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 Amendment by leave, withdrawn.”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?”
The complete record
Every one of 1,199 lines we hold for P. Govindaswamy, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 8 of 24.
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Ministry of Education is in some ways comparable to our bus services. During the last 15 years, at least five ministers have been given this portfolio. It has gone through so many changes that it produced nothing but only confusion, not only among the officials in the Ministry but also among the teachers, students and parents. Nobody knows what is going to happen next. Nobody knows what is the aim of education. The situation seems to be `the blind leading the blind'. It is time a commission of inquiry was set up to look into the question of why many teachers are resigning and are disgruntled with their duties. We have to prevent our education system from going down the drain. It appears that our young citizens have been turned into guinea pigs to satisfy the fancies of some administrators in this Ministry. Whenever some senior officials want to impress the public with their ability, they think of changes and then introduce them through trial and error, literally bulldozing the system by virtue of their seniority. School principals and teachers are not given a chance to question these changes but simply told to carry out instructions. We have seen the failure of the Primary Pilot Project. Sometime ago bilingualism was emphasised. To a certain extent the classes became dramatic. Schools were told to increase the exposure time for the second language. Then, all of a sudden, principals were given the discretion to reduce exposure time as they see fit. Why this about-turn? Obviously very little thought has been given to planning this policy in stages. 3.30 p.m. The introduction of six or seven-year primary education is another fiasco. The criteria for guiding the pupil's ability are so confusing.”
“Sir, if a financial guarantee is given, will he get his citizenship?”
“In the first place, if the authorities had not recognised this boy as a Singapore citizen, then why call him up for national service? I hope the Minister will look into the matter and give early consideration to such cases. Finally, I wish to know how many applications for citizenship have been granted, how many have been rejected, and how many are still under consideration during the last year. Sir, there are some applicants whose family roots are in Singapore. The father was born in Singapore; mother was also born in Singapore; even the children were born in Singapore. They have been staying here for a long time and yet they have not been able to get citizenship. But there are cases of foreigners who have been granted citizenship after only five years' stay in Singapore. I am very surprised at this. There are people who have been staying here for 10 years. 15 years or even 20 years, and they still cannot get citizenship. Some people who have stayed here for five years are given citizenship. This is very funny. How did they get their citizenship? I do not know.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I know that the granting of citizenship is a privilege and not a right. The basis of granting it is whether the applicant will be a national asset or a liability. Citizenship is a very common issue. There are hundreds of people waiting to become citizens of Singapore. Yet there are others who came to the Republic by virtue of their qualifications and are being requested by the authorities at short notice to become citizens of our country. Why is citizenship granted to people who come in here simply because they are qualified and are needed here and their loyalty has not been tested in any way at all? In fact, some cases can be questionable. On the other hand, there are many people staying here for so many years, where their loyalty to Singapore is unquestioned but because of some small mistake in timing, through negligence or through ignorance, they cannot become citizens, and their attempt to become citizens is a failure. There are many old people who have good financial backing of their children. They have lived in Singapore for a long time but their applications have either been rejected or still under consideration. Why deprive them the privilege of becoming citizens of our country? After all these people have their children to look after them. They are in no way a burden to the State. The Registry would not grant them citizenship, but it is willing to consider the applications of persons who are suitably qualified. There is also the case of a boy who was born in Singapore and due to a mistake by his parents he was issued with a blue identity card. This boy had completed national service and had applied for citizenship but his application is still under consideration.”
“Sir, in view of the Minister's explanation, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The following amendment stood in the name of Haji Mohd. Ariff Bin Suradi - (8) That the sum to be allocated for Head U be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead GAA 1111.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head U be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead FAA 1109. Sir, during the last one year penalties for the trafficking of drugs have increased to include the death sentence. Yet the problem of drug-taking in Singapore remains acute. Otherwise, there would be less cases of trafficking of drugs into the island. There are still many people addicted to drugs. Numerous cases of drug addiction are being reported in our daily press. Why is this so? The root of the problem is drug trafficking. What about the persons who consume drugs? Can the Minister supply facts and figures on the number of drug traffickers and drug addicts who were prosecuted since the new Act came into force? It seems that the Central Narcotics Bureau cad do very little to control the number of persons taking drugs. I feel that the officials of the Central Narcotics Bureau should make frequent spot checks on factories. construction sites, housing estates, schools, institutions of higher learning, and offices, to track down those addicts or traffickers in drugs. They should act on information, as this can be one of the ways to deter those persons from consuming and trafficking drugs. 7.30 p.m.”
