P. Govindaswamy
Singapore
“Sir, the purchase of SBS shares should not be made compulsory. It should be voluntary. If a poor man were to use all his $5,000 CPF savings to buy SBS shares, he will not know what will happen to his shares in one or two years' time.”
“Sir, we know that Singapore Government Officers' Cooperative Housing Society has been in trouble for many years. But I fail to understand why when members write in for a refund, they do not even get a reply. Nobody seems to know exactly what is happening with this society.”
“In the past few years and even now, every Malaysia Cup soccer tie that is played at our Stadium, the tickets are sold out within hours and many fans are disappointed. Even ugly scenes have happened, to the extent that one soccer fan fell dead whilst trying to buy tickets.”
“If the Minister approaches the Finance Ministry for extra staff, he must press on with his request. Anyway, Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment by leave, withdrawn.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I have forgotten one point. Regarding the word "million". can the Minister please give instructions to the RTS staff not to use the English word "million" but to use the Tamil word for it? If they do not know the Tamil word for it, they can ask the people from the higher institutions.”
“The Minister must think it over. Mr Ng Yeow Chong: Sir, can the acting Minister give me an assurance that my request for the re-naming and for the re-location of the creche within the constituency's housing estate will be brought up when his Ministry starts negotiations with the NTUC for the taking over of the creches?”
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“But members of the Citizens' Consultative Committee do not visit the electorate, which is not their work. It is the responsibility of the Government to sufficiently inform members of the public of the new electoral divisions. We cannot make use of the C.C.C. We must take our own action; that is our job. We cannot pass the buck on to other people. We do not know whether the C.C.C, have discharged their duties or not. Therefore, the Minister of State must investigate to see how best we can disseminate the news to the people. Tuan Haji Ya'acob(In Malay): As I have said earlier on, Sir, those who wish to know about any changes to their constituency can get in touch with the Registration Officer of the Elections Department, City Hall.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I thank the Minister of State for his explanation. What he said is quite true. But the publication of these electoral registers is only in English. Not everyone in Singapore can read English. There are the Malay, Chinese and Tamil educated people. He has to consider about that. We do not want to be blamed for not properly bringing the attention of the public to the changes in the various electoral divisions. It is our duty to inform the people thoroughly. Tuan Haji Ya'acob(In Malay): Mr Speaker, Sir, we have community centres in each constituency and through them we have displayed for a period of more than one month, the electoral registers and asking members of the public to inspect their names. So we cannot be blamed. We have informed them through the television, radio and the press. Also, through the Citizens' Consultative Committees, we have asked the people to inspect their names in the electoral registers. Members of the public should take the initiative to find out under what constituency they come under. If they fail to turn up at the centre we are not to be blamed. We have provided them with all the facilities.”
“Any member of the public can get further clarification on the newly delineated electoral boundaries and related matters from the Registration Officer, Elections Department, City Hall, ground floor, St. Andrews Road (Coleman Street entrance).”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 0201 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1101. Very recently, school children were asked about their electoral districts. Unfortunately, many of them did not know the change in electoral districts. Therefore, may I suggest that more publicity be given through the medium of the press, radio and television of the changes in electoral boundaries and districts in Singapore? Tuan Haji Ya'acob(In Malay): Mr Speaker, Sir, most of the local newspapers have given adequate coverage on the Report of the Electoral Boundaries Delineation Committee, 1971. Some of them not only gave details of the electoral divisions affected, but also reproduced maps showing the newly marked boundaries. Television and Radio also reported fully on these changes. In addition to the Report, descriptions of all the 65 electoral boundaries were re-gazetted. Maps were also printed. The Report and the Gazette on the descriptions of the 65 electoral divisions are obtainable from the Government Publications Bureau, Fullerton Building, at the cost of $5 and $4 per copy respectively. The boundaries of the 65 electoral divisions are printed on 26 maps, and each of these maps costs $5, and can be purchased from the Survey Department, National Development Building, Maxwell Road. Furthermore, the Elections Department has already published the Registers of Electors for the 65 electoral divisions, and these have been displayed to members of the public from 20th December, 1971, to 3rd January, 1972. This was announced to the people over the radio, television and the press.”
