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 Amendment by leave, withdrawn.”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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“Thus when the artistes are selected and when they are actually performing the accompanying band at times finds difficulty in following the artistes who had been auditioned without a band. It is no wonder that the standard of production of Tamil programmes is so poor. Something must be done to encourage better quality programmes for the Tamil Section. Finally. Sir, there is a lot of emphasis on bilingualism by the Education Ministry. Why not introduce some programmes on TV in the later part of the evening to cater for working adults? Then we will be educating a nation of youngsters and adults together. Another matter is that when you tune to the Tamil radio wave band you cannot get the Tamil programme. All over Singapore the radio broadcast in Tamil is very poor. That is also a form of victimisation! When the Tamil people tune to the Tamil section, they cannot get the programme. The broadcasting section in the Tamil network is very poor. All the time we are fighting with the RTS and, therefore, the RTS purposely do this. This is because the Minister has no power. Let us see what happens to what I speak here today. Tomorrow you will see the result. They will still `victimise' the Tamil programme.”
“Somebody shouts at the sun. What is the use of shouting at the sun? The sun does not care. The one who shouts will suffer. Although I bring this matter up at every session of the Budget debate, no action has been taken. I feel that the Minister has got no power. On paper he has the power but not in action. There must be somebody in the RTS who is victimising the Tamil programmes. Somebody must look into this matter. Maybe some officers need to be called up to pull up their socks. The children's programmes are insipid as one can think of. The viewers are tired of seeing the same scene of children gathering round an adult and following the same rigmarole. Cannot the producers be more imaginative? Perhaps some of the imported programmes could be a guide for producing more creative programmes. Sir, it appears that there is no outdoor shooting for Tamil colour TV programmes as we have for the other language programmes. Why is this so? Why must RTS be victimising the Tamil programme? I cannot understand. After all the Tamil people are also paying Income Tax and paying the same amount of licence fees. Again the shooting of Tamil programmes is done mostly during the weekdays. And on Sundays the studios are not made available for the shooting of Tamil programmes because the other groups are using the studios. If the studios cannot be used on Sundays. then how can the Tamil section get the artistes who may be available only on Sundays because of the nature of their work? If this goes on, the Tamil section will never progress. Sir, I would also like to know what method is used in the selection of singers for the Tamil programmes. It seems that during auditioning there is no band present and the selection is made at the whims and fancies of the auditioners.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head Q be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead CAA 1101* (*The same amendment also stood in the names of Messrs Ahmad Haleem and Ch'ng Jit Koon). Sir, it is encouraging to learn that there will be more colour TV programmes in the near future. However, the chief complaint from almost every viewer of popular English programmes is the indiscriminate manner in which the advertisements are inserted between the programmes. One or two is tolerable, but more than 10 is unthinkable. And most of the time the advertisements are inserted during an important or exciting part of the story. Most probably the Minister may say that it is for revenue purposes. Yes, I accept that. But the advertisements should be screened before or after a programme. It is not only irritating but reduces the enjoyment of a programme. I would therefore strongly suggest that advertisements be screened before or after a programme or once during a programme. 6.00 p.m. If RTS says that we are better off in this respect compared to other countries, then I think they may not be right because other countries have two stations, that is, commercial and national. There should not be too many commercial advertisements in our TV programmes. Sir, the Tamil section of RTS still leaves much to be desired. The Tamil films are still shown on two different days at a late hour instead of one single day. The excuse that Tamil films are too long to be shown on a single day is a lame one. Further, to aggravate the situation, there seems to be no punctuality in screening times. Sometimes the films are screened as late as 15 minutes past the stated time. I thought RTS possess a crystal clock. I brought up this matter during the last Budget debate. I am very fed up about this.”
“Sir, when I said "quick action", I mean that it will take them 10 years. The Minister replied that he cannot promise quick action. When I say "quick" it means he will take another 10 years. That is what I mean.”
“Never mind. I was told about it. I am getting old and before I die I want to see a Singapore culture. When can we have a Singapore culture? After how many years can we form a Singapore culture? I urge the Minister to be quick about it.”
“When we talk of "from each his best, and to each his worth", in the field of art, particularly in respect of the RTS and its artistes, they should also have their remunerations raised. Otherwise how can we expect them to produce better quality stuff for our TV and Radio programmes? Thirdly, we should open up more training classes for our new artistes. On 23rd February, in this House, the Minister in reply to my question said that at that moment there were already courses for the training of local artistes. One was meant for adults and the other for children. Of course, this is a very good plan. I hope good results will be achieved so that in the not too distant future we will be able to see better local programmes. Fourthly, we should encourage civic and artistic organisations in our community to take part in TV programmes. The President has pointed out in his Address that we should develop our traditional cultures and arts. If that is so, we must try to formulate plans to effect this. We could investigate how many artistes are available. There could be many elites who are capable in this field whom we have not discovered. We should organise them and make use of them so that they can contribute their best towards the development of culture and art. Furthermore, as regards cultural and artistic organisations in our community, we should allow them more time and opportunity to perform for TV and radio so as to encourage the promotion of local talents in culture and art. There is another question I would also like to ask the Minister and that is whether he would consider filming newsreels on our local activities reporting on the various aspects of our life and progress so that our people can understand our own situation and progress better.”