“Sir, regarding the restriction of visas, if a non-citizen wife of a Singapore citizen wants to stay here for six months, what is the objection on that? Regarding illegal immigration, can the Immigration Department check on all illegal immigrants? There are more than two million people in Singapore, and the Department has to check each and every identity card holder before it can find out who are tile illegal immigrants. I was told there are 500.000 illegal immigrants. They have no passports or identity cards. I do not know how they have come into Singapore.”
“Yes. What is the Immigration Department doing? They have the authority to grant an extension as well as the authority to refuse. It is unfair. There was the case of a pregnant woman who had undergone an operation. Her doctor gave her a letter to support her application for an extension of stay. But the Immigration Department refused to give her an extension and said. "You must go." The poor woman was sick and suffering. What sort of sympathy is there in Singapore? Foreigners say that Singapore is a very good country. There is no doubt that we have a good and strict Government. But it is regretted that the Immigration Department did not grant an extension of stay to the pregnant woman whose case deserves sympathetic consideration. The Hon. Minister should give this matter some thought and inform the Immigration Department not to do this as it is very bad for the image of our country. These people came here with money and they only want an extension of three months.”
“Sir, I would also like to know how many illegal immigrants were found in Singapore during the last one year. Are our entry points properly guarded? It appears that a number of illegal immigrants have been found in Singapore. Some have families and some of them are even employed in construction work. Why is this so? If you produce a letter from a Minister or an MP, the Immigration officers will say. `Why do you bring this letter? Had you come straight to me, I would have given you three months' extension." And if you produce such a letter, they will say. "No" to your application for an extension. They even shout in a public place like that. One day a person came along with a letter from the Minister for Foreign Affairs. They said, "Why do you want to bring a letter from the Minister? Had you come direct to me I would have given you three months' extension."”
“Sir, lately the Immigration Department has been extremely strict in renewing visas. In the past, the practice was to grant visas for six months. But owing to certain problems the period has been reduced to three months, with extensions only for special cases. But lately it is difficult to obtain even a week's extension after the period of three months has expired, even though the person applying it has valid reasons. I wonder what are the criteria for granting an extension? Could the Minister relax this condition because most of our Singapore citizens have their families and relatives abroad and they wish to bring them to Singapore for social visits, etc. Next, the Immigration Officers, particularly at the Woodlands check-point, do not give special consideration for emergency cases. There was a case of a 11-year old Malaysian boy whose restricted passport was incorporated in his father's passport. His father had gone abroad for some personal reasons. One Sunday, in an emergency, the boy and his mother came all the way down from Ipoh to attend the funeral of a relative in Singapore. The Immigration Authorities at our end refused the boy permission to enter, even though the mother produced his birth certificate. She was told to get a letter of identification from the Malaysian authorities. Unfortunately, being a Sunday, the mother had difficulty getting this letter. Thus he was refused entry and had to miss the funeral of his relative. I wonder why our officials had refused entry for this boy though the mother was able to produce the birth certificate of the boy to prove his case. Could the officials not use some discretion in this case and allow the boy entry into Singapore?”
“Praising only the CID and not the Police Force.”
“Finally, we still have in our midst a good number of secret societies threatening our citizens with extortion, etc. May I know how many cases of extortion have been reported to the Police during last year? It is time that these parasites of society were wiped out from our country. We cannot tolerate secret societies in our midst. Their members are unemployed and believe in getting everything through intimidation and murder.”
