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.”
The complete record
Every one of 221 lines we hold for Rohan bin Kamis, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 2 of 5.
“Sir, in view of the clarification and the firm assurance given by the Minister, and I am sure the Member for Anson is not achieving any more productivity except for publicity, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Mr Jeyaretnam: Now I will give you three guesses as to what I am going to talk about this time. An hon. Member: Same old tune. 7.00 pm”
“I would give him a copy of my speech if he does not get me the first time round. What I said just now was that the chief executive of the company then arranged an interview with the foreign press which then wrote a nasty article. I am saying that the chief executive of this foreign company actually applied for Employment Passes for his executives. That was what we were talking about. I hope we do not pass each other again.”
“Sir, I'd have given him a copy of my speech -”
“Sir, firstly, may I thank the Minister for his very clear and kind answer. I must say that obviously the Straits Times may have wrongly reported it. The other point is that I know that he is a man who is very meticulous and the Controller of Immigration is a fine gentleman with high principles and a man of integrity. And I know the Minister is a very busy man looking after three ministries - Law, Home Affairs and Labour. I know he is on hard labour. The situation here is that I am not quoting out of rumours, as some other Members of this House do. However, in this particular instance, it appeared in the Asian Wall Street Journal and I took the trouble to ring the Minister up to inform him about the case. I hope I have jogged his memory. Does the Minister still need clarification on the case I am talking about? It is a computer company whose chief executive came from Europe and he did exactly what I am telling you to do. Then I met one of his personnel in Desaru and they were laughing about the whole thing a week after.”
“I was not surprised when I read what Mr Devan Nair, the former Secretary-General of NTUC, wrote in 1977 when he lamented about the qualities of our personnel managers and the Singapore Institute of Personnel Management. That was nearly seven years ago and the situation has yet to improve. Coming back to abuses in employment passes, is the Minister aware that the implications are far-reaching besides merely frustrating our own people? I am told, besides giving employment passes to their redundant personnel due to cutbacks as a result of economic conditions in their own countries, these foreign companies also use this mechanism to avoid paying corporate tax by charging high secondment fees or technical aid fees. I was also further informed that in one case, the technical aid fee was pegged to the turnover. Sir, can you imagine that it is 3% of, say, a $100 million turnover per year? The tax avoided is $1.2 million per year, Whilst I appreciate that we should not adopt all what other countries do, i.e. protectionistic inclinations for our locals to get jobs, nevertheless, surely it is a paramount duty of the government of the day to make sure that its people are not unduly disadvantaged.”
“This dumping is even more serious than that; it has created a lot of unhappiness amongst the younger professionals in Singapore. The Minister may state that there are not many of such cases except for the one from Telok Blangah. My answer is, tell me which qualified young professional would risk looking silly and being subject to doubts if he had been retrenched because a foreign national had taken over his job. I can assure the Minister that there are many such cases that have gone unnoticed by his Ministry. I heard the banking field tops the list. I am not against expatriates, that is, good ones, to be in Singapore and contributing to our economic progress. I am even for them in the offer of permanent residence if they have contributed to our progress and helped in the training and transferring of know-how to our people. However, it is most unfortunate when you open the gate to allow thoroughbred race horses through to the greener pastures of Singapore, donkeys, asses and jackasses follow. We should have a discriminating mind in looking into this problem especially when local stable hands in the guise of personnel managers bill these donkeys as thoroughbred race horses, sometimes to look good in the eyes of their foreign lords and masters. By implication, therefore, there is another problem area that should be looked into, and that is the functions and qualities of personnel managers. Surely, if we could raise their level of professionalism, such cases of false employment pass applications would not have occurred because good personnel managers would have vetted them before they were sent to the Ministry for approval. However, I have met some very competent and good personnel managers and also, unfortunately, many who have great room for improvement.”
