some complaints about colour and black and white TV programmes. He said that the licence fee for colour TV has gone up to $54 and for black and white, it is $36. For the information of the hon. Member, the licence fee collections do not go into the pockets of the Ministry of Culture or RTS. We hope that by 1981 all the local productions will be in colour. As for foreign black and white films produced by foreign TV stations or film makers, we have no control. The Member commented on the presentation of news. I must thank him for his kind words. In fact, the improvement in our news bulletin is not confined only to the presentation or the change of format. May I just elaborate here. In May 1978, RTS subscribed to the direct satellite news-feed, which means that any major international event can be telecast within 24 hours. Previously we had to wait three to four days. Hon. Members must have seen the news features on the Sino-Vietnamese war or the riots in Iran soon after the event, thanks to this direct satellite feed. Another change is that we have introduced the news flash, that is, we break into the programme to bring the most important news headlines to the people of Singapore.”
“Sir, I submit that all these observations are very subjective ones. The Member mentioned that the week-end programmes are very dull. But I think 260,000 viewers of the programme titled Starsky and Hutch telecast over Channel 5 at 8.30 p.m. on Saturdays would not necessarily agree with that statement. Recently we have just completed an audience survey. The results show that both Channel 5 and Channel 8 enjoy a fairly good level of viewership on Saturdays and Sundays. Viewership for Channel 5 on Saturdays reaches a peak of 260,000 at 8.30 p.m. For Channel 8, the peak is about 550,000 between 9.00 p.m. and 10.00 p.m. On Sundays, the peak viewership is 220,000 for Channel 5 at 8.30 p.m. and 550,000 for Channel 8 between 9.30 p.m. and 10.00 p.m. The Member also complained that the film is as old as 25 years. For the information of the Member and of the House, RTS is facing a big problem in this area. The reason, and I hate to bring it up, is money. Let me quote some figures. RTS' offer of rental for an English feature film for colour transmission of 90 minutes' duration is US$330 (S$825). For a black and white film the rental payable is US$260 (S$650). These rentals are chicken feed, as far as the film distributors are concerned. They can screen this film in a third or fourth rated cinema for just one round, and the take is enough to generate 10 or 20 times that offered by RTS. So they are not willing to release these films to RTS unless they are sure that they have exhausted all the box office draws, and normally this takes at least a few years. It is not true that all the films shown by RTS are as old as the Member for Alexandra. For example, last year or two years ago, we screened a film called They shoot horses, don't they? That film was only five years old.”
“The existing arrangement of the SSO taking the form of a company is to ensure that the Orchestra has flexibility in the recruitment of talented musicians and in financial administration. There is no contradiction between the two funds - the Singapore Cultural Foundation and the Endowment Fund of the Symphony Orchestra. Corporations, other organisations and individuals who have a keen interest in symphony music and would like to see this flourish should be encouraged to give their support to the Endowment Fund of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. On the other hand, those people or organisations may donate generously to the Singapore Cultural Foundation which caters for the arts in general. Sir, for the information of hon. Members, at present large-scale renovation works at a cost of $3 million are being carried out at the Victoria Memorial Hall. We hope to provide a new music hall, rehearsal room and office space, and to house the Symphony Orchestra. This shows our support for the Symphony Orchestra. 4.00 p.m. The Member for Jurong has touched on the question of how we utilise the fund. I think I have touched on this earlier. I mentioned that we would not deplete the fund by paying out from the capital sum. Rather, we would try to finance a worthy cultural project by interest generated by the fund. I hope I have answered the questions of these two hon. Members. Now, TV programmes. I am a little bit surprised to learn that the Member for Alexandra, being a bachelor, can spend the whole week-end watching TV. His complaint that the TV programmes are very dull or uninteresting is a very subjective one. In fact, just a few days ago I had to put up with a Minister in the Members' Room for about 15 minutes listening to his complaint on similar lines.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, with your permission I would like to answer on behalf of my Minister the points raised by four hon. Members. The Members have touched on three areas: (1) Singapore Cultural Foundation; (2) RTS programmes, the pet topic of several hon. Members; and (3) film classification. Let me answer the hon. Members for Henderson and Jurong first. Sir, I am very heartened by the speech made by the Member for Henderson and also by the Member for Jurong. I wish to thank them for their encouragement and support for my Ministry in its efforts to promote cultural development. We have no illusions. The setting up of the Singapore Cultural Foundation is only the first step in our collective effort in promoting culture. I agree with the Member that the Cultural Foundation Fund has to be utilised carefully. In fact, it is my Ministry's intention to invest the cultural fund and utilise the interest generated to finance worthy cultural projects and to offer financial assistance to deserving individuals and cultural bodies in the pursuit and advancement of the arts. These include offers of travelling awards and scholarships. Our initial target is $5 million, but that is not our limit. At present, since launching the project three months ago, we have raised $1.25 million and that accounts for 25% of our initial target. But with the enthusiastic support that we have, we hope to exceed the targeted sum. The hon. Member for Henderson has touched on the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. As Members are aware, this is in fact the brainchild of the Deputy Prime Minister. The SSO is registered under the Companies Act. It is administered by a Board of Directors comprising prominent persons and music enthusiasts. The Singapore Symphony Orchestra has its own endowment fund.”