“The Unit also advises the various Government agencies, such as the Jurong Tower Corporation, the Planning Department and the Economic Development Board, on various aspects of pollution problems and also acts as a co-ordinating body for all such activities. The Minister for Finance in his recent Budget speech has indicated that Government will allow accelerated depreciation over three years on capital investment in approved anti-pollution devices. This, together with the new tax relief measures, will cost the Government a total loss of revenue of approximately $3.5 million. This is in the interest of the people of Singapore. This should be an incentive to industrialists to act now by installing anti-pollution devices and so take advantage of this opportunity. This Unit is taking every effort to ensure that the air around us is pollution free, so that our people can lead a healthy life wherever they may live. I assure Members that our policy is to prevent rather than cure. On the question of noise pollution raised by the Member for Anson, I think that the Minister for Law and National Development will answer that point because it involves his Ministry, and is outside the jurisdiction of the Anti-Pollution Unit.”
“Mr Speaker. Sir, despite the anti-pollution measures that have been taken in Singapore, there is still a great deal of noise, smoke and pollution of water at present. It is a common sight to see antiquated-looking buses belching smoke to envelope passers-by and other vehicles travelling along their side. It is high time the Anti-Pollution Unit paid greater attention to these lumbering monsters emitting poisonous fumes into our atmosphere. During pasar malam nights and at hawker sites in various parts of the island, the generators that supply electricity are not only noisy but they also emit a lot of fumes. Record shops and stalls operating at pasar malam sites too seem to derive pleasure in creating noise. They are allowed to blare out music from their records at a deafening pitch. It is time legislation was introduced to compel record shops to install and equip soundproof rooms within their premises. The Hawkers' Department should note this, in particular. However, ample warning should be given to those offenders before taking any action. Tuan Haji Ya'acob(In Malay): Sir, I would like to explain to the Members concerned that the main concern of the Anti-Pollution Unit is air pollution. The other matter of air pollution comes under the charge of the Registrar of Vehicles, and water pollution is the responsibility of the Public Utilities Board. For the time being, this Unit is solely concerned with air pollution. In this respect, the Unit monitors the air for the various air pollutants in different parts of Singapore, and upon detection carries out enforcement measures under the Clean Air Act.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in view of the explanation, I beg leave to withdraw. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. 3.15 p.m.”
“It is true that the Prime Minister did say that he did not want a rise in salary. But now every worker in the public service is getting one month's extra salary as allowance. What is the reason for that? It is because the country is improving and getting more prosperous. The Minister for Finance has already estimated that there will be a surplus. Therefore, although it is most probable that the Prime Minister does not want a raise, can we not take some action in this House to increase his pay to something more than a Minister's salary, at least by $10 more? Tuan Haji Ya'acob(In Malay): Mr Speaker, Sir, I feel we are very fortunate to have a Prime Minister who very rigidly upholds the declaration he made two years ago, i.e., that he would not seek to increase his salary until the end of 1972. We are proud that our Prime Minister is a leader with a conviction not to smile unless the people themselves smile first.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 0201 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1001. Sir, our Prime Minister's pay has remained stagnant for the past two years. Whether or not "stagnant" is the proper word to use, I do not know. His salary has remained at $3,500 a month, while other Cabinet Ministers have been drawing a salary of $4,500 a month each. In the whole of Asia, our Prime Minister is the only Prime Minister to draw a salary less than his Ministers. When the Prime Minister first announced an increase of pay for his Ministers, he had reason not to increase his own salary. However, I feel that the time has come for me to speak on this issue. Therefore, I would request all my colleagues in this House to review this matter in view of the fact that our country is doing well. it is high time we proposed legislation to raise the Prime Minister's salary at least $10 higher than a Minister's salary.”
“Our per capita income has again been assessed as the second highest in Asia. This is largely due to the Finance Minister's wise calculations in the past, our Government's ceaseless drive towards industrialisation and, above all, to the success of our family planning programme. In the past few years we have seen an enormous increase in the number of quality hotels. Unfortunately, for this same reason the occupancy rate is only 70 per cent and in some hotels it is even less than that. To help the rate go up, there should be more intensive tourist promotion efforts, and other means should also be explored so that many more tourists will be attracted to Singapore. With these words, Sir, I thank the Minister for Finance for his Budget and express my deep appreciation and my congratulations to him.”