“However, I do have many expatriate friends who are on employment passes here. The only difference is that they are all qualified with relevant knowledge and, more important, honest. Some even commented that people like the one reported gave the expatriates a bad name. Would the Minister please consider tightening the housekeeping screws when it comes to the approval of employment pass applications? Is the Minister aware of the latest game in town? It is known as "Putting the Immigration Department On." The game goes like this: the company, sometimes pseudo multi-national corporations, apply for employment passes for its personnel. These are usually companies which are not able to face the challenge of their own nationals and hence have to push themselves into the Pacific region and since Singapore is the centre of this growth area, why not Singapore? The chief executive of the company then arranges an interview with a foreign press which will write a very nasty article about Singapore. The Immigration Department gets agitated, calls up the person who then profusely apologize. He is then given the necessary employment pass in double-quick time and behind the back of the Immigration Department, he laughs and ridicule how unthinking we have been. It could then be summarized as thus: apply for the pass, make a statement, shake up Immigration, apologize, receive the pass and then laugh as you pass GO and collect $200. Of course, I am simplifying the procedures but I think the point is made and many Singaporeans are not happy with the state of affairs. I know of several Singaporeans who have been retrenched because their companies have decided to dump their retrenched personnel in Singapore. We talk about Japan and Korea dumping steel.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 0 be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead QJ-01 of the Main Estimates. Mr Speaker, Sir, in moving this amendment, I would seek clarifications and firm assurance from the Minister that there could not be any slip-ups and abuses in the issue of employment passes. At the outset, may I state that I understand and appreciate the necessity of foreign nationals working in Singapore. I feel that they could play a role in Singapore's economic progress. However, those on employment passes in my opinion should have a few basic qualities. This should include in the main these prerequisites: recognized qualifications, established competency, relevant knowledge and, most important of all, honesty and integrity. In short, having the person who is qualified is not sufficient if his knowledge is not relevant to Singapore's economic progress and it is worse if he is dishonest. For this reason, I could not understand when I read in the Straits Times dated Friday, 24th February, 1984, under "Court Briefs" with the heading "Man lied about degree". It stated that a foreign national "was fined $800 yesterday for falsely stating in an employment pass application that he held a Bachelor of Arts degree from London University."Surely there must be a mistake", I said, because after this man had openly pleaded guilty and fined, he was later granted a pass to enable him to continue working. Could the Minister explain why this is so? Because simple logic would have stated that he should be asked to leave the country rather unceremoniously. Sir, at this point, may I state categorically that I do not know who this man is and from what has been reported, it would not be much of a loss in not knowing him.”
“In view of the satisfactory answer, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Sir, one more suggestion. Would the Minister consider distributing these leaflets on the use of expressways to foreign drivers coming to our country? 6.00 pm”
“Sir, would the Minister consider demarcating the outermost lane of the new expressways to be an overtaking lane and therefore no vehicle should be travelling on the outer lane unless it is overtaking? So you have a slow lane, a fast lane and an overtaking lane. Would the Minister consider that?”
“Would their time not be better spent, although it is hard work, to patrol more vigilantly at expressways? Road-hoggers and reckless drivers should be their first targets because these people not only endanger their own lives but also the lives of other road-users. I am sure there must be good reasons why they are doing all this, and would the Minister please enlighten the House.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head Q be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead QE-01 of the Main Estimates. Sir, in raising this amendment on Traffic Enforcement, I seek clarification on the following matters. It is now a regulation that all heavy vehicles as well as motor vans should be fitted with automatic flashing lights. I understand this is to indicate when the vehicle is travelling above the authorized speed limit. However, it is not uncommon at night to see many such vehicles, particularly along expressways, having these lights flashing. I wonder whether this is part of the Registry of Vehicles' contribution to beautify Singapore with these flashing lights. Surely not, because there must be easier and more effective ways to do this. Then why is the Traffic Police not stepping up its vigilance on this matter? Furthermore, along expressways, there have been many road-hoggers. Would the Police not consider having some form of campaign where Singapore drivers could be educated, if not, at least informed of how to use the new expressways? The signs which say "Keep left when driving slowly" appear to be totally ignored. Are there any plans to mount such a campaign, because this would certainly make for safer driving along the expressways and help every motorist to get to their destinations faster. Sir, on some of the tactics used by the Traffic Police to catch traffic offenders, some of my constituents find the hidden traffic trap sneaky, to say the least, because it appears that the Traffic Police takes great delight in hiding in some obscure corners or in bushes provided by the Parks and Recreation Department and aiming their speed meter gun at speeding motorists who would have just exceeded the normal speed limit of 50 kmh.”
