Rohan bin Kamis
Singapore
“With the Administration of Muslim Law Act and its successes, the Government has made meritorious contributions for the betterment of the Muslim community of Singapore which will continue to make progress, strongly upholding the principles of Islam, united with its own identity.”
“Sir, the Minister has not answered my query. Would he do a survey and by positive confirmation ask every resident whether he wants the HDB to continue or whether this body corporate should manage the estates? I think this is fair. The other thing is that the HDB has received 4,215 complaints. Agreed.”
“All in all, Sir, I subscribe to a partial withdrawal at 55, and I am suggesting that a partial withdrawal would be substantial enough for the contributors to carry out their plans and the balance of the CPF savings would be sufficient to cater for their needs after their retirement.”
“Here, the usual Singaporean touch of ingenuity and resourcefulness is required. Maybe the concept need to be repackaged to be more attractive and worthwhile to attract these mothers into our labour force again.”
“Sir, can I clarify this? The point is this. The financial arrangements appear to be one-sided. In other words, when CAAS makes more and more profit, there appears to be no provision whatsoever in the Bill to indicate how these surpluses are to be treated and under what circumstances can these funds be recalled for consolidation into the G…”
“This would also cause hazards to the many people who wanted to cross Telok Blangah Road to either take public transport or to go to Sentosa in front of the World Trade Centre. This situation is especially more serious when the seminar or the exhibition ends and every motorist wants to rush back to continue with his business.”
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“With the Administration of Muslim Law Act and its successes, the Government has made meritorious contributions for the betterment of the Muslim community of Singapore which will continue to make progress, strongly upholding the principles of Islam, united with its own identity. I am sure the Muslim community here will be loyal subjects of a multi-racial, multi-lingual and multi-religious Singapore.”
“My faith in this amendment is based on my confidence that continued progress of the Muslim community in a multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-lingual country like Singapore which upholds meritocracy can only succeed because the Administration of the Muslim Law Act and amendments thereto can bring forth the characteristics of society that are essential in the process of nation building. One of the principles of nation-building is the fact that a society can progress only if every member of that society helps himself and helps ons another. MENDAKI was set up for the purpose of uplifting the level of progress of Muslim children. This amendment will enable every member of the Muslim community to participate on the basis of self-reliance, so that the objectives of MENDAKI can be realized. This indirect involvement will unite the Muslim community of Singapore because they can pool their financial resources, manifest their spirit of togetherness and, most important of all, demonstrate their attitude towards education which cannot be denied as being the key to the attainment of social progress in the years ahead. Besides unity, the spirit of self-reliance and gotong-royong can be enhanced. We can inculcate the spirit of sactifice and thrift in our community. There are many bendits to be derived directly as a result of the stability and size of MENDAKI's finances, ie our common objectives and aims can be achieved. I would like to take this opponunity to express my appreciation, as a member of the Muslim or Malay community, to the Government of Singapore for its support during these 25 years towards the betterment of the Muslim community in Singapore.”
“Since the enforcement of the Administration of Muslim Law Act on 1st July 1968, the Muslim community of Singapore has undergone improvements under the guidance of and through the continued and unstinting efforts put in by the Majlis Ugama Islam for the benefit of every member of the Muslim community in the field of religion, education and also welfare. Problems faced by the Muslims of Singapore, individually or organizationally, had been channelled to MUIS for its consideration and assistance accordingly. Under the Administration of Muslim Law Act, MUIS has successfully managed to handle the affairs of the Muslim community. On 1st October 1975, an amendment to the Administration of Muslim Law Act was passed empowering the Majlis Ugama Islam to administer the Mosque Building Fund. Muslim employees extended their overwhelming support and of their own volition agreed that deductions could be made from their salaries, according to their means, towards the contributions for the erection of new mosques in housing estates throughout Singapore. Efforts in this direction are continuing and will continue and hopefully every housing estate will have its own mosque in order to particularly meet the needs of the Muslim community. The Administration of Muslim Law Act and the amendments thereto have brought in its train praiseworthy consequences in the development of the Muslim community. We are now discussing yet another amendment to the Administration of Muslim Law Act which I greatly wel- come because of its continued good effects on the development of the Muslim community in Singapore. This amendment will enable Muslim employees to contribute to Yayasan MENDAKI through salary deductions on a monthly basis.”
“I wish to support the views expressed earlier by the Member for Geylang Serai that Mendaki should take measures to strengthen its infrastructure in order to manage its financial administration, programme research and the implementation of its activities, both short-term and long-term, professionally, and not be dependent upon volunteers whose services are perhaps constrained by time and energy. Another matter which should be given attention is how Mendaki can bring home the message of trust to the whole community, especially to the less educated parents, concerning the role they should play to educate their children. The raising of the standard and quality of Muslim children's education cannot be achieved so long as the Muslim community, particularly parents, relatives and students themselves, fail to practise the characteristics of life that extol knowledge of learning and, at the same time, be self-reliant to achieve our laudable objectives. Finally, I seek further clarification from the Hon. Minister concerning the facilities at Siglap Indah Primary School which will become the headquarters of Mendaki. Also, when can the school be used as Mendaki's headquarters? Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I support the Bill. Encik Saidi Haji Shariff (Kaki Bukit)( In Malay): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is not my intention to cover the points that have been raised by my colleagues. However, allow me to express my views in support of the Amendment Bill under discussion.”