“It is only fair that in return, they are not regarded as mere digits in the system, to be analyzed by the systems engineers, but as sensitive human souls. We have been talking about inculcating Asian values. One of the traditional norms in Asian values is a respect for teachers. Have we all forgotten what zun shi chong dao ( ) means? 3.06 p.m.”
“We should realise that our educational system is required not only to train enough technocrats to run our economy and administrative apparatus but also to produce future leaders and good citizens. Viewed in this light, shortage of devoted and qualified teachers at all levels could prove to be equally critical in the long run as the loss of administrative and other talents in the public sector. I therefore submit that it is just as important, if not more so, that the subsequent revisions of rewards and salaries should also be extended to teachers at all levels. Of course, I am aware of the inflationary implications of the proposed salary revisions for teachers. However, what needs to be done has to be done. In order to alleviate the inflationary effects, the revisions have to be carefully timed. Apart from their terms and conditions of service, the social status of the teaching profession needs to be enhanced. Quite a few of my colleagues back in the University have complained of their unpleasant encounters of all kinds with our administrators in the public sector. "Academic" has been equated with "not practical" and ideas from academicians are too often and too quickly dismissed as "wishful thinking". Research and surveys are often commissioned to substantiate pre-determined concepts, but not to refute them. Such arrogant and unfair attitudes towards University dons and researchers by our top, and the not-so-top, administrators have to be changed. Similarly, at the school level, Ministry of Education officers and parents should accord proper respect to our teachers who have been urged to regard teaching not just as a job but a vocation.”
“There have been calls for more younger people, particularly professionals and intellectuals, to join the constituency organisations and participate in their activities and to discuss and comment on current policies. To some extent, there have been some response. However, definitely more need to come forward. The mass media, at the same time, could play a constructive role towards this end. I notice recently that the editorial comments of the major newspapers have been more stimulating and at times rather critical of some Government policies. The Ministry of Education has surely got more than its share. RTS has also telecast debates, forums and discussion programmes on the so-called "more sensitive" issues and topics. Perhaps the mass media could invite views on the more important topics from the readers or audience, providing a forum for serious and in-depth discussion rather than commenting on RTS programmes all the time. We, on the other hand, should be more tolerant of the different views which come in the form of constructive criticisms. We should trust our mass media men to know what are and what are not damaging to the country's image and its social stability. In order to retain the able administrators in our public sector and to attract young talent into it, a revamping of the rewards and salaries of senior officers in the public service are both necessary and desirable. By the same token, teachers at all levels - schools, colleges and tertiary educational institutions - deserve upward adjustments in their terms and conditions of employment. The quality of teachers is the most important factor in determining what type of Singaporeans we produce from our education system.”