“What is the reason for the shortage of experienced artistes? The main reason is that the pay is too little. We expect people to give more value than they are paid for. This is not the way to raise our cultural standard. Obviously, at present it is not possible to get such dedicated talents. The Ministry should give more reasonable awards, in order to get good talent. This is a prerequisite to the promotion and the raising of the standard of culture and art. Sir, under the Main Estimates of the Ministry of Culture, the allocation for the financial year amounts to $47.7 million whereas for the Development Estimates the allocation is $10.4 million. There is a decrease of $3 million in development allocation. Would it affect the cultural and artistic development? I remember the Member for Katong raised this question in this House two years ago, and the reply by the Minister was that the solution to the question of culture and art did not depend on any amount of money and culture and art needed nurturing over a long period. It is, of course, true to say that the amount of money spent on culture is not the criterion to the standard of culture and art. Nevertheless it is one of the necessary boosters. It is all very well to say so, but if people engaged in cultural and artistic activities are not reasonably paid, how can we expect them to give good performances? This situation has taken place in respect of TV programmes. For instance, for a TV script the payment is $99, whereas the producer would get $50. [Interruption]. This is too little. How can we expect to get a good standard of programmes? This is the reality of things.”
“I feel that more quality programmes on Singapore culture should be organised at various levels and distributed locally and abroad so that we can be culturally identified by others in a better light. Mr Teong Eng Siong(In Mandarin): Sir, every year when Parliament meets to discuss matters relating to the Ministry of Culture, the subject of culture has always been a very hot topic. This shows that everybody is very interested in culture and it also shows that everybody is very concerned with the development of our culture and art. Of course, culture and art is very important to the nation and it is particularly important to the spiritual life of our people. If we do not have sufficient cultural food then the life of our people will become lonely, devoid of spiritual and cultural content. We will be like people living in the desert. Since culture and art is so important to the cultural life of our people, therefore we must regard the promotion of culture and art as a pressing need and an immediate task to bring our people to the oasis of their cultural life. Sir, since our independence, cultural and artistic activities in our country have never been as progressive or active as our economic progress. There are several reasons which I would like to enumerate. First, the Ministry of Culture has not fixed or formulated any definite objective in the field of promotion of culture and art. Although the Ministry of Culture has stressed that it intended to promote the cultural and artistic heritage of the various ethnic communities in the country, no concrete steps have been taken to effect such a decision. Secondly, the Ministry of Culture is lacking in experienced artistes. The Minister admitted this on the 15th of this month in this House.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Ministry of Culture seems to be obsessed with the formation of a Western style symphony orchestra. May I ask: is this symphony orchestra really necessary? We should first and foremost develop our own Asian music, art and literature and not be inclined towards the West for our cultural development. It seems that very little is being done by the Ministry of Culture in the development of Asian art, music, dance and literature. And what little development there is, is the result of the initiative and interest of a few hard-working people who had to struggle against great odds in both financial and material matters. Should we not develop good Chinese, Indian and Malay music and painting in keeping with an Asian concept? Sir, what is the Ministry of Culture doing to encourage Art among our youngsters? The Young People's Gallery has become a museum piece of late. The few outdoor exhibitions were so poorly patronised that it is high time the Ministry of Culture did something to coordinate its efforts with the Ministry of Education. Credit can be given to the Ministry of Education for taking the initiative to open a sales centre at Hotel Premier. This is really commendable. Sir, we have in the past been talking so much about the concept of a Singapore culture of our various races. What efforts are being made in this direction? There seems to be very little motivation and drive in this effort. We do not seem to get many programmes on the Singapore culture. Even the National Theatre Trust of late does not seem to be in the limelight. What has happened to the Trust in its promotion of a Singapore culture?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I fully support the Member for Sembawang. He has produced facts and figures which I want to talk about further. What safety measures are being introduced in factories, worksites and shipyards? There does not seem to be a reduction in the number of fatal cases at these places. There seems to be too much complacency on the part of the employers and the Labour Ministry. During the last one year, there have been a number of fatal accident cases in shipyards and worksites. It looks as though life is cheap in these places, very cheap. Lately, the accident involving a mobile crane at the Senoko Power Station worksite could be a typical example of a possible lack of proper supervision, and the overall careless attitude to life at worksites. Human life is cheap' Despite safety campaigns, which are sporadic at the most, there seems to be no reduction in accidents involving the loss of life and limb at shipyards, worksites and factories. The safety units and factory inspectorate must really expand and wake up! There is a shortage of inspectors and they cannot sufficiently enforce safety measures at the worksites. Everywhere buildings are coming up, shipyards and other worksites. There are not enough inspectors. The Labour Ministry should increase the Inspectorate staff. Later we will then see whether there are any more accidents.”
“Sir, one point of clarification. The Senior Parliamentary Secretary mentioned that the booklet was published in three languages. I want to know what are the languages and whether Tamil is included.”