“Prime Minister, at the inauguration of Mendaki's Congress held at the Singapore Conference Hall on 28th May 1982, said: 'It is in the interest of all if the Singapore Malays possess better education and qualifications and can make meaningful contributions towards national development.' Sir, since Mendaki was established in 1981, various endeavours had been carried out to raise funds in order to pay for the cost of projects and activities launched. Also, several surveys had been carried out to expand the sources of finance so that money would not be a stumbling block for the Muslim community in its efforts to achieve higher education. The support and encouragement received from the Muslim community as well as from the non-Muslim community is encouraging. However, the contributions received so far are not permanent in nature and unstable, as has been explained by the Hon. Minister earlier. The introduction of this Amendment Bill is like a windfall which affords an opportunity for the Muslim community to mobilize their resources and make their contributions to Mendaki in a permanent manner. The enthusiasm manifested by the Muslim community to be self-reliant and work together through their contributions towards the Mosque Building Fund has been proven by the erection of mosques in the various housing estates. I am confident that with the introduction of this Amendment Bill, the Muslim community can once again demonstrate their positive attitude by continuing to contribute to Mendaki.”
“However, I would like to ring a note of caution that we should now, with the current funding convenience, have the necessary infrastructure, take the time and make the effort to think how we are going to complete the picture on the other side of the "success coin". Of course, when I say "think", it is understood that we should also act - quickly and decisively. It is never too early to plan for the future. It would be, however, a most unfortunate scenario if we have produced the graduates and skilled people through the efforts of Mendaki and we could not make optimum use of the acquired education and skills. I am sure this problem can and will have a solution. Now is the time for Mendaki to sit down and concentrate on this potential problem area. If the same fervour and enthusiasm that gave birth to Mendaki could be recreated, channelled and focused on this area, with the positive assistance from the Government as well as an established infrastructure, this problem would certainly be overcome. Sir, if it is not done, it would be a sad day for not only the Muslim community in Singapore but also Singapore itself. However, with our current leadership and our ability to identify, mobilize and monitor to ensure that the right people are in the right jobs, this would not happen and I look forward to 10-12 years in the future when Mendaki's objective would be realized. Sir, I support the Bill. Encik Abbas Abu Amin (Pasir Panjang)( In Malay): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I support the Amendment Bill moved by the Hon. Minister for Social Affairs. I wish to congratulate the Government for giving its full support to Mendaki. The Hon.”
“I feel my confidence in the Muslim community woUld be well placed and they would rise to the challenge and stand up for the future of Singapore by contributing even more than the 50cts, if allowed to do so later. All said and done, I am, however, slightly concerned that while the input to this Mendaki project is assured, the output needs to be carefully monitored. Monitoring needs people. Good results would come from good monitoring by good people. Therefore, it is important if we want to achieve this long-term objective, much to the benefit of the nation, a strong and efficient infrastructure must be instituted for Mendaki. I could not emphasize more than to say that it must be done as quickly as possible and I would say that today would not be early enough. With full-time staff, Mendaki would then be able to look into the future because that is what that matters. Allow me to explain. Success is like a coin with two sides. On one side is the attainment or achievement of knowledge. And on the other side is the application of the knowledge gained, either in the public or private sector, in industries, commerce or even Government administration. This application of the knowledge, especially if it is for the common good of the nation, is equally, if not more important. As I mentioned, the achievement of academic knowledge of the Malays and Muslim children is on an even keel and the realization of this objective is just a matter of time. This is because of the positive and concerted efforts by Mendaki as well as related organizations.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise to join my colleague, the Member for Geylang Serai, to support this Bill. With the introduction of this Bill, once again it shows that our Government is farsighted and looks at problem areas in their essence and eliminate them by nipping them in the bud. The objective of the Foundation for Education of Muslim Children, better known as Yayasan Mendaki, is to raise the level of achievement in the academic field of Malay/Muslim children in the context of a plural society in Singapore. This is not a sectoral objective but a national one and I am glad that the Government has lent its support by allowing the CPF mechanism to be used to collect initially 50cts per Muslim contributor to alleviate a major problem of funding Mendaki's programmes. With this, Mendaki can now concentrate on achieving its aim. I am confident that the objective of raising the level of achievement in the academic field of Malay/Muslim children is well on its way. Much thought and action have already been instituted in this direction. Now, with the support of the Government through the CPF contributions, it needs only to maintain the momentum and to monitor the control loop of these systems which will ensure the achievement of the desired objective. Again, in this instance, the Muslim community must note with pride that whilst the Government assists them to achieve, it will not achieve for them, as in the case of the Mosque Building Fund where many new and bigger mosques have been built, much for the benefit of the Muslim Singaporeans.This concept of self-reliance has been tested and will be put again to the test in this Bill.”
“Sir, the Minister has not answered my query. Would he do a survey and by positive confirmation ask every resident whether he wants the HDB to continue or whether this body corporate should manage the estates? I think this is fair. The other thing is that the HDB has received 4,215 complaints. Agreed. But I know at least 10 families who have never complained at all. So I have a feeling that among the complainants, there must be a small group who have been consistently complaining. I am not too sure whether the HDB officials have given attention to details and broke down these complaints into the minutest details and there could have been several double counting. All I am saying is let us do a breakdown of these complaints and see who have been complaining.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I wish to seek clarifications. May I state that although I live in one of these public housing estates, I have no direct pecuniary interest. I seek clarifications which are of general interest to such residents. Furthermore, my constituency will have an HUDC estate. Sir, the Minister stated that there were numerous complaints since the HDB took over these estates. The question is: how many is "numerous"? Can the Minister elaborate whether these numerous complaints came from different complainants or these complaints came from the same small group of people? I feel the latter is more accurate. Whilst I agree with the intention of the HUDC Housing Estates Bill, nevertheless I feel that it is less than fair to use the raw statistics as an excuse to support the Bill. Based on experience, I have and still do have high regard for the HDB for their efforts and caring way in which they look after the estate in my constituency. I know they are made of sterner stuff. For these reasons, could the Minister provide a breakdown of the statistics? Furthermore, Sir, before the body corporate under section 3 is constituted to take over the management and control of the HUDC estate from the HDB, would the HDB ask every resident by positive confirmation if he wishes to have the body corporate take over from the HDB or for HDB to continue with the management? 5.48 pm”
“All in all, Sir, I subscribe to a partial withdrawal at 55, and I am suggesting that a partial withdrawal would be substantial enough for the contributors to carry out their plans and the balance of the CPF savings would be sufficient to cater for their needs after their retirement. In conclusion, I must say that the Committee has done a good job. The problems of the aged have been comprehensively examined and the recommendations are all made with good intention. Together with my constituents, I am concerned with the implementation of this good intention because we all know that if the implementation is badly done, the good intention would be easily misconstrued, especially more so when it causes undue frustration and hardship to our people. I hope the Government would only adopt the Report after carefully thinking over the method of implementation. It would be prudent for the Government in this case particularly the change of CPF withdrawal age, to be slow rather than sorry.”