“Thank you, Sir. Sir, the Neighbourhood Police Post system has been implemented for some time now. Would the Minister please report on the progress made? Would he also enlighten the House of any problems that may have been accounted and what improvements would need to be made? Sir, my constituents are also interested as to when the NPP will be established in the Telok Blangah Constituency.”
“Sir, I have an amendment No. 5 on the same topic. Can I speak now?”
“Sir, I thank the Minister for his report, and I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $1,256,380,100 for Head L ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. The sum of $622,681,900 for Head L ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. Head M -”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head L be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead LF-03 of the Main Estimates. Sir, the purpose of moving this amendment is to enquire from the Minister the progress of the BEST programme which had been implemented for a few years now. Has it achieved its objectives? Are there any problems? Is the Minister satisfied with the support given by the workers and the employers? What has been planned that will make the BEST programme better?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I join my colleagues, the Member for Boon Teck and the Member for Boon Lay, to question the policy on priority of primary school registration for graduate mothers. My constituents strongly object to the implementation of such a policy. Furthermore, I am not yet convinced that this policy is for the general good of our nation because (there are only four points I am listing out) such incentive will not encourage the graduate mother to produce more children. Furthermore, those graduate mothers who have three children now are the ones who have ignored the Government's family planning policy to stop at two. Though the number of graduate mothers is small, it will be implemented at the expense of the majority. Lastly, such a policy leads to an interpretation that the children of graduate mothers are superior than those of the non-graduate mothers. The children of the graduate mothers may become snobbish. However, the Ministry of Education has done a good job generally, up to now. So I feel that we should not throw away the baby with the bath water. There must be very good reasons for adopting this special discriminatory registration scheme, and I am prepared to be convinced.”
“If we could condemn a building such as the National Theatre because its structure is unsafe, I would suggest that the same engineers take a good look at the Gay World indoor stadium. Surely it should have been condemned a long time ago not only for its structure but also for its social disadvantages, especially when Singapore is known to be doing things in good taste and high standards. I understand that one of my colleagues would be speaking later and presenting his case on this matter of a new indoor stadium under the appropriate Ministry. Sir, once again, I support the Budget and I do hope that in next year's Budget, my requests would have been favourably considered. Mr Tang See Chim (Chua Chu Kang) rose-”
“I hope, Mr Speaker, Sir, that the same pen which the Minister for Finance used to convert the $100 million loan into a grant has still more ink because I am appealing to him in the same light for his future Budget to consider the plight of the Singapore Sports Council (SSC), that is, to convert the outstanding loan of about $16 million for the construction and improvements of the National Stadium into a grant. In this instance, sir, the National Stadium, taken on its own, is a necessary social infrastructure in the promotion of sports in Singapore. It is used solely for the enjoyment of our population. I understand that the National Stadium has been cost-effectively run since it was built. Whilst it has produced sufficient surpluses for many years in order to service the $16 million loan, surely this is too big a burden for the SSC to bear. It is said that flowers do leave fragrance in the hands of the giver. So bearing in mind the noble objective of the SSC and the dedicated people running it, they would certainly appreciate very much a bouquet of $16 million grant. I could go on but I would not because I know that the Minister for Finance is a man not only with a good head but a heart to match. He has noted my point by the look of it, especially when he is fully aware that last year the SSC has again asked for a moratorium on the outstanding interest payments. As can be seen from his Budget this year, the Minister is in a generous mood because Singaporeans have worked hard under the guidance of his fiscal policies aud have made the grade. For this reason, if he wants to give us a bonus, I would further appeal that he reconsider the request to build a decent indoor stadium in Singapore, one that we could all be proud of.”