“Our national shipping line, the Neptune Orient Lines, has been rather shabbily treated by the Far East Freight Conference. When are we going to break the monopolistic and arbitrary control of our shipping by this foreign-based F. E. F. C.? We are an independent country and we should be able to trade with any country and with as many countries as possible. The F.E.F.C, should not dictate the terms of trade carried on by our national carriers. Since China is giving us a helping hand to break the monopoly of the F.E.F.C., we should carry on more trade with her and with other countries which show a concern for our economic survival. Our urban renewal programmes over the past few years have been going on at too fast a pace, and this has resulted in a shortage of workmen, and above all the shortage of cement. It seems that our cement factories are not producing enough to meet local requirements. There seems to be a good reason for opening another cement factory in view of further development that will take place in the years to come. The Prime Minister recently announced the proposed payment of a non-pensionable annual allowance to all civil servants. This is a good idea and is welcomed by all. However, let me point out that those who deserve a further increase in wages are really those in the low income groups. When the Wages Council make their recommendations for a minimum wage for our workers, we only hope that shopkeepers and hawkers will not have any excuse for profiteering. In the past, upon the slightest excuse the capitalist monopolists increased their prices unnecessarily. It is hoped that in this connection, the NTUC's Consumers' Association of Singapore will prove to be a more effective organisation than it is now.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I wish to thank the Minister for Finance for presenting his Budget and to say a few words. The happy Budget announced on the 7th of this month in this House by our Finance Minister has caught nearly all Singaporeans by surprise, not only because there are no new taxes but there are simply no taxes at all. There are instead six tax reliefs which will benefit most of the people in one way or another. We can boast that we are one of the very few countries in the world which do not have to introduce new taxes but instead grant tax reliefs for the current financial year. This is one of the happiest moments in our nation's history. Let me -offer my heartiest congratulations to the Minister for Finance on his very illuminating Budget Statement. In fact, Singapore's performance has contradicted the World Bank's predictions made a few years ago. Experts from the World Bank had then made a forecast that our country would face a recession and unemployment. However, the reverse has now happened. We have virtually full employment and the talk of recession has disappeared, with the boom condition continuing throughout last year. However, I note from the Budget Statement that our port is being used less for entrepot trade. That may be a cause for concern, but I am sure the Port of Singapore Authority would by now have thought of alternative forms of raising income. I also notice that there is no mention of the containerisation of our port or of its facilities for which a great sum of money has already been spent. How much of this expenditure is worthy of producing an income for the port is a matter for conjecture. Do we have a sufficient number of ships coming here to make use of our container facilities?”
“Sir, the Chit Funds Bill is a very commendable and timely move in the right direction and our citizens will be protected from the fly-by-night operators. Unfortunately, I feel that the requirement of a minimum paid-up capital of $200,000 for chit fund companies is too large a sum, as has been mentioned by my colleague, the Member for Jalan Kayu. This sum deposited with no interest is a terrific burden on the existing small companies which may have to close down and, as a result, this may affect the contributions of the existing subscribers of these small companies. Furthermore, clause 12 of the Bill forbids the merger or consolidation of chit fund companies. Therefore, I feel that clause 9 only helps the big-time operators to monopolise the business. I therefore suggest that the minimum capital requirement be reduced to a more reasonable sum, say $50,000 or capital with reference to the company's assets, thereby allowing the existing small companies to carry on their business. This will also give confidence to the existing subscribers of these companies. As regards clause 7 of the Bill, I wonder whether the Minister could include another condition that only Singaporeans can apply for a licence to operate a chit fund company, because these companies are mainly run for Singaporeans and should be managed by Singaporeans only. 6.27 p.m.”
“Sir, I am very glad to hear the explanation of the Minister for Health on the Medical Registration (Amendment) Bill, but many points have been left out. Therefore, I would like him to consider my suggestions. The Schedule to the Bill lists the universities in both Commonwealth and non-Commonwealth countries whose medical qualifications are recognised but no mention has been made of the medical qualifications of universities or medical colleges of India, Pakistan and Ceylon. This is strange, for in the past. Singapore has been graced by many medical practitioners who are not only citizens of these countries, but also local citizens who have obtained their qualifications from these countries. It seem& rather strange, because the United Kingdom recognises qualifications from, these universities, while we in the Commonwealth tend to ignore a whole sector of the Commonwealth and thereby lose an opportunity to take advantage of the brain drain from these countries. Furthermore, what would be the future of the present students who are in the advanced stage of their medical studies in the universities of the three countries? Looking at the Schedule to the Bill, it appears there are some universities. with which we in Singapore are not very familiar. I wonder how these universities have gained recognition, whereas not a single university of India, Pakistan and Ceylon is in the Schedule. Sir, I would like the Minister to reconsider the Schedule to include a few universities of the countries that I have mentioned, because there are many parents who are worried about the future of their sons and daughters who are already studying in the universities of these countries. 5.25 p.m.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I am very sorry. When I say "estate", I mean the Windsor Park Estate. The Property Tax Division has increased the valuation of the houses in that estate. I think the Minister of State wants more money and therefore the property tax is increased. I hope to get a reasonable reply from him.:”
“Sir, I have only one point to make regarding property tax. Formerly the annual value of my estate was $900. Now it has increased to $2,500. How many hundred per cent increase is that?”