“5%, it is doubtful whether the Japanese and EEC economies will achieve their targeted growth rates. With a lag of two to three months, our economy will perhaps feel the pinch in late - 1979 or early 1980. To partially offset the recession, the Government may have to intensify the construction programme of the economic and social infrastructures, including redevelopment of old HDB housing estates. The direct effects of the oil price increase on our economy may be felt even earlier: the prices of fuel and goods and services which utilise oil and fuel as inputs, including electricity, are likely to go up. Our people must be prepared to put up with another round of inflation and should further economise the use of energy and power. However, with the resilient factors already built in our economic system and the experiences gained in coping with the economic crises caused by the slumpflation in the world economy in 1974-75, we are confident that our economy should be able to achieve a reasonable growth rate in the next few years. The Presidential Address has also identified "the next political leadership" as one of the three key factors which "will influence events." Unlike the first two factors, this is an internal problem. Given the apathetic attitude and the apolitical mentality of our population, and bearing in mind the high standards required of our political leaders, it is by no means easy to recruit the right people into politics. With the possible crises lying ahead of us, the minimum acceptable standard (or "melting point" as it is called), required of our second echelon political leaders in terms of their capability, commitment and integrity should not be compromised. An alternative lies in the repoliticisation of our population so as to widen the catchment.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise to support the motion standing in the name of the hon. Member for Serangoon Gardens thanking the President for his Address. Since the Presidential Address on 26th December, 1978, the situation in Kampuchea has taken another turn. Another phase of prolonged, bitter and probably violent conflict in Indo-China may have just begun. All non-communist countries in the region are concerned. At least no one has adopted the attitude of Ge an guan huo ( ), meaning "Watching the fire from the other side of the river", as the fire could easily spread across the river. Our Government will try to find appropriate measures, through diplomatic and other means, in conjunction with other ASEAN countries, in dealing with this new situation. Our soldiers and civilians alike should be more alert and keep track of the developments in Indo-China. While we should have continued confidence in our future and not panic nor be unduly alarmed, we should nevertheless be psychologically and mentally prepared for the eventuality if the situation takes its worst turn. The plight of the Indo-Chinese refugees should clearly demonstrate to our people that it is better to sacrifice ourselves in defence of our system and what we have achieved for ourselves and the future generations than to be overrun and ruled by the communists. If the latter sad state ever occurs, the choice confronting the people will be either "to suffer or to die, or both." Our economy is closely linked with the economies of the United States, Japan and the EEC countries. Many economists forecast a downturn of the US economy and that it is likely to occur in the second half of 1979. With the US economy in recession and given the OPEC oil price increase of 14.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, statistics have shown that enrolment in English schools has increased and may continue to increase. With the emphasis on English in Chinese schools as well, it is expected that the readership of English newspapers will increase. There are, therefore, enough English readers to sustain more than one English daily newspaper. To answer the second part of the hon. Member's question, so far my Ministry has not received any application for a permit to publish a new English newspaper. BILL INTRODUCED 3.17 p.m. CENTRAL PROVIDENT FUND (AMENDMENT NO. 2) BILL "to amend the Central Provident Fund Act (Chapter 121 of the Revised Edition)", presented by the Acting Minister for Labour (Mr Sia Kah Hui); read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament and to be printed. CUSTOMS (AMENDMENT) BILL Order for Second Reading read. 3.18 p.m.”
“The extent of excess capacity could, in fact, be estimated by the difference between the number of taxis entering into the Central Business District before and after the introduction of the ALS. The excess capacity of taxis would be further aggravated with an increase in the number of taxis as time goes by. To eliminate the existing excess capacity, I humbly suggest that taxis should not be treated in the same manner as private passenger cars. In fact, the Road Action Committee has first treated taxis as public transport vehicles. Its document, entitled A Plan For the Relief of Traffic Congestion in the City (Page 7) stated that: "The following categories of vehicles will be specifically exempted and be allowed free access into the restricted zone at all times: (a) Public transport vehicles including regular scheduled buses, school buses, private buses with seating capacity of 7 or more persons and taxis: (b) Emergency vehicles, e.g, ambulances, fire engines, police and military vehicles." Sir, while some may argue that taxis do not have the same passenger capacity as buses, we must also bear in mind that at present taxis still represent the most efficient and convenient alternative means of transport for those who opt not to drive into the city. While taxis may not be given full exemption as with buses, they should be given some concessionary rates in view of the present role they play in our transport system. Also, some taxi-drivers have complained that they are not allowed to park at taxi stops to wait for passengers. Sir, I hope that the Registry of Vehicles could relax this restriction during the peak hours, thereby enabling taxis to wait at taxi stops within the CBD. This will also help to eliminate the excess capacity mentioned above.”