“Sir, work permits are no doubt supposed to be issued only to legitimate cases. But I feel that common sense should prevail in some deserving cases. We have a bad labour shortage in certain occupations, construction workers being one of them. We have no alternative whatsoever but to employ foreigners. Therefore, I suggest that the Work Permits Office should be more liberal in granting work permits for these workers. Similarly, there is a shortage of workers in domestic labour such as cooks, servants, etc. Let me deal with the question of servants. Quite often work permits are not issued to those who want to work as domestic servants. But let me put the problem this way. If we do not get domestic servants, then our own women who are highly educated and employed have no choice but to resign and stay at home to look after their children. Servants in Singapore are in great demand. They have become a very expensive and precious category of labour. A number of highly educated women are unable to work in the civil service, because they are unable to employ domestic servants. Their resignation is a great loss to the country. I hope the Minister will use his good offices to rectify the problem and deal with it in an amicable way. Work permits should be granted liberally and fairly to all races.”
“I quote an example of a contractor who has been awarded the contract for cleaning services in the Airport. This contractor has riot paid some of his workers for some months. However, the workers still carried on with their work in the Airport. Then to their surprise, they found that workers from another contractor have come to take over the job. It appears that the first contractor has lost his contract. He has still not paid his workers and he did not even have the courtesy to inform his workers that he has lost his contract. Some contractors never pay the salaries in full to their workers. What they do is to pay 75% of their salary and withhold the rest. Is this permissible? What is being done about these unreliable contractors and also contractors who exploit foreign labour by not contributing CPF or paying the right amount of contributions? Many workers do not report these matters to the Ministry of Labour, simply because some of the contractors have secret society connections, and they are therefore afraid of repercussion. Sir, we emphasise so much on productivity that we have forgotten where productivity lies. Sometimes, the wages paid are such that they do not encourage productivity. I quote an example. The Airport junior staff and the daily rated workers have to work in the rain and sun under very difficult conditions. Yet their wages are far below that of workers in factories who work in air-conditioned comfort. What incentive is there for the productivity of these workers? I think most probably the Member for Changi understands this matter and he will know what is happening in the Airport.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I wish to point out an anomaly that exists in the office which issues licences to foreigners intending to marry Singaporeans. When a Singaporean wants to marry a foreigner he has to get a permit for his better-half from the Labour Ministry. In these cases some applications have been turned down. Appeals were made by MPs and they were also turned down, the office quoting rules and regulations for rejecting the applications. But miracles seem to happen. These permits were granted through some other means. How is this possible? Is there some double regulation for the granting of these permits? Can the Minister explain this anomaly? Sir, turning to employment, it is observed that ex-convicts find difficulty in getting jobs. Why is this so? If they cannot get a job, what do we expect them to do? Most probably, they will continue to commit crime. We must not look down on ex-convicts because there is such a thing as turning over a new leaf. It is also observed that too many employers complain about job-hopping. Have we analysed the root problem of this? Do the workers job-hop merely for the fun of it? Because of a few isolated cases of job-hopping without good reason, we should not condemn workers for job-hopping. Financial incentives, family problems, distance from home, poor working conditions, and unreasonable employers could be the cause for job-hopping. In contract work. particularly, some contractors cheat the workers wherever possible. Yet these people go unpunished. Some employers in the various industrial establishments treat workers badly. Yet they also go unpunished. Blaming workers for job-hopping is not the answer. Penalising workers through NWC restrictions may not be the answer to solve this problem.”
“Sir,I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The following amendments stood in the name of Dr Lau Teik Soon - (2) That the sum to be allocated for Head M be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead BAA 1101. (3) That the sum to be allocated for Head M be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead AAA 4001.”
“Nowadays, we seem to hear numerous news about our connection with the other ASEAN countries. This is indeed important for our progress and survival of our nation and region. However, what has happened to our relationship with the Commonwealth countries? Sometime ago we had the pleasure of hosting the Commonwealth Conference here in Singapore, but after that we seem to hear less about our connections with the Commonwealth nations. Why is this so? Is there any intensive dialogue with the Commonwealth nations for the economic, social and regional benefit of our country. Or are we neglecting our interest with these countries? Can the Minister comment? Sir, in the Budget Estimate there is a sum of $82,000 allocated for Foreign Service Training. May I know what is this training all about, and who are involved in the training? Finally, under the Expenditure on Manpower, I notice that the Ministry is finding it difficult to recruit staff for our various overseas missions. Why is this so? Is there a barrier in the selection of the staff or is it because there is a lack of response to this Ministry? As far as I understand, there are many people in the civil service who would not mind offering their services in the Foreign Ministry. Could the Minister explain?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head M be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead AAA 1003* (* The same amendment also stood in the names of Mr Yeo Choo Kok and Dr Ong Leong Boon). Mr Speaker, Sir, it is a fact that our Prime Minister and our Foreign Minister are doing an excellent job for Singapore in their overseas missions. Every time they visit a foreign country some sort of social, economic and regional agreement with the country seems to result, and in most cases the agreement is more or less in our favour. Their visits have charted our little nation in the world map as an important nation in this region. This is indeed remarkable. However, I would like to know what are our overseas missions doing besides looking after passports, visas, and encouraging tourism and trade for Singapore? Are they advertising Singapore through our missions? Sir, the Foreign Ministry has stated that the major powers would treat our region as an "area of contest". Except for Japan and China, the other powers no longer regard Southeast Asia as crucial to their interest, as it once was. But then the major industrial powers are important to us economically. Their investment markets and their technology are necessary for our continued economic progress. In line with this statement. I wonder what the Ministry has done so far or what it intends to do in the near future for the benefit of our Republic. Sir, the ASEAN Secretariat in which Singapore is involved was formed sometime ago. I gather from reports that the Secretariat is not fully functioning in Jakarta. What is happening to the Secretariat? Is Singapore fulfilling its role in the Secretariat and, if so, to what extent?”