“Yes, I understand his explanation. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Sir, I do not think we need this money unless there is expenditure involved. As the Minister of State has explained how the money is to be spent, I beg leave to withdraw.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I do not quite understand the explanation of the Minister of State for Education. Is this provision of $227,700 for the cost of furniture or for other things?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 1303 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 2244. Sir, will the Minister concerned enlighten me on the amount estimated for the Economic Research Centre? Can he also explain how the expenditure will be used in the Research Centre?”
“Sir, nobody cares very much for the civil servants because they cannot run away from a department after having served there for 20 to 25 years. The professional officers can all run away because they can get higher salaries outside, but the poor junior officers, with whatever salaries they receive, will have to remain there. Now legally qualified officers also come into Government service and therefore long-service people have difficulty in getting promotion. The Minister for Finance must consider revising the salaries of the civil servants because they are the backbone of the Government. If they work hard, the Government will also get a better name. Because the poor civil servants cannot vent their grouses, we tend to leave them out. Perhaps the Minister will consider the matter.”
“Sir, I only said that these licensed hawkers obstruct the road a little bit. My point is: these hawkers have limited space, and if they move their pitches a little bit, then action is taken against them.”
“Sir, I brought up the hawker problem in the last budget debate, and I have to bring it up again today. In the cleared areas when the hawkers slightly obstruct the road, the Hawkers Department takes legal action against them. But you find that no legal action is taken against hawkers in many areas which are still uncleared, and these hawkers make more profits and do not pay licence fees. I am not speaking against the officials concerned for not taking action against the hawkers. All I am asking is that, until such time as the whole of the republic is considered a cleared area, the hawkers in the cleared areas should be treated more leniently as they are legitimate hawkers, and they possess licences to do business.”
“Sir, I beg leave to withdraw. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The following amendment stood in the name of Mr Conceicao - (4) That the sum to be allocated for Head 1203 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1741.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 1203 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1721. Sir, we are trying to keep the city clean and our campaign has met with some success. But unfortunately we still find that there are certain areas where mosquitoes are breeding. In spite of the cleaning of the city, these mosquitoes are still active. I wonder how the Anti-Mosquito Unit works. Can the Minister see to it that the Anti-Mosquito Unit checks the breeding spots of mosquitoes more thoroughly, so that these places will not be infested with mosquitoes? I understand there are some new spray machines available in Singapore, and perhaps these can be used to kill the mosquitoes wherever they are found breeding.”
“Sir, in view of the explanation given by the Minister, I beg leave to withdraw. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“You give more pay and more people will come forward.”