“Furthermore, Sir, for the last two years, Muslim Members of the House have been speaking on the Tabung Haji concept and if this could be implemented much to the benefit of the Muslim population, then the withdrawal of the CPF could be somewhat tied-up with it. As suggested two days ago, on Friday, by the Member for Kolam Ayer, I support the formation of DANAMIS (Dana Amanah Masyarakat Islam Singapura or Singapore Muslim Trust Fund) because this would certainly enhance the Government's quest to assist oUr people, in this case the Muslims, to not only perform the Haj but also to upgrade themselves. If DANAMIS is approved using the CPF mechanism, this would be the best thing that has happened to date for the Muslims in Singapore. The potential is tremendous and the future is extremely bright. I am confident that all Muslims in Singapore will welcome this. Coming back to the Committee's recommendation of raising the CPF withdrawal age, it would be unfair, to say the least, to even suggest that some of our people would, in a moment of madness, blow off all the CPF savings withdrawn, in unnecessary consumption, if allowed to withdraw at 55. Firstly, who are you to decide what is necessary for them? It may be unnecessary in the Committee's view but very important to the person. After all, it is his money. Secondly, if the premise is true, then deferring the withdrawal age will not remedy the situation. In fact, it will aggravate it further. Now the person with- drawing it at 65 will have more to spend on what the Committee considers to be unnecessary and less time to spend it, if statistics do not lie. Happily this unfair premise is not true.”
“Sir, I totally disagree with the increase of the withdrawal age of CPF savings to 60 or, worse, to 65. It is simplistic to think that people below the age of 50 have not made plans as to what they wish to do with their CPF savings when they reach the CPF withdrawal age. Most people, if not all, are looking forward to this date long before the time. To change, it would cause undue frustration to their well-laid plans. Although the recommendation is made with good intentions, we must recognize the other needs of the people. For instance, some people would wish to use the money to go for further studies, to pursue their own life-long ambitions. Some may want to see their children through university, having married late in life. I understand the principles as advanced by the Minister for Labour just now. However, Sir, I find great difficulty in reconciling the fact that while his Ministry is not in favour of CPF savings withdrawn at 55 to be used for travel abroad, either for pleasure or for religious reasons, he approves the CPF money being used for local travel, that is, to travel on SBS buses. For the Muslims, for instance, they look forward to this money to perform the Haj pilgrimage which, as we are aware, is a "divine command" and must be performed when they are physically capable of doing it at least once in a life-time. To ask them to go on the Haj pilgrimage five or ten years later would increase the risk that they might not be in good physical condition to perform the Haj. Therefore, mindful of the objectives of the CPF, I am suggesting that at 55 there should be a partial withdrawal of at least 50% and the balance of the CPF savings could be withdrawn at regular intervals. In this respect, it appears that I concur with the Minister's principles.”
“If the parents have been taking good care of their children, I am confident that the children will reciprocate when their parents are old by taking care of them. Otherwise, if the grown-up children neglect their parents, their own children will later give them the same treatment when the time comes. This is nature's way of ensuring a check and balance system. Some, like my colleague, the Member for Whampoa, may call it "divine retribution". Legislation, Sir, will not cure everything although in Singapore we have succeeded using legislation with most of our social engineering campaigns. However, I am prepared to be persuaded but would only reluctantly agree with legislation to this effect as a last resort. In which case, we should seriously re-examine and consider whether the society we are living in is worth saving. Above all, in spite of the western influences, I am confident that with proper and even aggressive moral education of our young, coupled with our Asian culture and values, this unhappy state of affairs whereby the young forsake the old would not happen, at least not in the next generation or two. Sir, coming back to the CPF withdrawal age, since the start of the CPF scheme, we have known the withdrawal age to be 55 and yet many contributors were not able to enjoy the CPF savings because people do die before 55, as statistics have shown. I know that generally the life expectancy is now higher. I understand also the rationale that it would appear to be strange to have the CPF totally withdrawn at 55 while the retirement age is higher than 55. The Government could also change this withdrawal age to any age they want. It is also a natural human tendency to want to have the money as soon as they can get it, in this case, at 55.”
“However, I disagree that we should not allow commer- cially-run homes. We have always used the price mechanism with success.[ notice that whilst we have Government-run day-care centres for the lower income group, we also have up-market commercially-run centres which are well-patronized by different sections of the population. This is also the case of the Government hospitals vis-a-vis private hospitals. As long as there is sufficient legislation to ensure that there is no abuse by these homes for the aged, I can see no reason why they cannot be run on a commercial basis. Let the entrepreneurs decide. Besides providing competition to the homes that are run by the Government and the social organizations, it would also cater for a section of Singaporeans who would wish to be housed for their own reasons in such homes and have the means to opt for it. For such homes to be commercially viable, they have to provide and maintain good services. This is apparent in the case of private hospitals where the Government hospitals set the standards and the private hospitals strive hard to better them in order to survive. On family relations, I welcome the recommendation of amending the Income Tax Act to take cognizance of the fact that there are many filial children in Singapore who are financially assisting their aged parents and yet not staying together because the parents may have more than one child, Whilst I understand the symbolic and deterrent nature of legislation as submitted by the Committee, nevertheless, being Asian, I cannot accept having legislation passed to compel children to support their aged parents. If this need to be done, there is something wrong with our society. I do not think this is the case and, therefore, there must be other ways of doing it.”