“(5) That the sum to be allocated for Head L be reduced $10 in respect of subhead BIA 1101. The sum of $187,603,620 for Head L ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates The sum of $62,460,000 for Head L ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates Head M -”
“Sir, as the Senior Minister for Health has given a long explanation, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“I have heard comments from nurses that while they are expected to present a neat and tidy look, the uniforms supplied to them are generally below standard. This is probably due to the acceptance of a cheap tender. Even the shoes are not up to standard. Some of the nurses, therefore, have to sew their own uniforms. Alternatively, why do we not provide them with a uniform allowance instead of supplying them? The Ministry could give them a uniform allowance of, say, $100. It is better that they make their own uniforms.”
“If the patient needs an ambulance badly, other means of transport is provided, in which case he has got to be uncomfortably transported. Having arrived at the hospital and by the time he goes through the administrative process for admission, it would be about 1 p.m. Thus, he may have to skip his lunch. Some patients have to go without lunch and in some cases, they would have already missed their breakfast, as they have to be at the clinic before 8.00 a.m. to beat the rush. In most cases, investigations have revealed that there is a shortage of vehicles to immediately cater for admitting patients. This has inconvenienced many patients due to the frustration caused by having to wait for medical attention. Sir, at the Maternal and Child Health Clinic and also at other outpatient clinics, whenever a resident doctor is not available, the doctor on duty is normally summoned by the staff of the clinic and he takes a long time to arrive. This is because of the shortage of doctors which seems to be a perpetual problem. Last year, 100 doctors resigned. What is the Minister going to do? He will have to employ more doctors. I admit it is difficult to get the doctors but we should stop them from migrating to other countries, Meanwhile, the patients normally small children and toddlers, start to cry for a considerable time at the clinic. Can something be done to summon a doctor early? Another point I would like to mention is that generally the wards and toilets in most of our hospitals are filthy and at times vulgar scribblings are found. I wonder whether checks are carried out to see that all the wards and public toilets in the hospitals are kept clean. Sir, most probably all the toilets are cleaned by the time I filed in my amendment to speak on this subject.”
“An emergency call was put through Control requesting for an ambulance for an orthopaedic case. The call was diverted to Siglap Orthopaedic Hospital since the accident occurred in that area. At present the ambulance at this centre is manned by a driver, an attendant and a nurse, who are on stand-by duty. What is alarming is how could these three people handle a heavily-built person from a high rise flat? However, in this home accident case, a heavily built man weighing 200 lbs, fractured his leg and had to be carried down from the fourth storey. When the ambulance came, the driver stood by the ambulance, the attendant carried the stretcher and the nurse followed him up to the flat where the accident occurred. They had a tough time carrying the patient onto the stretcher. Then there was the problem of how to carry this patient down the flight of stairs. The nurse could not do much and had to ask for help from the neighbours. But there was not a man around to help, as all the men had gone to work. So unfortunately the nurse and an old lady from a neighbouring flat had to carry this patient to the waiting ambulance. The question is: why is a trained male nurse not provided in all ambulances? Sir, again there are complaints of inadequate transport facilities for patients referred by specialist clinics to the major hospitals. There have been instances where patients who have been attended to by Government doctors in specialist clinics are referred for admission to a major hospital. A patient arrives at the clinic at about 8.30 a.m. and after consulting the doctor at about 9.00 a.m. he is referred to a major hospital. The staff at the clinic then summons for an ambulance, and this is where the long wait starts. The ambulance arrives sometimes at about 11.30 a.m.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head L be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead AAA 1003* (*The same amendment also stood in the names of Mr Ivan Baptist and Dr Ong Leong Boon.) Sir, provision has been allocated for improvements in nearly every hospital. May I know what improvements are to be carried out in these hospitals, and how would these improvements be felt when there is an acute shortage of medical personnel at the moment? Sometime ago, there was mention of a zoning system for the hospitals. I wonder how this is working out. I gather that the Singapore General Hospital still treats a lot of cases from other zones. Is this system really workable? Sir, the Health Ministry is aware of the plight of those who are over 60 years old, as they are more vulnerable to illness because of the degeneration process. Though they constitute 6.6% of the population, they comprise 15.5% of all hospital admissions and 27.4% of long-staying patients. The Ministry itself is aware that this group of people fall sick off and on and that hospital bills have to be paid whenever medical attention is necessary. Old people in most cases are not well-off like the others. The marginal utility of money for them is great. With the present high cost of living, medical bills are quite often a burden to them. It is a fact that a general reduction of hospital charges will not be possible. But I wonder whether a concession for the aged would be considered. I know of many old people who do not consult doctors because of the heavy charges. Will the Minister look into this matter? Sir, there is a shortage of male nurses or manpower in certain hospitals or clinics. Just to quote an incident.”