“I wonder whether the Minister is aware that the construction of a new road from Sims Avenue, which is in the Geylang Serai and Kampong Ubi constituencies up to Jalan Eunos, has resulted in several drains being blocked. If the Minister is aware of the consequences after a flood, what steps and measures can be taken by the Public Cleansing Department to overcome this hardship? I am sure the typhoid carrier contracted the disease by accident of circumstances, but up to date no conclusive evidence has been obtained. What ought to be done by the Public Cleansing Department is to send the cleansing workers to take over the responsibility of maintaining a state of cleanliness in these two areas and, at the same time, clear the drains which have been choked in consequence of the road project now in progress. This should be done daily and not once or twice a year, which has hitherto been the practice of the Public Cleansing Department in respect of these constituencies.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 1203 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1601*. (* The same amendment also stood in the name of Mr Conceicao.) The cleaning of the Republic is not done daily, and there are places where rubbish and garbage are accumulated. Therefore, it has resulted in the breeding of mosquitoes and flies. Will the Minister take action to see that the rubbish and garbage are cleared daily? We complained many times to the Public Health Division but they replied that they were short of men, short of lorries and all sorts of things. The Minister must take action to clear the rubbish and garbage daily. Tuan Haji Rahmat Bin Kenap (Geylang Serai)(In Malay): Sir, I wish to draw attention to the recent outbreak of typhoid in Kampong Ubi and Geylang Serai. It appears that the Health Ministry shirked its responsibilities by putting the blame on a man who had failed to practise personal hygiene, and who had acted as a carrier of the disease, as was reported in the newspapers recently. I consider that such an accusation brings disrepute to the Health Ministry itself for trying to cover up its faults regarding public cleanliness in this area. The efforts of the Public Cleansing Department in the Kampong Ubi and Geylang Serai constituencies were very inefficient. Refuse was allowed to accumulate and became stinking, while drains were blocked. The residents of these two areas had played a useful role during the Keep Singapore Clean campaigns in 1969 and 1970, with the result that they are now imbued with the spirit of cleanliness and it has become a household chore to clean the environment of their homes. However, it is a matter for regret that the Health Ministry cannot share this responsibility in regard to cleanliness.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I quite agree with what the Minister for Health has said. But a professor from New Zealand has mentioned that even in New Zealand doctors in private practice are brought into the national health service for a certain period. Anyway, I do not want to prolong the matter. As regards student nurses, the Minister has asked me whether I have complaints to make. These nurses are student nurses. They are not trained nurses. If they are trained nurses and if there are complaints, we can send them to the Ministry of Health. Student nurses are still students. Therefore, I would ask the Minister to advise the heads of departments to urge the student nurses to be courteous. Sir, I have received another complaint about the nurses of Kandang Kerbau Hospital. It seems that they are rude to the patients. The Minister says that circulars are issued to the hospitals from his Ministry, and I ask the Minister to issue another circular to all the hospitals calling on the nurses to be courteous with the patients. Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“As a result, expenses are incurred by them for lodging, laundry, food, etc., even though they may stay near to the hostel. I would, therefore, suggest that staying in the hostel should not be made compulsory, because it will affect the take-home pay of the nurses. There is another matter which I wish to raise but which probably does not come under this subhead. Anyway, I will mention it, although I do not know whether or not the Minister will reply to it. Sir, with reference to the Institute of Health at Outram Road, it appears that the conditions in the vicinity of the institute are more like those of a market than a hospital. I wonder whether some changes can be made to the institute so that this hospital for children will have a brighter appearance. Sir, I also wish to know whether the Minister will consider introducing a health service system, as is being adopted in the United Kingdom. Mr Speaker, Sir, a professor from New Zealand a few days ago mentioned the shortage of doctors in Singapore. This confirms what I have told the Minister, that there is a shortage of doctors in the Singapore General Hospital.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 1202 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1001. Mr Speaker, Sir, there are some junior doctors who resign from Government service after serving a couple of years. As a result, there are no immediate replacements for the vacant posts. It appears that the student doctors who are in the housemanship programme have to consult the senior doctors every now and then. In the end they are a burden to the senior doctors. As a result of this pressure and if the senior doctors resign from the service, what will happen to the Hospitals Division? I, therefore, call upon the Minister to rectify the situation in the medical services, or else the standard in the hospitals will deteriorate. I understand that some doctors work from 82 to 119 hours a week. If this is true, how can they manage to continue in Government service? I believe that it is not financial considerations alone which have resulted in the resignation of doctors. It is, in fact, because of their poor conditions of service. On the other hand, if too many specialist doctors resign from Government service, I fear that the many costly instruments and apparatus owned by the Government will not be properly handled by inexperienced doctors. If that is the case, these costly instruments may turn out to be a waste. I presume some of the departments have insufficient staff when resignations or retirements occur, especially in the E.C.G. Department. Mr Speaker, Sir, student nurses should be given proper training in good manners, politeness and etiquette, because I have seen some of them not performing their duties according to the above standards. I also understand that it is compulsory for student nurses to stay in the hostel during their training periods.”
“Will the Parliamentary Secretary check up this matter on the Woodlands Home?”
“I was told that the people who are staying in the Woodlands Home for the Aged were getting $4 a month, but that they are now getting $1 a month. I want to know whether this is true or not.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 0901 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1631. Sir, in the estimates for the Printing Department, I notice there is an increase in the posts of senior officials. But I do not see any increase in the posts of junior officers. I do not know what is the reason. Perhaps the Minister can explain.”