“My constituents and I are quite concerned about the implementation of these recommendations. There are three areas which I wish to comment on. First, Social Services and Institutional Care. At the outset, let me state in no uncertain terms that social services, in particular the care for the aged, is an obligation of the Government to its people. There is no two-way about it. However, if we look at the social services that have been provided in this direction, and we look at them objectively, it has not been enough. I say this not because nothing was done. I feel more could be done and I do not mean more of the same of what is being done now. We should be creative in providing social services. We have done so in the case of our defence, in the case of health services and even housing. Why not social services? From press reports recently, it appears that the Government is planning for a new Ministry to enlarge and hopefully enrich the portfolio of social services, something called Community Development. This is welcome because we have addressed the problems of unemployment, housing and now security. To my mind, this Ministry of Community Development would be a very important Ministry because Singapore has reached a stage in nation building whereby community development is an essential step towards either making or breaking us as a nation. Otherwise, complacency will set in and affluence will take its ugly toll. The problems of the aged should be the first item on the long list of priorities to be sorted out. Surely we can expect some fresh thinking, now that we have a new Minister. I agree wholeheartedly that legislation must be strengthened for the control of the homes of the aged to ensure that minimum accepted standards are instituted, monitored and enforced.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise to lend support to the amended motion standing in the name of the Member for Kebun Baru on the Problems of the Aged. The terms of reference of the Committee on the Problems of the Aged is commendable. I am glad that the Government is farsighted and is tackling this problem now, long before it becomes a serious problem. This has always been the hall-mark of our Government. I am further comforted by the composition of the Committee, in particular the Chairman who, in spite of a seemingly hard exterior, has a heart of gold. Knowing him, I have no doubt that the problems of the aged must have been thoroughly deliberated by the Committee. Sir, we all have to grow old one day. All of us feel we could take care of ourselves when we reach that stage but there are times in which plans do not turn out the way it should be - the way we want it to be. Therefore, it is the duty of the Government to ensure that the people in this category should be well-cared for. I think the Government will do so, not only because our people deserve it but because our Government has always been one which looks after its people for the overall good of the nation. The Committee's Report came up with 35 major recommendations to solve the problems of the aged in the future. Allow me to say, Sir, that as a rule the Report has been comprehensive and is good. The Committee should be congratulated for a job well done. However, every rule tends to have exceptions. This Report is no different. Discussions with my constituents have highlighted several areas of concern. I understand the noble intention of the recommendations. But whilst I understand them, I cannot with clear conscience lend my support to them without appropriate amendments being made.”
“Sir, can I clarify this? The point is this. The financial arrangements appear to be one-sided. In other words, when CAAS makes more and more profit, there appears to be no provision whatsoever in the Bill to indicate how these surpluses are to be treated and under what circumstances can these funds be recalled for consolidation into the Government accounts again. If this can be clarified, I think it is a good investment.”
“The Member made a good suggestion on the possibility of the export of brain services, particularly with respect to airport management consultancy. Sir, I would like to thank him for this suggestion. We will bear it in mind. It is, of course, Government's policy to develop Singapore as a brains and services centre. However, for the foreseeable future, with our own development of the second terminal building and the opening of the second runway, this particular suggestion is unlikely to be implemented in the short-term. Sir, the powers referred to by the Member in clause 7 are the powers presently needed by the Department of Civil Aviation. The Member also referred to joint ventures and suggested that such joint ventures should only be for purposes or activities that are aviation-related. I think that is an excellent suggestion. It is a suggestion that we ourselves have looked at very closely and have decided that it is something that we should follow closely. In toto, I would like to thank the Member for his support. He has obviously looked at the Bill very closely. He has given very cogent arguments on various points and made some very positive suggestions which my Ministry and the CAAS will look into very carefully. Sir, I turn now to the Member for Telok Blangah who talks about statutory boards being market-oriented and profit-oriented and, almost in the same breath, he said that he would not invest in the CAAS. Sir, there seems to be a contradiction there.”
“He says: 'As an American expatriate who has lived out of the United States for the past 13 years, five of which have been in Singapore, I have been in most of the major airports in the world [The previous letter talks about Asia], I don't recall any of them being better than Changi. I think it's time Changi Airport receives the recognition it deserves. I, for one, say it's the best airport facility in the world.' We must ensure that the CAAS does not get its head swelled as a result of such compliments. I completely share the Member's concern that there should continue to be improvements made to ensure that we continue to be close to the best, if not the best, in the world. Sir, the Member talks about the use of space in Changi Airport. He talks about the air-conditioning. I would like to reassure the Member that we are as concerned as he is regarding the need to conserve space and energy in Singapore. However, Sir, for an airport that seeks to be ranked among the best in the world, we must strike a proper balance between functionality and aesthetics. We can, of course, save a little on space, but if we try to do too much of that, then the Airport terminal building will feel claustrophobic, which would not be an attraction to Singapore as a centre for visitors. Sir, the air-conditioning system has also been very carefully studied. There are systems of thermostats which control the volume of air coming through, responding to the heat and to the cooling demands, as a function of passenger movement, so that when the peak period has passed and the number of passengers is reduced significantly, the volume of air-conditioning is dropped in order that energy may be conserved.”