“Sir, in view of the explanation of the Minister, I beg leave to withdraw. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head K be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead BAA 1101. May I ask what useful functions the Outward Bound School is involved in? I remember a few years ago this school was well known for producing people with leadership qualities. The training offered was such that those who went through its programmes or courses learned a great deal. Of late, it seems to me this school is lagging behind in the production of leadership material, It is this leadership material that we require very badly in our community centres, schools, vocational institutes, and tertiary institutions. Could we not send students and teachers in the various schools, institutions and tertiary institutions to the Outward Bound School so that we can have a corps of good leaders?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Minister of Defence said that I was wrong. Regarding the national service reservist who was from the Special Constabulary, he has already undergone training. Now that he is working in a statutory board, he has been asked to go for training again. This is unreasonable. Most probably I am wrong, or the Minister is wrong. I do not know.”
“I suggest that in future, any instruction issued by the CMPB should be very clear and specific and not vague which may result in unnecessary time and stationery being wasted on communication. Sometimes because of this, the original standing instruction may be distorted. 3.15 p.m.”
“Basically, even the Government does not encourage these habits and here in the army we find our youths merrily drinking and smoking. I have to say this because in later years if the boys indulge in excessive drinking and smoking and become a nuisance to society, the parents would definitely blame the army. When they drink and smoke, the army would not be run properly also. Sir, touching on the make-up pay for national service reservists who have been posted to the Army, Special Constabulary and Vigilante Corps, there seems to be some confusion in financial matters. Some get allowances and others get a remuneration, depending on whether he is in the Army, Special Constabulary or the Vigilante Corps. For instance, it is gathered that a national serviceman in the Special Constabulary who has to be on duty outside normal office hours will receive an allowance. He will be permitted to retain this allowance without any deduction from the salary for the period of his Army duty. When he is called up for in-camp training, he will receive a remuneration and not an allowance. And his normal salary will be deducted from the remuneration and paid the difference, whichever is the greater. But those in the Vigilante Corps get an allowance for in-camp training, and their salaries are not affected at all. Why is there no standard rule for the various services? Can the Minister explain? Sir, when the Ministry issues instructions relating to national service, it does not specify the shift hours; instead it uses a vague term like "normal office hours" which causes confusion to those departments which have shift workers. This results in unnecessary communication with the Central Manpower Base for further information and clarification, especially when money is involved.”
“However, due to pressure of shift duties and private studies, he was unable to continue service with the Special Constabulary and he ultimately resigned in 1968. Currently, he is working in a statutory board where his presence is required in times of emergency. Besides having to work on shift duties, he is also pursuing private studies for a promotion. Therefore, he would like to know whether consideration would be given for his past performance. I wonder whether an exception could be made for such cases. There is another case of a breadwinner of a family who passed away recently. The widow, a housewife now has to look after five children. The eldest-son has been serving full-time national service for the last one year. Can consideration be given for the boy to be discharged from national service, so that he could seek employment to help the family financially? Can the Minister reply to this? Sir, parents have now more or less accepted the concept of national service. But then I have received numerous complaints from parents that their boys have been spoilt after being enlisted for national service. Many of them indulge in undesirable habits like drinking and smoking which they never knew before they were called up. The Minister may blame the parents for their sons' behaviour. But then we cannot expect the parents to know what is actually happening in the camps. I understand that drinks and cigarettes are sold cheaply in the camps and this could be the reason why the boys indulge in these bad habits. When I say "bad habits". I do not mean that an individual should not drink or smoke. I believe that acquiring these habits at a very young age, and especially in the army, could be considered as anti-social.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, national service was introduced sometime in 1967. During the initial period a few batches of recruits were sent to the 1st SIR for three months training and were absorbed into the People's Defence Force. Subsequently, after a couple of years when they were performing part-time service, some of these recruits were transferred to the Special Constabulary. There is a standing instruction saying that those affected by national service must compulsorily perform part-time national service for 12 years or until they reach 40 years of age, whichever is the later after having completed full-time national service. I have received complaints from many national service reservists, who had been transferred to the Special Constabulary, that they were told that the period reckoned for part-time national service would commence from the time they were transferred to the Special Constabulary. Can the Minister enlighten the House on this point? I also understand that there are rumours that the part-time performance of reservists who have reached the age of 40 years has been abolished. Is this true? Could the Minister clarify this point? Sir, I wonder whether exemption from part-time national service would be considered for a person who has passed the call-up age but who is called up because of his employment in the civil service. There is the case of a person who wrote to the Central Manpower Base that he had served in the Special Constabulary for a period of six years from 1962 to 1968 and that he had undergone all the basic police training at the Police Academy and that he was in active service during the riots, the civil disturbances and other emergencies during that time.”
“Some departments of the same ministry are scattered all over the island. These can be centralised, thereby reducing the manpower. Furthermore, the buildings of some Ministries and Government departments could be "touched" up. The Health Ministry in Palmer Road, which is supposed to care after the sick, is an example of a sickly looking building. Finally, it is the hope of the people of Singapore that our wise Finance Minister will continue to introduce future budgets with less pain and no new taxes. Let us ride the waves of "turbulence in international economy" smoothly and comfortably, as the people have shown their faith in a PAP Singapore. There is, Sir, a Tamil poet who wrote a poem which reads lyarralum Eattalum Kathalum Katha Vakuthalum Vallathu Arasu This most famous poet wrote this poem 2,000 years ago, on how to run the government. The poem contains two lines only, but the explanation may take one full page. The translation is: To explore better ways for revenue, To save and safeguard the same, And to spend it wisely, Is the duty of the government. 4.00 p.m.”