“Our Government also encourages people to save voluntarily with the Post Office Savings Bank and increases forced savings by raising the CPF contribution rates. Yet, Sir, when it comes to the motor vehicle, which is the second most important investment of a household, next only to the house or flat, the Government has taken a contradictory philosophy. It encourages people to abandon their cars within 10 years even though they might still be in good condition. Another consequence is that car owners may choose to intensify the usage of their vehicles without proper maintenance within the limited life span. By so doing, they increase the risk to themselves and to other road users when their vehicles are on the roads. Bearing the objectives in mind, the following modifications seem to be better: (1) the full ARF should be imposed on second and subsequent vehicles of a family or a company not engaged in public transport activities; (2) all first registered vehicles would be given a preferential ARF, based on their cylinder capacity, but lifting the condition concerning the old car; (3) all cars which are more than 10 years old should be subjected to an annual roadworthiness test by the Registry of Vehicles. The surcharge should be imposed only if the cars fail the test. Let me now turn to another problem and I am glad to note that the Member for Aljunied has made some remarks on this problem. I just want to add some of my personal observations. Sir, I submit that the Area Licensing Scheme has resulted in an excess capacity of the present taxi fleet, in the sense that many taxis remain idle during the peak hours.”
“According to the Motor Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) (Amendment) Rules, 1976, Part II of the First Schedule, a fee equal to 100% of the value of the vehicle will be imposed on vehicles under category (b) which includes private motor cars, taxis and business service passenger vehicles. At the same time, preferential rates (ranging from 35% to 55% depending on the cylinder capacity of the vehicle) are granted on application by the car-owner provided that his old vehicle could satisfy certain specified conditions. One of these conditions is that the old vehicle should not be more than 10 years old or. where the vehicle is a taxi, it be not more than five years old. For vehicles which are more than 10 years old, a surcharge on an increasing scale according to the age of the vehicle will be imposed. 6.00 p.m. Sir, the full ARF, by increasing the purchase price of a vehicle and its annual depreciation expense, is effective in discouraging car ownership. However, it is both inflationary and discriminating. It raises the cost of living and imposes hardship on people who have to use vehicles to make a living. Naturally, car owners would try to qualify for the preferential ARF. The conditions laid down for the PARF, together with the surcharge on old cars, however, are not consistent with the objective, i.e, restricting the increase in car population and alleviating the traffic congestion. Rather, these measures seem to aim at reducing the average age of our car population. Moreover, Sir, these measures encourage wasteful consumption. One virtue of the Oriental societies is "thriftiness." It is well known that many older people are even reluctant to throw away used clothing, bottles or cans.”
“Sir, road transport problems are part and parcel of the urban problems confronting most major cities in the world and, as an urban centre. Singapore could not avoid these problems. Moreover, since Singapore is also a city state, road transport problems have received much attention and ranked high in the priority scale of national policies. In the past two or three years, the Government has introduced a number of policy measures to curb the increase in car population and to alleviate traffic congestion, particularly in the Central Business District. These measures range from increases in road tax, introduction of Area Licensing Scheme to imposition of additional registration fee. Sir, I believe many people understand and support the Government's good intention to reduce the number of vehicles on the roads. Given the constraint of our land area, restriction on the increase of vehicles on the roads is absolutely necessary. Furthermore, traffic congestion is counter-productive; this is manifested in the unnecessary lengthening of travelling time to and from work, fuel wastage and so on. However, Sir, a given objective normally could be achieved by alternative means. In selecting the measures, their effectiveness in achieving the objective and their by-effects must be evaluated and examined. In this context, I would like to make some observations and comments on the two policy measures implemented by the Registry of Vehicles. The first is the additional registration fee and its related measures such as preferential ARF and surcharge on old cars.”
“In relation to this matter, the Minister has correctly pointed out that while workers must put in their best, employers have an equal responsibility to improve their management of personnel or of plant and equipment to increase productivity. May I add that it is also the responsibility of' employers to train workers and to upgrade their skills. This is particularly true in the case where the employers are the multi-national corporations. Our Government has given various concessions and incentives to attract these corporations; it is only fair that they should, in return, train our workers, transfer their technology and management techniques, thus helping us to increase our economic productive capacity. 4.20 p.m.”