“The Member has asked about extra financial charges to be incurred by the Government. Sir, as a Government department, the DCA is provided with services by different Government departments for which no cost is made. As a statutory board, such transactions or services will have to be paid for both ways, and the amounts that will be transacted will have to be determined. Such transactions will have to be accounted for as a result of such a conversion from a Government department into a statutory board. Sir, I want to thank the Member for his remarks that the CAAS has room for improvement. Sir, I share completely the Member's concern because anyone who believes that any organization is without shortcoming is relatively short-sighted. I am glad that the Member has reminded the DCA, now the CAAS, that it should continue to strive to improve. Having said that, Sir, I would like to bring to the attention of this House two letters that were written to the press recently by visitors to Singapore, the first letter dated 15th of March in the Straits Times, and the second letter dated 19th of March, two days ago, also in the Straits Times. It is a very long letter, Sir, so I will just read the excerpts of the letters. The first letter was entitled, "A short and pleasant stopover at Changi". The last paragraph reads: 'Changi is easily one of the nicest and most well-maintained airports in Asia, and I've travelled to most of them. I hope you can maintain it at this high standard for a long time to come. Signed: Visitor.' Sir, the second letter is entitled, "Changi Airport is the world's best." I think this gentleman, by the name of C.V. Groomer, has been very kind to us.”
“Sir, as I have indicated in my earlier comments, the purpose of forming a statutory board out of the Department of Civil Aviation is to permit the Board to respond to rapid changes and technological improvements in the aviation industry. This is an industry where a lot of money has been spent on research and development where technological improvements take place practically overnight, and so without flexibility it may be difficult for us to continue to be able to respond as quickly as is necessary in order to ensure that Singapore will continue to be a place that is attractive for major airlines to come to. Because without major airlines, large numbers of them coming into Singapore, it would not be possible to generate the traffic that will justify the building of an airport involving vast sums of public funds. Sir, the Member is also concerned about the possibility of the reduction of staff in the Ministry of Communications going over to the statutory body, the CAAS. I would like to assure the Member that there is no intention at the moment to have anybody move out of the Ministry of Communications over to the CAAS. The CAAS will take over personnel that is currently with the DCA. The Member also raised the question of productivity. I would like to assure the Member that the CAAS will continue to strive to be competitive, as competitive as the DCA has been in days past. Sir, the records of the statutory boards under the Ministry of Communications have been such that the level of manning has over the past years been decreasing with increased through-put and production of services and goods. This is true both for the PSA as well as the Telecoms. I am sure that the CAAS will strive to do likewise. Hence, I think the productivity of the CAAS can be assured.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the Bill. However, lately, Sir, it is becoming more and more fashionable for Government departments to be converted into statutory boards for one reason or other. Usually, the reasons are good reasons. But when these statutory boards are formed, they tend to be more market-oriented than service-oriented. In other words, they tend to be profit-driven, and this can be at the expense of services to the public. We do practise what is known as profit-centre management and I have no doubt this Authority would make a lot of profit. Looking at the financial arrangement, Sir, I would not invest my money in this particular type of investment unless the Minister can give an assurance to the question which I have. Basically, there is clause 16 which states that "the Minister may from time to time make grants-in-aid to the Authority of such sums of money as the Minister may determine out of moneys to be provided by Parliament." My question, Sir, is that there appears to be no provision to indicate how surpluses, which definitely this Authority will have, are to be treated and under what circumstances can these funds be recalled back for consolidation into the Government account. I wish to have a clarification of this point, Sir. Dr Yeo Ning Hong: Mr Speaker, Sir, first of all, let me thank the Member for Punggol for his very kind words about the Changi Airport. It has been a lot of hard work for Singaporeans working together building up our reputation as a major international air junction starting from the days, as he said, of Kallang, then Paya Lebar and then Changi.”
“Here, the usual Singaporean touch of ingenuity and resourcefulness is required. Maybe the concept need to be repackaged to be more attractive and worthwhile to attract these mothers into our labour force again. Furthermore, Sir, I feel that the Government should take the lead with its Government departments, statutory boards and, more importantly, the numerous Government-owned or Government-controlled companies. This would give the impetus for other employers to follow suit if the Government with the prompting of the Ministry of Labour would set the tempo and the tenor of this project. In short, all in all, the Ministry of Labour should not only be in constant labour but must also deliver. Would the Minister please comment?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, before I speak on the topic of part-time employment for housewives, may I reiterate the plea of my colleague who is not here, the Member for Whampoa, when he called for more information from Ministries. I found that in particular, the Ministry of Labour is one of those Ministries which have produced an annual report. I know that a few other Ministries have done so. This is commendable and I hope that all Ministries would follow suit and take note because it would be strange for Ministries of Communications and Education not to have annual reports which could be useful to both Members of this House and members of the public to acquaint themselves with what the Ministries are doing especially. Maybe these Ministries should learn how to communicate better. Sir, in February 1979 during the debate on the President's Address, I was pleased to note that in the Addendum of the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry was to cater for more part-time employment opportunities for housewives to alleviate the labour shortage. I am all for it because if we want housewives to have more children, we should cater for the situation when their children have grown up and when these mothers could spare pan of their time, they would wish to use their skills and talents to contribute to the country's economy again. This scheme may help to overcome boredom for some. However, in the latest report of the Ministry of Labour, I note that the pilot programme did not receive a good response. Sir, I quote: 'Only three housewives accepted part-time jobs. The others declined the part-time jobs available on the grounds that the nature of work, working hours or location of the company were not suitable.' I feel that the Ministry of Labour should not give up and must press on.”