“Cannon, Police Woman, etc, have in a way educated them. They also seem to have up-to-date equipment and weapons for their operations, some of which may be better than the ones used by the Police. What has our Police Force done in respect of dealing with this new type of equipment used by these criminals? Are there any funds allocated for the Police Force to purchase sophisticated and scientific equipment to fight sophisticated criminals? What scientific and modern equipment does the Police Force have at present to fight this new type of crime? What about using helicopters? Last year I also mentioned about helicopters. Has the Police Force thought of all these? Are there any plans or provisions made to purchase scientific and modern equipment for our Police Force? In America, Police cans are equipped with minicomputers for easy identification of criminals, infra-red equipment, laser guns, etc. Is our Police Force one step ahead or is it hoping that the criminals will not be that sophisticated? Are our patrol cars well-equipped with modern equipment? On the subject of Police transport, how many Police vehicles are there? We find that some "bone shakers" are still being used by the Police for transport. Is there any provision to improve this? Sir, I am glad that some of the Police stations are going to be resited with their construction based on modern architecture. Some stations are also being renovated. But then there are other Police stations which are very old. It is high time. they were demolished and replaced with new ones. For instance, the Paya Lebar Police Station is so old that it is still dependent on the bucket system of sanitation. Are there any plans to renovate all the Police stations, including the CID building?”
“Sir, I will not repeat, but I will give examples to make my point. Sir, the Police Force has been very successful in combating crime in Singapore. The inception of the Vigilante Corps has also strengthened the Police Force and, as a result, the citizens feel a bit secured. It is evident that the higher penalties introduced in the past for some offences had in a way lessened the major crimes being committed. However, of late there has been an increase in the number of cases of molestation and rape, so much so that in some housing estates women and children are afraid to move about alone. The number of sex crimes reported to the Police is only a small proportion of the actual crimes committed. Many cases are not reported, as the victims are afraid of the publicity given to the cases when they come up for mention. Incidentally, the other day it was reported that an all-women firing squad executed 17 Cuban soldiers convicted of rape and murder in war-torn Angola. It seems that the women who were raped identified five of the 17 captured Cubans as their violators. The firing squad was composed entirely of women. The Cubans were shot with their own guns. That is only an example. In Singapore it is time that severe penalties were introduced to curb the growing number of sex offences. Sir, I would like to congratulate the CID Organised Crime Branch for having successfully curbed the crime syndicates. We have seen a number of known criminals tracked and brought to book. This is a good sign. This Police Crime Branch has done a wonderful job. They ought to be complimented. Sir, nowadays criminals have become sophisticated not only in organising crimes but also in the commission of crime, thanks to our TV shows. Programmes like Hawaii Five-O, Ironside.”
“Yes, but there are certain very important points”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, before I could raise my questions the Minister seemed to have replied to them. Anyway, I have to raise my points.”
“In view of the explanation from the Minister. I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The following amendment stood in the name of Haji Mohd Ariff bin Suradi (8) That the sum to be allocated for Head T be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead CBA 8109.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head T be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead CBA 8103. Sir, the recent drought which we experienced seems to be the worst in the last hundred years, so much so that our green environment has turned to brown patches of dead turf and leaves. Our water stocks at the reservoirs have also dropped tremendously. Once again we have to launch our "Save Water and Don't Waste Water" Campaign. Sometime ago I was told that a feasibility study would be carried out for the building of a reservoir at the Bedok Cut Site to find out whether the soil would hold water. The construction of a reservoir would depend upon the results of the study and the soil test. May I know what is the position of the study at the moment? What has been the result of the soil test so far? What is the progress of the work at the Bedok Cut Site? Have the contractors completed the job as scheduled, so that a reservoir can be built to supplement the water stocks of the other existing reservoirs? Sir, I understand that by using the boring system at the seaside, most probably we could get water. I do not know whether the Ministry of the Environment has looked into this. If not, I would suggest to the Minister to try out this system at the seaside, because I know that in other countries this boring system has been used to get water. Singapore is a very small island. We have tall buildings and most probably the boring system is not feasible or dangerous. Could the Minister enlighten the House? We should try to use this boring system to get water. Instead of water, most probably we might get oil. Who knows!”