“That is the view of the general public of Singapore. Unfortunately there are some black sheep in the civil service who through their actions bring disrepute to the departments concerned and thereby create frustrations to the public at large. Although courtesy is a by-word, there are some who show courtesy without intending to be courteous. Casting commands and unsmiling faces of officers who deal with the public bring about a picture of authority without humanity. The human element of sympathy and politeness is missing in a number of civil servants who have daily dealings with the public, and above all in dealings among themselves. Perhaps a campaign "Courtesy begets courtesy" should be introduced in the civil service. It is pointless to point out the efficiency of our civil service if our civil servants end up as clock watchers. In most departments the staff do not serve the public beyond the stipulated times. Travelling in Singapore roads is not easy. It is time-consuming and, therefore, when a person has travelled miles just to pay a fee to a particular office is not served when he is only 30 seconds late, shows a lack of humanity by the department. It only earns disrepute. Sir, since those above 60 years of age, forming 6.6% of the population, are people who are likely to get unwell more often due to the degenerating process, it is time we considered the plight of these people. Our hospital charges are not low to this group of people. Most of them are not well off. Could not a reduced rate of fees be introduced to these people, so that their meagre earnings will not be eaten away by hospital charges? Sir, a picture of efficiency, neatness, and honesty in the civil service could be extended further.”
“A serious study should be made to rectify this anomaly, either to increase the staff, equipment or lines, whatever it may be. Sir, rewards to efficient workers are commendable. How is productivity measured at present? Has the National Productivity Board drawn up guidelines on the output per worker in industries? The lower income group workers, particularly the daily rated, find it extremely difficult to meet their expenses. Productivity-wise, some of the output of the daily-rated workers is greater than the factory workers. Vet the factory workers may get more for less effort done. As for the civil servant, promotions are based on merit and not on allocated grades of appointment. It is a wise move, but what safeguards are there for aspiring civil servants who cannot be promoted because of their superior's attitudes or bias? Unfortunately some civil servants have been in acting posts for too long, and they gain neither financial remuneration nor peace of mind, for they do not know whether they will be promoted or even demoted. Sir, in the civil service the idea of reduced-leave allowance was introduced more or less to help the officer whose annual leave was forfeited because of a need for their valuable services in the office. However, what the Finance Ministry has done to retain the service of civil servants is being undone by the Ministry of Defence by its compulsory annual in-camp training of officers in the national service. Valuable manpower is lost during these annual in-camp training sessions, and sometimes the absence of a badly needed officer can upset work in an office and bring about a chain reaction of indecisions. Precious time and money is lost through badly organised and conducted in-camp training sessions. Sir, our civil service is commendably efficient.”
“But, of late, in the last few years particularly, we have seen too many people migrating to other countries. We will be like the proverbial ostrich that buries its head in the sand if we just say "Good riddance to bad rubbish". Have we found the root cause of migration? Not all of them migrate because the grass is greener on the other side. Do people with the "brains" migrate because of our educational system, or is it because of job dissatisfaction, or is it because financially the jobs are non-remunerative, or is it because they have been by-passed in a promotion exercise by persons who should not have been there in the first place? Let us find the causes and remedy the situation so as to retain our brains here. Sir, of late, there has been a lot of communist infiltration in Singapore through their lackeys. No doubt the ISD is doing a good job tracking down these traitors in Singapore. But then the work of the ISD could be supplemented by a "Board" which could check infiltration by communist agents, particularly in the Army, the schools and the tertiary institutions. No doubt a few have been exposed, but then, like a cancerous growth, there are many who have not been apprehended yet. Turning to a matter relating to Finance, I wish to bring to the attention of this House the poor telephone service in Government departments and statutory boards. Many departments have antiquated switch-boards, and it is practically impossible to telephone through. Most of the time we find that no one answers the call. In the world of business, time is money. To a businessman who cannot telephone through to a Government department means time wasted and money lost. It is time we did something to this part of the service, although we may be proud of our 374,000 lines.”