“Sir, on that note, I beg leave to withdraw. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. [Mr Deputy Speaker in the Chair] 7.10 pm”
“Sir, before I withdraw the amendment, I would like to thank the Minister for considering my suggestion on the coin changing machine, Can I make another suggestion, Sir? Could he extend the season tickets to all commuters and not just to shareholders and school children? Since most of the fares are fixed, would he not be able to zone Singapore and sell season tickets? This would give better cash flow to SBS as well as convenience and a discount to the commuters and ease for the commuters. Would he consider this also?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head I be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead IC-05 of the Main Estimates. Sir, SBS has been improving its services much to the benefit of Singaporeans taking public transport, I am also pleased that my many requests on behalf of my constituents have been met with favourably. By and large, public transport for Telok Blangah Constituency has greatly improved in the last three to four years. We should constantly improve the SBS services whenever we can but not at the expense of any commuters. For this reason, I would like to forward a suggestion. Lately, SBS has been converting its services into OTS and OMO. These have increased productivity for SBS but it has also caused inconvenience to the public because the bus commuters are required to have the exact change for their fares. Did SBS foresee this problem, and what will be done to alleviate it? I would suggest that a coin changing machine be installed, initially at the Interchanges and later at all terminals. I have seen an efficient one which not only change coins to smaller coins but dollar notes to coins. This was in San Francisco in their underground known as the .BART. By putting this machine, I feel SBS need not increase its manpower substantially. Would the Minister please consider this request?”
“No, Sir, it is about the traffic jam at the World Trade Centre along Telok Blangah Road.”
“Sir, I am still waiting for an answer to the second question.”
“This would also cause hazards to the many people who wanted to cross Telok Blangah Road to either take public transport or to go to Sentosa in front of the World Trade Centre. This situation is especially more serious when the seminar or the exhibition ends and every motorist wants to rush back to continue with his business. Are there any plans to improve the traffic flow and to cater for the safety of the pedestrians? I would suggest a widening of the road and an overhead bridge erected in front of the World Trade Centre across Telok Blangah Road.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head I be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead IC-01 of the main Estimates. Sir, last week, the Straits Times, 15th March, 1984, reported on its back page with bold heading, "Two die as car hits tree". I am most concerned. This is the third instance in the past six months in which a car has split into two. I note that the Minister mentioned in Parliament after the last two car splits that investigation has been done and the cars had met with the safety standards. It is too much of a coincidence that here we have a similar car, of Japanese make, which again split. But this time the driver and passengers were not that fortunate. I would urge the Minister to take strong action to ensure that more stringent safety standards are imposed. He last said that it was because of the relative velocity of above 100 km per hour that caused the shearing and tearing of the car. Surely the relative velocity of two cars travelling in opposite direction on an expressway would be much more than 100 km per hour. Are we to expect a few more car splits before very stern action is taken? Certainly not, and knowing that the Minister is a man of action, he would act swiftly and judiciously. Sir, the other point is about traffic jam along Telok Blangah Road. The World Trade Centre in my Constituency is becoming increasingly popular with seminars and exhibitions. When there is such a function or both seminars and exhibitions together on the same day, the traffic is extremely heavy. A case in point was the 2nd Productivity Lecture organized by the National Productivity Board. It was obviously counter productive when you have over 100 cars lining up and causing a traffic jam at every entrance to the World Trade Centre car parks.”
“Would the Minister enlighten the House on the outcome of the visit and discussion? I hope that some semblance of the Tabung Haji could be implemented in Singapore, much to the benefit of Muslim Singaporeans who would wish to perform the Haj. 3. Mosque Accounts Sir, I notice that in the report by the Auditor-General on the latest MUIS Annual Report 82, he has stated that the Ministry, after having considered the matter (that is, amending the Act to allow persons appointed by the MUIS instead of the Auditor-General to audit the mosque accounts) has recommended that MUIS look into alternative ways to help the management committees to prepare annual statements of accounts so that these accounts can be submitted to the Auditor-General for auditing. I must say that this is a forward-looking recommendation, and I am sure that MUIS must have taken up the recommendation. By doing this, MUIS would further strengthen the management committees of mosques in terms of financial management. This is necessary as large amounts of public funds would be involved when more and more mosques are built. Could the Minister elaborate on the steps that have been taken by MUIS to assist and strengthen the management committees in their financial management?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, going through MUIS Annual Report 1982, it is apparent that MUIS has grown from strength to strength at the outset. My congratulations to the President and the members of MUIS for their dedication and effort towards Muslim services in Singapore. Sir, I have three items on which I wish the Minister to comment and elaborate. 1. Mosque Building Programme Singapore is one of the few countries, if not the only country, in the world whereby the Muslims, being a member of the minority, has successfully built new mosques with their own contributions. Singapore must also be the only Government in the world which although secular has supported in concrete terms the aspirations of the Muslims in Singapore to build their own mosques and allowing the use of Government infrastructure, namely, the CPF mechanism. This speaks well and clearly demonstrates to the world that the Singapore Government promotes a plural society. This augurs well also for the Muslims and we should be grateful to the Government because, though it is secular in nature, it takes great pains to allow all recognized world religions to be freely practised by its people. My question is, would the Minister elaborate on its Phase 11 Mosque Building Programme, launched in 1982, which stated that nine new mosques would be built in the new towns? Would he provide us with details, and is he satisfied with the progress of this programme? 2. Tabung Haji Last year, I mentioned that we should learn from our ASEAN neighbour, Malaysia, about the administration and the possible implementation of the Tabung Haji concept. I understand that the suggestion for MUIS team to have a dialogue and a visit to the Tabung Haji officials in Malaysia was taken up.”
“Sir, may I thank the Minister very much for his reply. I do look forward to more attractions, but I wonder whether he is trying to sink the Coralarium into an Oceanarium. But whatever it is, we look forward to the many attractions. On this note, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. In the absence of Mr Liew Kok Pun, the following amendment standing in his name was not proceeded with: (4) That the sum to be allocated for Head W be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead WB-02 of the Main Estimates.”