“I presume that when the cameramen are sent out to shoot scenes, they have to take a lot of them. But then it is up to the editors to select the most appropriate films to be used on T.V. Most probably they may select only 40 per cent or even less of the total film shot.”
“But the complaint is taken note of and we will get our Tamil announcers to improve in their pronunciation. This is a problem not only with Tamil but also with the Chinese language and other dialects such as Mandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien and so on, because we are so far away from the original country where our ancestors came from. They brought with them their languages. But after so many years of use and misuse, I am afraid there must be some distortion in the languages. This is unavoidable. But we will look into this matter. As regards Tamil films in T.V. programmes which we telecast every Thursday and Friday at about 10 o'clock at night, they are mainly meant for adults and not for tiny tots. If they are telecast at a late hour, I presume they are feature films for adults. It should not affect the children because there are other more suitable programmes which they can watch in the earlier part of the evening. The Member for Anson has asked for clarification on why there was a report in the newspapers about T.V. cameramen who had complained about their conditions of employment. The main reason is that they are made to work harder. Recently very strict rulings were applied to the use of freelance cameramen. As a result, the pressure is on the cameramen who are permanently engaged by the Broadcasting Department. Furthermore, there were two or three cameramen whose contracts had not been renewed due to certain reasons. This made matters worse. And so there was this complaint in the newspapers. I would say that it is human nature that if you make them work too hard, they complain. That is quite true. On the use of blank films, I do not understand what the Member for Anson meant.”
“With regard to the Tamil television programmes, we have seen that the scope is limited. Most of the programmes are repeated over and over again. This applies also to the Tamil films shown on television. I suggest that they can be improved greatly so that the Tamil community will enjoy viewing them. I also notice that the T.V. cameramen are using a lot of blank films to shoot scenes in the course of their work. It does not matter if the films serve a useful purpose, but it is noticed that the films are not fully telecast in the T.V. programmes. In view of this, I feel there is a wastage of films which involves Government in unnecessary expenditure. I would, therefore, suggest that unnecessary shooting of scenes should not be allowed. Recently I came across an article on the front page of the Eastern Sun regarding complaints by T.V. cameramen about their working conditions. It was reported that the cameramen were certainly going to stage a walk-out. Can the Minister explain how such a situation has arisen and what steps the Government is taking on this matter? 4.30 p.m. The other point is that, of late there has been a lot of talk about price increases of consumer products made by shopkeepers, hawkers, fishmongers, etc. I wonder whether the Minister will consider advertising the official prices of essential products daily in every medium of communication, such as on T.V., over the radio and in the newspapers, etc. For I feel that it would be more convenient for the general public to know the official prices. Mr Jek Yeun Thong: Mr Speaker, Sir, as regards the problem of Tamil pronunciation, I am afraid I cannot participate in that kind of debate because I am no authority on the matter.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, regarding the announcements in the Tamil language, my colleague has already explained the situation. The Minister for Communications is not here now. He must, however, understand the difficulty of pronouncing Tamil words correctly. If he has learnt the language, he will know the difficulty, especially the pronunciation. Even those who announce in the English medium swallow their words. Some of the female announcers also swallow their words. My colleague has also raised the question of the late Tamil film show. I think the films are shown on Friday, and, as a result, complaints have been made because the Tamil people want to go to the temple on that day. If the film is shown earlier, the people will not go to the temple. The temple people have therefore complained that the film should be shown later in the evening. That may be the reason why the Minister has decided to show the film later, because the people can then go to the temple early in the evening and come back later and see the film. I think that is the reason why the Tamil film is shown late and my colleague here will probably understand that. I come now to another matter. What the Member for Potong Pasir has said about the Tamil programmes is correct. They are not up to standard. There are many local people with talent who are able to give artistic performances to suit the taste of every community. If we can give these talented artistes intensive training, the quality of the programmes over the radio and on television will be greatly improved. Some of the announcers in the Tamil language are not fluent because of the poor standard of local Tamil education. Therefore, I suggest that they should be given proper training in the Tamil language before they are appointed.”
“It is only a matter of translating from English to Tamil. That is all and that is not difficult.”
“But why cannot the textbooks be printed in Singapore? What is the difficulty?”
“Sir, that is not the point. The books are printed in Kuala Lumpur. But suppose a book is printed in Singapore, can we get it across the causeway?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Minister has not answered the important question on Tamil textbooks.”