“However, continuous vigilance is necessary as profiteering elements are only waiting to make a quick buck, given the slightest opportunity. Sir, we are getting the tourists that we badly need. However, I wonder whether the infrastructure is ready to meet this influx of tourists. Too often there have been complaints from tourists about poor taxi services at the airport, poor bus transport system for tours offered by tour companies and, worst of all, cheating by some taxi drivers and shopkeepers. What measures are being taken to control these anti-social elements who bring a bad name for Singapore? It must not be forgotten that tourism is an important source of foreign exchange. It is good to hear that Singapore will probably become a convention centre. However, there seems to be little liaison among the hotels to ensure that convention business is evenly distributed among them. In developing tourism and encouraging tourists, we notice that quite often the local people are forgotten in the use of facilities meant for tourists. Sir, according to the forecast, Singapore's performance will be slowed down this year because of external circumstances. However, we too can adjust to these circumstances by conserving our expenditure in certain fields. There is too much wastage in personnel, material and energy in too many departments. For example, street lighting is changed too often because of modification, alterations, etc., wastage in stationery because of unnecessary correspondence, and too many persons doing a simple job such as installing a gas cooker in a home, etc. All this and many more can be trimmed. Let us cut our coat according to our cloth. Sir, Singapore has been considered a brain centre. We train people for the various services.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir. this year again we see a near painless budget being introduced by the Finance Minister. My repeating this is necessary, although it may sound like a "cliche", when other countries of the world are suffering from inflation and introducing taxes that cut deeply into the wage-earners pocket, we have overcome this problem through an efficient, honest Government, and an industrious people. Although only two existing taxes have been increased slightly, they are justified in the light of the four tax concessions that are being introduced The tax increases are meant to lessen the cost of our development expenditure and they are non-essential items which will cost only a little extra for a booze or a puff. The concession in estate duty and the concession on tax for pensioners are long overdue, Home ownership will become a practical reality and not a source of worry to a family that suddenly loses its breadwinner. Pensioners will sigh with relief. considering that too many of them have seen a continuous erosion of their pension through inflation in commodity prices. The tax concession on earnings from the Asian Dollar Market operations and on reinsurance business will further strengthen Singapore as a financial centre. Although this modest budget is the result of the diligence and excellent planning of our Finance Minister, however, we must thank our lucky stars that the world has not suffered too much from inflation in 1 976. We should keep our fingers crossed and may we offer prayers and hope that the present dispute among the OPEC countries will not result in another world recession. The people of Singapore appreciate a great deal the Government's anti-profiteering measures which have controlled commodity prices a great deal.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Minister has not answered my question. He has only said that national service registration is announced over radio, TV and the newspapers. What I want is that those minor citizens who reach the age of 21 years must be reminded to take the oath of allegiance. I want this reminder published in the press and carried over the radio and TV.”
“Sir, as regards national service registration, it is published in the papers, announced over the radio and TV that everybody affected must register during the stated periods. Why is it, therefore, that minor citizens who reach 21 years of age are not reminded to take the oath?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, a supplementary question. It may be a small group of persons doing this business. But does not the Government accept the fact that that university is under the control of the Government of the United Kingdom? Why do we allow them to accept him? That Government should stop him. An hon. Member: He has got friends there.”
“Then we can bring this matter up at a meeting of Commonwealth countries. If we say that Tan Wah Piow's case is a very small matter, another case will come up. Whether or not, it will be considered at a meeting of Commonwealth countries, we should seek their assistance. What is the use of being in the Commonwealth if they are not cooperating with us? They are going against us. Tan Wah Piow has been accepted by them. They should know that Singapore is a member of the Commonwealth. They should do something about it. The Foreign Minister should take immediate action on this matter. It may be a very small matter but in future it may be a big affair. Singapore must be very careful.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, there is only one question I want to ask. We are a member of the Commonwealth, are we not? Some hon. Members: Yes.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Tamil students are not allowed to register in the schools. So how can we get the Tamil students? We must allow them to register. But we do not allow them to be registered. It says, "Only Malay or Chinese".”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the hon. Senior Minister of State for Education made mention of Chinese and Malay languages, but he did not mention about the Tamil language. I want to know why he did not make mention of the Tamil language. The Junior Colleges will introduce second language as an entrance requirement. Will Tamil be included? If there is no mention of it, then the Tamil language will lose its status in Singapore. The Senior Minister has talked about multi-racial society and multicultural society, but he is not carrying out what he has stated.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the main aim in education is to strengthen moral and civic education. Whilst every effort is being done to raise the quality of education in the Republic, a close watch should be made at our schools where there are too many drop-outs, drug addicts, gangsters and all those undesirable acts. These schools require a cleansing operation. I received a complaint from a father that every day his son has been asking for money and if he does not give him any money, his son would beat him. The father reported this to the police and his son was arrested. The son was locked up for one day but was released on the next day. I feel that a proper re education programme must be carried out. Finally, the Prime Minister has to be praised for his fruitful visits to different countries on goodwill tours. He has done a great deal to promote trade and international understanding for Singapore. It is welcoming to hear that we are encouraging and expecting more tourists to visit Singapore. However, the transportation service that is required to cope with an increased influx of tourists seems rather inadequate. Taxis and tour buses should be easily available for the tours. Sir, on behalf of the people of Anson Constituency, I would like to express our high esteem for the President's Speech delivered at the opening of this Parliament. 5.43 p.m.”
“Proper instructions should be outlined to the effect that the right officer who has the experience and qualification should be in the right place and not a green-horn. Sir, some years ago certain statutory bodies gave their employees who were in the Pension Scheme the opportunity to opt for the CPF scheme. This, in fact, was a wise move and many officers made use of the CPF to purchase HDB flats. However, those who did not opt at that time had some reservations for many personal reasons. Perhaps a second offer of an option should be considered because now that some time has passed the majority have already made up their mind either to stay on in the Pension Scheme or to opt for CPF in order to get help in the purchase of HDB flats. This option would also help in the computation of the benefits when a person retires from service. Speaking of CPF, I wonder whether consideration could be given for employees to utilise their funds in the CPF to buy flats built by statutory bodies. If this service is extended to them the occupancy rate of flats built by the statutory bodies for their employees would be far better than what it is at the moment. Sir, of late there has been a lot of exposure of traitors in our midst, Although some of them have been detected, detained and released, there seems to be some hard-cores who do not repent. Is there any proper reeducation programme being carried out? The ISD is doing a good job in tracking these elements, many of whom have been brought to book. But what about those not detected or those who will be misled by the hardcore? The Home Affairs, Defence and Education Ministries should work very closely to check these anti-national elements at the grass-roots level.”