“Sir, in view of the explanation of the Minister, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head R be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead ACA 1111. Sir, sometime ago two ILO experts were seconded to our Registry of Cooperative Societies to make recommendations on the constitution of our cooperative societies. They had recommended the reorganisation of the Registry of Cooperative Societies into a Cooperative Development Department. The new cooperative legislation would encourage the consolidation and diversification of cooperative activities and the formation of an integrated system of a primary, secondary and an apex organisation. May I know how successful has the Ministry been in the amalgamation of the several cooperative societies into a national cooperative movement, and whether all those cooperative societies are in a healthy state? What has happened to the recommendations made by the ILO experts'? Have they been implemented? Sir, to-date how many cooperative societies have gone into multi-purpose business? May I have the facts and figures on this? I gather that with no full-time officials to look into this subject, the concept of a multipurpose society is not possible. For instance, the Teachers' Cooperative Society, which had gone into multi-purpose business sometime ago. could not balance its accounts. I understand that the outgoing committee could not account to the newly elected committee for a big sum of money and a proper explanation has yet to be given. I wonder what has happened to this society? Is the Registrar satisfied with the administration of the society? Could the Minister comment on it?”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, there is one point that I have left out. As regards the Somerset Road temple, the matter has still not been settled yet. Can the Minister take action to settle the matter?”
“Since these people are voluntary workers and they are so heavily taxed in their own work, would the SSC consider giving the Sports Liaison officials an allowance as an incentive to them and to ensure that they do not have to be out of pocket b~ meeting additional cost of travelling incurred in attending these meetings.”
“Thus, sportsmen from other countries have declined to participate in Pesta Sukan. 7.00 p.m. Sir, of late, there has been a great demand for tennis counts all over the island. The available courts are so overused that as a result there is a racket going on over the bookings in certain places. Many of our people have all of a sudden decided to take up this game. I wonder whether the SSC would consider constructing more courts all oven the island. The Football Association of Singapore has been mainly responsible for holding very successful football matches and has promoted a great deal of interest among the public. Unfortunately, the players are the ones who suffer most. When they take time-off from work, they lose their wages and thus their earning power. As a result, there seems to be a certain reluctance on the part of the players to come for practices. I feel that if these people can be financially assisted to the extent of their wages for the periods when they are required to practise they would not have to suffer any financial loss. I hope this incentive payment will benefit them and encourage them to play better soccer for Singapore. Finally, I want to know what form of assistance the SSC is providing the Constituency Sports Clubs, and how many of the Constituency Sports Clubs have so far benefited from such assistance. Recently. I was nominated Chairman of the Inter-Constituency Sepak-Takraw Tournament Organising Committee. From my very short experience and also from the SSC Report on Inter-Constituency Sepak-Takraw Tournament 1975. I understand that it is a normal practice among Sports Liaison officials not to attend meetings conducted by SSC.”
“Some of the fields that have been taken over from the British Armed Forces are not being maintained properly, especially those at Tanglin, Dover Road and Farrer Park, where the turfing seems to be disappearing bit by bit, Even before the dry season began. there were already bald patches on the turf and this is because there is no one to advise on proper maintenance. At Tanglin, the golf course and the tennis courts are obviously very popular. It is so popular that its revenue is second to the National Stadium. However, there are no proper changing rooms and toilet facilities. Although there has been a persistent demand for squash courts, to-date, none has been built. I am sure that squash courts together with additional indoor and outdoor games will bring additional revenue to the SSC. The tennis counts are over-used that there is little chance for any maintenance work to be carried out. It would be much better to cement these courts and thereby reduce the cost of maintenance. In fact, these facilities at Tanglin are so popular that even tourists find it convenient to use them. Furthermore, I must point out that theme are no proper parking facilities at this place. The Singapore Sports Council is responsible for the organisation of Pesta Sukan. What plans has it got for this year's Pesta Sukan? Which countries will be invited to participate? I also want to know if the SSC has sufficient funds to subsidise the various sports associations to organise these games. In the past, the SSC suggested to its affiliated bodies to organise certain games but when funds were requested, the SSC left it to the individual sports associations. As a result, in the last few years Pesta Sukan lost its usual glamour.”