“(4) Has the Ministry any intention of sending principals and senior assistants of Government schools in particular for refresher courses in good manners, politeness, etiquette, and professional ethics, so that they would not take a bullying attitude towards their staff, as is the common practice now? (5) When the Prime Minister and the Education Minister visited the schools, there was a hive of activities all of a sudden. Can the Minister, or the Parliamentary Secretary or the Director of Education make occasional spot checks on schools to see that everything is going on smoothly? Besides the above, there are inspectors of schools who are junior in rank to the Secondary School Principals, and yet they are detailed to check on the schools. It appears that the inspectorate has become a joke. Inspectors are on a lower grade than the principals. How can they control people on a higher grade? (6) It is a common sight to see overloaded buses for school children. The Minister must listen to this. Have the police made any checks on these bus operators to ensure the safety of the children? These overloaded buses carrying school children are a common sight daily in the Bukit Timah and Dunearn Road areas. I hope the Minister will have time to answer this point.”
“In doing so, I feel that the teachers cannot do their best in carrying out their teaching profession, as their minds are filled with problems to solve. This in turn will result in a poor output of the students. I wish to ask the following: (1) What has the Ministry done to ensure that integration in Government schools is taking place true to the letter of the word? Does the Minister realize that integration is not being carried out in many schools and that quite often principals of integrated schools themselves are not interested in integration? (2) What does the Ministry of Education intend to do to ease the load of extra-curricular activities particularly on the Secondary I and II pupils? These pupils have to attend workshop practice sessions, domestic science classes, sports activities, uniformed group activities, and participation in societies. As a result, expenses are incurred on bus fares, food etc, and the children are also being over-strained. I would, therefore, urge that the Ministry reconsider the matter and arrange these activities within the normal schooling hours. (3) Can the load on extracurricular activities, particularly in connection with watering of plants or gardening (the work of the gardener) be taken off the shoulders of the teachers? Or if a teacher is appointed to do that job, he should not be asked to take charge of other activities, such as the supervision of servants (which is the work of the principals); the cleaning up, painting and attending to the repairs and maintenance of the school building. How are the students to learn from the teachers if the latter are so hard pressed?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the education policy of the republic should be on a multilingual basis. I observed a statement in the Straits Times of 6th March, 1971, by Mr K. Govindasamy, a Colombo Plan expert, where he mentioned the need to improve the Tamil language education in Singapore. I am pleased that our Ministry has replied to his questions. What I am trying to bring up for our Minister's consideration is the Tamil language textbooks used in our schools. In spite of the fact that we have gained independence for five years, I wonder why the Tamil language text-books used here contain only facts regarding India and Malaysia. The teachings inside the texts have nothing to do with the history of our republic. Personally, I feel that the pupils in the Tamil stream must also be well informed of the happenings in their country. Though I have no objection to their learning the history of other countries. Mr Speaker, Sir, these are two Tamil books [indicating] printed by Manomoney Villas, Kuala Lumpur. Suppose we have such books printed here, can they cross the causeway? I wish to ask the Minister that question. Another point which I hope our Minister will consider is whether he can standardise the uniforms used by our school children. School badges alone may solve the identification problem, if there is any. I wish to bring forward this suggestion because I notice that whenever a pupil is transferred from one school to another, in most cases he or she has to get new uniforms. Personally, I feel this is a burden on the budget of some poor families. I would also mention that there are teachers who are asked to do jobs which are outside their teaching profession such as clerical duties and so forth.”
“No. If the Minister were to answer, he might miss some points. With so many Members speaking he can miss some points.”
“I have an amendment* here. I think I had better not move it. I will continue to speak under this subhead and give the Minister a chance to answer. * The same amendment standing in the name of Messrs. P. Govindaswamy, Yeo Choo Kok, Ho Kah Leong and Tay Boon Too reads as follows: (2) That the sum to be allocated for Head 0801 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1005.”
“-- is not wet. But he cannot stop his delivery. He must carry on in the rain - the mail must be delivered! It is most probable that the Minister is aware of all these difficulties, and as I do not wish to bring this matter up again and again, all I want to ask is this: can the Minister look into the postmen's difficulties in a more practical way, instead of being only theoretical about it?”
“May I ask the Minister to let one Assistant Controller follow a delivery postman on one of his bicycle rounds and see his difficulties? The Postman's job is a manual one. He must look after his bicycle, the letters, parcels and registered articles. All this makes his job a heavy responsibility. Further, if it is raining, he must make sure that his bag - 3.15 p.m.”