“Furthermore, the envisaged upward revision of hawker licence fees in stages, in view of the escalation of costs of building and maintenance of markets and food centres, may be a blow to consumers. If you increase the licence fee, they will increase the price of the food. Is this necessary? Can it not be avoided? Has any thought been given to the repercussion that will follow? I personally feel that hawkers will transfer the extra cost to the consumers. An alternative plan should be conceived to ensure that the additional costs will not be borne by the consumers. Speaking about the civil service, many officers have reached the top of their salary scale and their pay has been stagnated for many years. If an officer's pay is stagnated for many years, he cannot work hard. A study should be made of all these officers to assess their capabilities and potentialities and emplace them on an adjusted wage scheme. As in the past, in promotion exercises, there were many instances of dissatisfaction in certain quarters, the reasons for which may be genuine. As an example, a matured person with many years of experience and paper qualification, finds a young graduate who had at one time been under his supervision is now promoted and takes over from his previous superior. Is this promotion not a mockery? Again there are certain jobs where the wrong sex is put in charge. Something should be done to this sort of promotion. Otherwise you may get a dissatisfied civil service which may affect the quality of work. Obviously you will find some experienced officers sticking to their job and passing time because of their many years' service. Others may be looking for greener pastures in the private sector.”
“Sir, in the past too many schemes have been introduced on a trial and error basis without much proper pre-planning, consultation or even debate in Parliament. As such, some of them had complicated or confused the people as to what they were all about. For example, the fringe car parks and the shuttle bus service which cost the Government some $7 million had an initial disastrous result. Fortunately, the Government had an alternative plan to salvage the scheme from total failure. The point which I would like to stress here is that in future thorough and proper pre-planning should be conducted prior to any implementation of projects or schemes. Otherwise if the plans turn out to be a failure, the people will be confused or Government funds wasted. In line with this, any amendments to taxes, rates or tariffs introduced by the Government or any statutory body, should be first brought to Parliament for debate and approval before implementing it, and it should never be like in the past where some taxes and amendment to rates were introduced overnight, which eventually resulted in comments here and there. The Environment Ministry says that the present 28,750 licensed hawkers in Singapore are sufficient to cater for our population. I agree with it. Therefore, no new licence will be issued because of a diversion of manpower to more productive sectors of the economy. If this is the case, a review should be conducted on the existing hawkers to determine whether the licensed persons themselves are managing the stalls, because at the moment many stalls have been illegally sub-let to other people.”
“Is this surcharge really necessary? We should be paying tax on rates and not on rentals. This surcharge should only be levied where there is evidence of indiscriminate use of utilities and not on rentals of appliances, which are necessities. The Addendum on the Public Utilities Board states: `69% of the Board's annual recurrent expenditure before depreciation and interest charges is on fuel oil for electricity generation. Continuous efforts are being made to increase operational efficiency of generators to conserve the consumption of fuel oil. As a result of increasing efficiency, the Board has, so far, been able to absorb the 10% increase .., in the price of fuel oil since October 1975, without increasing the price of electricity to consumers.' The Board now says that the latest increase in oil prices will necessitate an upward revision of the tariffs. Is this really necessary? Can it not be avoided? Here again, in general, the people are most unhappy about the present rates and charges of the PUB and if the tariffs are raised there will be greater discontent among the masses. Perhaps the reserve fund could be used as a subsidy to undercut the inflation or perhaps the interest on the reserve fund could be used as a subsidy. On the other hand, we should not only depend on fuel oil as our source of energy. We should seriously think of other alternative sources of energy; like coal, etc. If rising oil prices is a great threat to our country, it is time that we should import coal as a standby or as a substitute for fuel, During the Occupation Period there was no oil. Everyone had to use coal. Why do we not try to use coal again instead of oil?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to add my support to the Motion moved by the Member for Ulu Pandan to thank the President for his speech. In his speech to the House on the 8th of this month, the President has charted the path of progress for the nation in the next few years. We owe our present well-being to hard work in the past, and we have to continue with it to maintain our progress for future prosperity. As we become more affluent, we shall have more to spend and to save. Whilst spending is a relatively simple matter and although some people seem to have difficulty spending within their means, saving can pose quite a considerable problem. The President in his speech has indicated that we have now to be prepared for slower growth rates, and therefore we have to adjust accordingly our spending habits both as a Government and as individuals. But then to maintain a low spending habit, the cost of living should be checked seriously. The people living in flats face very high costs and their battle against inflation never ends. Since the home-ownership scheme was introduced, flat owners have to pay housing instalments, conservancy charges and many other indirect expenditure. Though the citizens are encouraged to purchase HDB flats, the maintenance of these flats is too high for the lower income group. For instance, a new flat may have two toilet bowls which would automatically cost the owner $6 in sewer fees. The bills for other appliances like the cooker, heater, etc, which are necessities, would be a bigger burden for the lower income group. Besides this, the PUB does not help to alleviate the plight of the flat owner. The PUB levies tax on the total bill which includes the rental of cookers, heaters, etc. This surcharge should be reviewed.”
“Sir, may I know what is the population in Silat Square area? The people there are not served by market stalls. I want to know what is the population in that area.”