“That is under the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Sir. Maybe the Trade Development Board might want to come into the act. I would commend the planting of local fruit trees along the monorail track. This is a very good idea because I notice that some young children are very excited when they see local fruit trees for the first time. I have heard in the monorail young children asking, "What is that?" When I looked around,l saw it was a coconut tree. Obviously, not many young Singaporeans of four or five years old have seen coconut trees or lime trees. So I do not blame the Member for Nee Soon when he commented that maybe the officers from the HDB Resettlement Department, being members of the younger generation, have not seen such trees. I would suggest that they go to Sentosa Island. The Monorail is good. The Musical Fountain could be slightly improved because it is not comparable to the one in Disneyland Hotel. I understand that this is going to be done. The new jetty is much safer. I understand that the chances of little children falling off are less, With all these comments, I hope the Minister would seriously consider putting more grants into the Sentosa Development Corporation and soup up the whole place.”
“I would suggest that you have a few more nasi padang stalls which, I think, would be enjoyed by everybody. I understand that there is a good nasi padang stall at the Swimming Lagoon and maybe this could be included in the extension of the hawker centre. An hon. Member: Any interest to declare?”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head W be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead WB-01 Object Group 3110 of the Main Estimates. Sir, Sentosa Island is our island in the sun of mainland Singapore. I have monitored the progress of Sentosa Island over the last three, four or five years, and I think the progress of the development of facilities, amenities and attractions has been commendable. Of course, I have a vested interest here because Sentosa is in my Constituency. For this reason, Sir, I would like to highlight a few items which need the attention of the people looking after Sentosa. First, the attractions have greatly improved. For instance, the Insectarium is very well presented. You pay 50 cents, you get a postcard and the place is airconditioned. It is more than cost-justifiable to pay your 50 cents. It is good value for money. However, I cannot say the same for the Coralarium. There you cannot take the Monorail as in the case of the Insectarium. You stop, you take a bus and then you have to pay $2.50. There has apparently been an increase in charges. What do you see there? Absolutely nothing. The Tower, which was the highlight of the Coralarium, is gone. The exhibits are all decrepit. I would suggest that you should not even allow the exhibits to be viewed free-of-charge by the people because it leaves a very bitter taste in the mouth. I would suggest that you close it down completely and just put a sign saying, "Before this date, here lies the Coralarium." You could be charged for daylight robbery, and that is exactly how I felt after going through it. Remember that Sentosa is in my Constituency. The other point is that, Sir, you have the Rasa Sentosa, which is a very good idea. However, there is a great shortage of Muslim food there.”
“The Minister has not answered this question. It looks like we were not offered the programmes Yes Minister and Mind Your Language. Is it because of the censorship policy? Can you please clarify this? We had it the second time round.”
“Now, the second time around, it comes round and it is being shown on the air. The other thing, Sir, is that it appears that although there is an increase in licence fees, SBC still push along this no-pay-no-show concept. A case in point is the Hong Bao Show which the Minister attempted to reply, but I am not convinced. Because I thought for the Hong Bao Show, the STPB and the SDC, if I am not mistaken, spent a vast amount of money to stage that show, and I thought that show would have been a worthwhile one. Many of my residents asked me this question, "Why not?" So I am asking now, why not? I notice also that the SBC has gone to town and slotted an advertisement slot or inserts into the News. Is this really necessary? I do not think it is. Sir, I would appreciate if the Minister could give me an answer to this query. And I must say that basically SBC has improved but I think there is still room for improvement.”
“Sir, I join my colleague, the Member for Geylang Serai, in his comments about the dearth of good Malay programmes in SBC. However, I must say that SBC has generally improved in its production. I would like to touch upon the question of censorship policy which I find a bit difficult to reconcile. Many of my residents have complained that the censorship policy on television is pretty strange and there appears to be a dual standard of censorship in Singapore. They claim that this is so for particularly the Chinese shows. One day I sat up to watch a film known as the Golden Swallow which I saw in a theatre some 10 years ago. It starred at that time the famous duo, Wang Yu and Cheng Pei Pei. I remember, Sir, the last scene of the original film which was shown in a theatre known as Roxy. In the fighting scene alone, the action went on for about 10 minutes. Here you are on television after about one and a quarter hours, in a minute you see the hero standing with about 40 lying dead. I was wondering what happened. There may be a need for these deletions so as to cut it short in order to suit the time slots. Or maybe the scenes are considered too violent now, 10-12 years later, than it was 10-12 years ago. Sir, I appreciate there must be good reasons behind the TV censorship and maybe the Minister may wish to enlighten the House and the people as to the rationale for this apparent discrepancy between the two censorship policies? Furthermore, Sir, I notice also that good programmes like Yes Minister and Mind Your Language, apparently get by-passed. Maybe the Censorship Board or the people doing the censorship thought it was too sensitive or maybe it may not appeal to the humour of the Singaporeans. Sir, I must say that they are wrong.”
“It may be too early for the Minister to make a response to this. What I would like to know is what is Singapore's thinking about talks with Vietnam to try and find a solution?”