“Sir, under this subhead I would like to speak on two different subjects, that is, temples and sports in Singapore. A number of temples, both authorised and unauthorised, have been demolished for urban renewal development. But the alternative sites given are, in most cases, not suitable for the temple devotees because the alternative sites for all the different temples are located at one place. For instance, the temples which were demolished at Silat Road, Sentosa and many other areas, were given alternative sites at Queenstown. Then there is the Rama temple at Changi Road, 14th milestone. The present site has been given by the Army and they have put up a permanent structure there. In view of urban renewal the Authority wants to take back the piece of land, but they do not want to give an alternative site. They must give an alternative site because the piece of land was given by the Army. The people in that area must have a temple there. Could the Minister consider allocating the alternative sites nearer to the former sites and not resite them in one corner of the island? I also want to know whether the Minister would consider building temples in new housing estates. I now come to the subject of sports. Sometime ago I mentioned that our National Stadium was a white elephant. Fortunately, the officials responsible for the Stadium woke up and it has since been a popular meeting ground for many exciting games, so much so that to ease the traffic congestion there is a provision for the construction of an underpass across the main road. I must commend the present Chairman of the Singapore Sports Council who is doing a wonderful job and is personally attending to the problems of the SSC. However. I wish to raise a few points.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, one of the main functions of the People's Association is to encourage our youths to participate in meaningful activities. I understand that the People's Association has now about 16,000 members enrolled in its Youth section. Recently, at a military tattoo display, the Youth section was asked to perform one item involving 128 persons, As the officials could not get the required number of persons from amongst their 1 6,000 Youth membership, they had to force their Centre staff and kindergarten teachers to participate in the military display. Sir, I want to know how much does the People's Association spend each year on the Youth groups. What percentage of the 1 6,000 Youth members are really active? Sir, I also understand that the People's Association employs about 20 full-time dancers and about 100 part-time dancers for their cultural troupe. What is the purpose of employing such a large troupe of dancers at the Association's headquarters? Would it not be more beneficial if these paid dancers were sent to the various community centres to recruit more people to participate in cultural dances and to conduct classes at the different centres? I feel it should not be the policy of the Association to maintain a semiprofessional dance troupe. This should be left to the different cultural organisations. On the other hand, the People's Association dance troupe should be used to popularise our culture at the different community centres. If the present situation is continued, then I feel that the community centre will not be able to organise any cultural activities, as the incentives given to the semi-professionals at the Association headquarters are much greater than what the community centres can provide,”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in view of the explanation given by the Minister, I beg leave to withdrawn my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The following amendments stood on the Order Paper Supplement --”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head Q be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead CDA 1109. Sir, some of the newsreaders over TV and radio, particularly in the Tamil and English sections -”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I just want an assurance from the Minister that there will be no discrimination of any kind among the Chinese, Malay and Tamil artistes. The Minister has said that there is no discrimination and that it is nonsense to suggest that. Will the Minister give an assurance that there will be no discrimination among Chinese, Malay and Tamil artistes? The Minister has already said that, but I want an assurance from him.”
“It is time TV Singapore acquired more recent films both for the Tamil and Chinese sections and, if possible, to screen colour films too.”