“Sir, I thank the Minister for his detailed answer and I beg leave to withdraw. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Mr Jeyaretnam: Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 0 be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead OB-01 of the Development Estimates. Sir, this of course, as you can see, deals with the Purchase of Properties for Overseas Missions and it has already been touched upon by other Members and the Minister in his reply. I note that we have spent about $96 million in the purchase of offices and residences and a sum of $14 million is now earmarked, subject to Treasury sanction. What I want to ask the Minister is what is the thinking regarding opening of new offices now that we have a grouping known as ASEAN-Six sovereign states. Is there any thinking of perhaps sharing offices with a view to reducing expenditure on properties abroad or having one ASEAN country look after the interests of another country where it has a diplomatic office? Or are we all going to set up separate offices? Is that the thinking that there should be separate offices in each country? I am asking this because that obviously is one way of trying to reduce the costs of expense on buildings overseas. We have spent, as I said, $96 million. May I move on, Sir, with your permission, to ask a question which perhaps may not come under the Development Estimates, and that is, on the question of relations with Vietnam. I am referring to the report in the papers today on the remarks made by the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs that Vietnam is now willing to talk about the withdrawal of Vietnamese forces from Cambodia without linking it to the withdrawal of foreign troops from other countries in ASEAN or other countries in Asia.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 0 be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead OA-02 Object Group 3310 of the Main Estimates. Sir, in the free world there are only two economic groupings which are worth noting, the EEC and ASEAN. ASEAN's strength comes from the deep understanding and appreciation of the hopes, aspirations, fears and objectives among the leaders themselves. In short, ASEAN SIX is in fact ASEAN ONE. This has been the trade mark of ASEAN: its solidarity and its one-mindedness in approaching any problems, reviewing any situations and investing in any opportunities. However, Sir, I find it difficult to reconcile when it comes to the issue of Cambodia and the Vietnamese threat. To countries near the action, the Vietnamese threat is current and real. ASEAN has always approached this issue together. However, there appears to be a sudden change in the stand of one of its members because she has bilaterally gone ahead with her own objectives. The question now is, are ASEAN countries divided in their views and stand on the Cambodian issue? Would the Minister please comment?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, with all the explanation that was given, may I just say that this is Singapore. This is my country. I am prepared to defend it and I am sure many Singaporeans will be willing to defend it. I think the lives of Singaporeans are worth much more than $400 or $1,000 that is required. On this note, I beg leave to withdraw. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $2,113,240,000 for Head K ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. The sum of $150,000,000 for Head K ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. Head O - The following amendment stood in the name of Mr M.K.A. Jabbar: (1) That the sum to be allocated for Head 0 be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead OA-01 Object Group 1100 of the Main Estimates.”
“Member for Punggol gave a report on the measures taken to control drug abuse in the SAF. Since then the subject of drug abuse has not been featured. Does this silence mean that there is no more problem now or perhaps the problem has become more serious so that the Ministry has deliberately chosen to remain silent on the subject? Would the Minister once again elaborate on the measures taken to prevent drug abuse and to help rehabilitate the drug addicts in the SAF. 7.30 pm Another matter I would like to raise is the medical procedures relating to sick leave for national servicemen. The SAF has a peculiar and seemingly unreasonable system of requiring sick servicemen who have been seen by private doctors or Government doctors to present themselves to their Unit medical officers for examination or to submit their medical certificates to them for endorsement within 24 hours. Some SAF units are as far as Pulau Tekong. This system has therefore not only inconvenienced the sick servicemen but also their families who in some instances had to go to the unit to submit the medical certificates on behalf of the servicemen who were too sick to go themselves. This unreasonable system seems to contradict the SAF personnel management philosophy which emphasizes care for the well-being of its people and their families. Would the Minister comment on whether the system could be changed?”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head K be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead KB-01 of the Main Estimates. Sir, I am heartened to see the quick progress of our Armed Forces and I am confident that Singaporeans feel much safer with the development too. This is our country. We have to defend it. Contrary to popular belief I feel that it is defensible. I hope the Minister will further keep up the good work of educating the general public on the concept of total defence because every Singaporean should and must be involved in the defence of our beloved nation. I feel that the message propagated by the advertising campaign last year, "A generation's effort can be wiped out in days" was most appropriate. I hope this year something similar has been planned to drive the message home. Could the Minister please elaborate on the concept of total defence? I believe that every Singaporean would be proud to answer the call to defend the nation when the crunch comes. Dr Koh Lip Lin: Sir, I would like to take this opportunity to ask the Minister of Defence a few questions concerning the Singapore Armed Forces. The first question is on the improvement of the quality of the officers in SAF. We have often been told that the quality of our Armed Forces depends not only on the sophisticated modern hardware but also on the quality of the soldiers and officers. I would like to ask the Minister what is being done by the SAF to improve the quality of its officers so that they can cope with the demands of the modern, technically sophisticated and professionally competent defence force. The second question I would like to ask is about drug abuse in the SAF. In the Parliament Sitting of 17th March 1982, the Minister of State, in answer to a question raised by the hon.”
“Sir the Minister has not answered my question about the apparent delay in upgrading the TV aerial.”
“Car parks in my constituency is no more a major problem. I am glad to say that it has been greatly relieved by the building of extra car parks and the implementation of curbside parking. However, several of my constituents recently enquired as to why they were not allowed to purchase season parking tickets for the usual one year period. All the car park labels are due to expire towards the end of this year. Again, there must be good reasons why this is done. However, the residents are concerned that there may suddenly be a log-jam with everybody queueing to renew the season parking tickets at the end of the year. I am sure this potential problem must have been thought of by the Minister and could the Minister please clarify the situation.”
“Sir, firstly, may I take this opportunity to ask the Minister to convey my appreciation and the appreciation of my constituents in Depot Road affected by the landslide on the 3rd March 1984 for the prompt action that the HDB area officer and his staff had taken to do their job. May I place on record also that I am very comforted by the fact that residents in Depot Road were very supportive and understanding during the mini crisis. Sir, the HDB has done a lot of improvements to my constituency. However, I would like to bring up three localised cases. The latest improvement done by the HDB is clearing the rusty water and alleviating the problem of low water pressure in the top two floors of every block in my constituency by changing the water pipes. The rusty water problem has been resolved but I am not too sure whether my rusty pipes have been sent to Geylang Serai for my colleague, the Member for Geylang Serai, to solve the rusty water problem. Whilst the rusty water problem has been resolved and the low water pressure generally alleviated, there are still small pockets where the flow of water is still unsatisfactory. Sometimes in a block a few units are not getting good water pressure. Could the Minister please explain why this is so, especially when the residents try to use pressure-driven water heaters? The second matter is this. Sir, there must be very good reasons why the TV aerial in several blocks in HDB flats could not receive the broadcast from SBC Channel 12. Would the Minister explain why the installation of additional boosters, if that is what is required for the HDB flats, appears to be delayed? This is most unlike the usual HDB far-sightedness and prompt action which Singaporeans have taken somewhat for granted. The third matter is car parks.”