“Next, I want to point out the unequal treatment given to the 1'V crew of the Tamil Section for outdoor shooting. In most cases the Section is not given a chance to shoot outdoors because the technicians and staff of RTS are mostly engaged in the other language groups. I hope the Minister will see that fair treatment is given to the Tamil Section. Sir, quite often there are complaints that the same artistes appear over and over again in the RTS programmes. It seems that shooting of Tamil programmes are done in most instances during the weekdays. Therefore, new part-time artistes are unable to come forward during weekdays because of full-time employment. Weekends are normally reserved for Malay and Chinese programmes. Furthermore, if the excuse is that producers are not available on weekends for the Tamil Section, then I suggest that RTS employ part-time producers. This is done successfully for the Malay programmes. So the same could be done for the Tamil programmes too, RTS, if necessary, could appeal for recruitment of part-time producers. Sir, the children's programme also needs improvement. Week after week the same setup is seen. It is very artificial. What you will notice is a person narrating a story, and that's just about it. It seems that this Section lacks imagination. Perhaps if they could watch some of the programmes like "Sesame Street" on Sundays, they may be able to get ideas for our children's programmes. Finally, the Tamil and Chinese films shown on TV during the weekdays, no doubt are commendable. But I am afraid the choice is rather poor. The films are so old, and it is a well known fact that some of the actors and actresses are no longer living. I also note that some of these old Teochew films are constantly repeated.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Broadcasting Department seems to show some sort of discrimination against artistes who appear in programmes on TV and radio. The artistes in the different language programmes are paid different rates for the same performance and time. However, I would like to point out anomalies and differences between the Tamil Section and the Malay/Chinese Sections, as follows: TV Radio Tamil Programme Singer $33 $16 Instrument Player $44 $20 The rates for artistes and dramas are as follows: Malay & Tamil Chinese Section Sections Main character $82 $100 Sub-character $50 $ 88 Dummy character $20 $ 44 Artiste $33 $ 45 Radio singer $16 $ 20 Instrument/singer $44 $ 58 I see no reason whatsoever for artistes performing for Tamil programmes either for the TV or Radio should be paid lower than those artistes in the other language programmes. Popularity of programmes is no yardstick of the rate of payment. I feel that performance should be the yardstick. To earn this meagre sum the artistes have to go through six or seven rehearsals and often they have to spend a considerable amount of time at the studios for rehearsals or waiting for their rehearsals. This seems to be rather unfair to the artistes. I suggest that a revision be made of the rate of payment for these Tamil artistes to be paid at the same rate as the artistes in the other language groups. Script writers in the RTS are also paid a different rate. Experienced writers are paid higher than the inexperienced ones. This i~, of course, fair. I feel the same method of payment should also apply to artistes too. It is rather unfair to pay an experienced and good actor the same rate as a new hand at the studio.”
“Then why was it published as 10 o'clock? They should publish it as 10.15 p.m. I am saying that they are discriminating against the Tamil language. Some Hon. Members: That is rot true!”
“Sir, it was published in the newspapers that a Tamil film would be shown at 10 o'clock last night but it did not start until 10.1 5 p.m. Why is there this discrimination against, the Tamil language?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, we have been promoting the concept of multi-racialism in Singapore for many, many years. In the past, most of the periodicals, circulars, posters, signboards, etc, were usually printed in the four official language media. But, of late, this is not so. The periodicals, circulars, posters and signboards are printed in either three or even in two languages. What has happened to the other languages? Is the Ministry of Culture short of translators? Or are the other languages simply left out? I hope the Ministry of Culture is being fair to every language group in any printing that they do, so that everyone knows what is happening. Next, I want to deal with the question of the Singapore culture. We have been talking so much about building a Singapore culture. I wonder how successful we have been so far in building a Singapore culture. This is evident only when our cultural troupe is sent abroad to perform, when we would have the people from the National Theatre Trust representing the various cultures in Singapore. Other than this, there is nothing much to show locally about our Singapore culture. Even TV or Radio Singapore for that matter has not taken any step to produce any programme in the four languages. What we view in these programmes is that each group looks after its own traditions and culture, If this continues, we will never succeed in achieving our plan of building a Singapore culture. I would suggest that there should be greater coordination among the various cultural organisations with emphasis placed on the existence of a multi-racial society. More multi-racial shows should be organised at different levels, otherwise each racial group would be left to itself and there would be no unity in the cultural aspect.”
“Just now I was drawing his attention to the enclosures for registered mail section. I just want to bring to the notice of the Minister that if anything should happen to those letters, the staff should not be made to suffer. That is the reason why I have brought this matter to the attention of the Minister. I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Mr Conceicao: Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head P be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead FAA 1107*. (* The same amendment also stood in the names of Messrs N. Govindasamy, Chin Harn Tong, Ivan Baptist and P. Govindaswamy.) Sir, I wish to ask for some information arising out of my scrutiny of certain revenue accruing to the Head, Registrar of Vehicles, for the composition of offences. According to the figures which I have garnered for FY 76, the revenue anticipated is $1.1 million. For FY 75 it was $900,000. For FY 74 it was $830,000 and for FY 73 it was one-tenth of that, i.e. $80,000. The question is, to what extent are these monies reflective of our policy of more efficient and greaten enforcement, and has this policy paid out in the reduction of accidents? If one looks at the traffic, one has the impression that there is a very slight, if at all, recognisable reduction in breaches of traffic regulations, especially in respect of those vehicles that I presume come under the jurisdiction of the Registrar of Vehicles. But I stand to be educated by the Minister of State for Communications.”
“I am only asking for the postmen establishment.”
“Sir, on a point of clarification. Sir, for last year there were 743 Division IV officers and for this year the provision is 770 Division IV officers. Where did the Minister of State get the figure of 1,500-odd officers?”
“I hope the conditions at this Centre could be improved so that the postal staff could work in a better and meaningful environment.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head P be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead EAA 1107. Sir, the Postal Department has now been reorganised and I was told sometime ago that it would be converted into a statutory board. May I know when this conversion will take place? With the building of many new Housing Board flats in the various estates, it is evident that the workload of the Postal Department has also increased. I am told that there is a shortage of postal staff, especially postmen. As a result, the workers have to work under stress and strain in order to provide an efficient service. I wonder what the Department is doing about recruiting more staff, especially postmen, to cope up with the increased workload. Can the Minister supply some facts and figures on this subject? Sir, the recruitment of postwomen has in a way lessened the burden of postmen. The uniform of the postwomen appears to be neat, smart and similar to the postmen. I wonder what will happen if the postwomen become pregnant. Did the authorities consider what will happen then? Is the present uniform suited for the postwomen? I also understand that the function of delivering PUB bills to consumers, which is normally done by the Postal Department, may be taken over by the PUB Meter Reading Section. May I seek clarification on this subject? Finally, the Nelson Road Postal Centre has still room for improvement. I have received complaints that the sorting frames appear to be untidy. The floors are dusty and dirty. The enclosure for registered items is not fully secured. Anyone can just climb over and fiddle with the registered items. The rest rooms for the staff are limited and they have no proper ventilation and oscillating fans are found to be dirty.”
“Sir, the engineers at first said that the filling for Changi Airport was not very strong. Therefore we have to go back to Paya Lebar. But now the same engineers say that it is very strong. When the Jumbo-jets or Concorde land at Changi Airport, the earth might sink! I am not objecting to the removal of the airport from Paya Lebar to Changi. I am objecting to the soil. 7.30 p.m.”
“Sir, most probably, the Hon. Minister will agree with me that during the peak hour of about 5 o'clock, buses are seen queueing from the CID building in Robinson Road right up to Market Street. Why does the SBS not take statistics? Somebody must go there to see how many buses are going to Katong, how many buses are going to Serangoon, how many buses are going to Geylang. If they do it, then they will know how many buses are required there. This long queue of buses is seen daily. The Minister can check on it. It is no use to keep 20 buses lined up, while only one bus is full and the others are empty. What is the system of working? I do not understand the SBS's system. In this long queue of buses, there are SBS buses, private buses and shuttle service buses. What is this? I do not understand.”
“Even an expert from a foreign country had been here to make a study and to make recommendations. Our Prime Minister too has recently been to Hong Kong to see how the system works over there. Now what I want to know is this: Are we going to implement it? How soon can it be implemented? What type of transportation system will be used?”
“In fact, we see the shuttle service taking away part of the burden of SBS. It looks as if we are going back to square one again where different bus companies were operating. So when is the SBS going to become a really efficient. reliable and a prompt public transport company? The next point is that recently the bus company issued bus guides costing 50 cents each. I am afraid to say that this bus guide is not in the least handy. It cannot be put easily into the pocket. It is full of advertisements and the information in it confuses rather than helps the commuters. If any commuter finds it difficult to use, then what is the purpose of printing that bus guide? In fact, a very eminent geographer in Singapore pointed out the difficulty in looking for bus routes from the bus guide. How then is the common man going to find the bus routes in this complicated bus guide? Is it possible to issue a simpler bus guide that can be handy and useful to the commuter? Sir, "our telecommunications services are one of the best in the world." That is what the Telecommunication Authority claims. But to the people in Singapore, I am afraid the opposite may be true. Very often when one makes an application for a telephone, one has to wait at times for as long as one year or even longer to get a telephone. Surely during the pre-planning stages of a housing estate a certain number of telephone lines could be planned and provided for the residents. Why is this not done? I hope the Minister will see that more lines are made available at all housing estates. Mr Speaker, Sir, in our transport system there is much room for improvement. We have been harping on the Mass Rapid Transit System and money has been voted for that particular project.”
“Sir, there was speculation in the local press that bus fares are expected to be increased from a minimum of 20 cents to a flat rate of 30 cents and 50 cents One of the primary purposes of amalgamation of bus companies in 1970 was to reduce cost In the past we had numerous bus companies The first amalgamation resulted in reducing the number of bus companies to four, and a further amalgamation resulted in only one single bus company, the SBS It is rather strange that with amalgamation we saw the disappearance of the 5-cent fare and then the 10-cent fare, and it looks as if we would very soon see the disappearance of the 20 cent fare. This is rather surprising. I hope the Minister will see that this does not take place, because the people are already grumbling about the recent ro,3d tax increases, and now even the fare for the cheapest form of transport is also to be raised, on the excuse of increased over-head cost. Now, don't tell me that SBS is not making a profit. But perhaps profit is not the motive for the SBS either expanding or putting in additional capital for which it has to charge higher fares. Is it fair to charge higher fares if additional capital is required for the renewal of buses? Naturally, a certain amount of loss is inevitable but this loss can be recovered very quickly by careful and proper planning If the SBS is perfect, we do not have to supplement its service with Scheme El buses In fact, the Scheme B buses which were supposed to be a temporary affair seems to become a permanent picture on Singapore roads. I wonder how much longer we have to depend on these Scheme B buses for an efficient bus service. A shuttle service was also introduced to run between the fringe car parks to the CBD zone. But this is a failure.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head P be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead AAA 1003*. (* The same amendment also stood in the names of Mr Ch'ng Jit Koon and Dr Ong Leong Boon.) Sir, sometime ago I was told that I had torn the SBS to pieces! This year I do not intend to tear the SBS to pieces. In fact, I wish to commend it for having done something about its transport system, and I am sure that members of the public will agree with me in saying that improvements have been made, However, there is still room for further improvement. Some services are still irregular, buses seem to reach the bus stops in threes or fours at the same time. Time-keepers should regulate the services more efficiently. No doubt conductors and drivers are generally polite and disciplined. That is commendable. But I am afraid to say there are still some black sheep existing and because of these black sheep, whatever the SBS tries to implement is sometimes negated. Cleanliness of buses has also to be looked into. Next, I wish to mention the unnecessary delays caused by buses which go to their terminus or bus depots for refuelling. Very often, at these refuelling depots there is a long queue of buses waiting. Sometimes it takes as long as 1 5 to 20 minutes before a particular bus at one end of the queue is refuelled. Is it possible for the SBS to organise the refuelling of buses in such a way that not too much inconvenience is caused to the bus commuters, who may be fighting against time to arrive at their destinations? 6.15 p.m.”
“I am not moving. Sir. The time allotted for Head 0 having expired, the following amendments were not proceeded with -”
“(13) That the sum to be allocated for Head O be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead BAA 8105.”
“Yes, Sir. Will the Minister take steps to ensure that the statement of accounts will be sent regularly every month?”
“Sir, sometimes the statement of accounts from the TAS is confusing, and sometimes it takes three or four months to arrive.”