“If I may be allowed to paraphrase the words of a certain man: "We are better off today than we were in 1980." The current Minister for Finance and his predecessors have no doubt guided the growth of Singapore's economy with the welfare of its people in mind through their prudent fiscal policies. Here, I would like to mention what he did in one of his Budgets a few years ago with regard to Government funds on loan to Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC). He knew that Sentosa should be developed, and develop it did, for the enjoyment of Singaporeans and tourists. In this respect, Mr Speaker, Sir, I must declare my vested interest because Sentosa is in my constituency although its facilities, amenities and attractions are enjoyed by people outside Telok Blangah and even outside Singapore. A couple of years ago, the then Minister for Finance did a noble thing, and that is, with a stroke of his pen he convened nearly $100 million from a loan into a grant for SDC. He knew fully well that SDC could not pay back even the interest on the loan, not to mention the loan itself. However, he must have done it because it is a social obligation which the Government proudly accepts for the good of its people as well as to assist in the promotion of the tourist industry. That is why Sentosa island as well as its surrounding islands have been well-developed rapidly, much to the enjoyment of everybody.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise to join my colleagues to support the Budget that has been presented by the Minister for Finance. It is a good Budget that brings cheers and not tears to the populace. I cannot imagine that anyone could possibly find any critical fault with such a Budget unless he is trying to nitpick. To me, what is more significant is to look at the Budget on a macro scale because this year's Budget, especially the reduction of personal income tax, is the concluding pan of a four-part mini series beginning in 1980. Let me explain. In the Budget Statement of 1980, the Government boldly proclaimed that, and I quote: 'The aim of the Government is to reduce the levels of personal income tax in the next two to three years until the maximum effective rate is no more than the company rate of income tax, i.e., 40%. Then there will be no advantage for people to set up companies from which they draw low salaries for income tax purposes, whilst the bulk of their needs are paid by the company whose profits carry only 40% company tax. Such a reduction will be fairer on those wage earners who cannot hide their incomes, and on those professionals who cannot incorporate themselves into private limited companies because their professions disallow it.' Sir, it was difficult to imagine any other government then in the face of impending world recession and slow growth being able to boldly promise that it would reduce the levels of personal income tax. We did so, and more important we delivered the promise. The inflation rate has been kept low, the standard of living has improved while the cost of living checked. All in all, that the population has benefitted, nobody could deny.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, will the Minister consider lowering the age to 60 years as the qualifying age for concession at Government outpatient dispensaries? This would be considered not as a sign of the person being old or elderly but more as a sign of appreciation of the person's contribution to the country.”
“Last year, I discovered that the medical officers travelled in the same bus used by the pilgrims to move around; for instance, from the airport to Makkah. As they carry medical supplies and other paraphernalia, it is preferable that they are provided with a chartered vehicle for their exclusive use. Whatever suggestions are made to improve the Haj services in the Holy land, I think these can be translated into action only if MUIS has the necessary funds. According to MUIS financial statement of accounts as contained in its 1981 Annual Report, MUIS spent $29,222 for pilgrimage affairs. If the number of pilgrims is about 2,000, the provision for each pilgrim works out to only $15. I hope that the provision for pilgrimage affairs can be raised. I would like to draw the attention of the Hon. Acting Minister that the provision made to the Singapore Sports Council for inter-constituency sports amounted to $341,250. The Acting Minister for Social Affairs (Dr Ahmad Mattar): Mr Speaker, Sir, we are debating Muslim services and not the Sports Council.”
“We may also look south to another ASEAN neighbour, Indonesia, for a mutual exchange of ideas to improve our Muslim services. Encik Saidi Haji Shariff (Kaki Bukit)( In Malay): Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to add to what has already been expressed by my colleagues regarding the Haj services organized by MUIS. At the outset, allow me to extend my appreciation and congratulations to MUIS for the initiative and vigour on the part of the MUIS officials in discharging their tasks with perseverance and dedication, particularly the medical officers and nurses for the services rendered to the Singapore pilgrims last year in Makkah, Medina and Mina. They fulfilled their duties par excellence, having regard to the fact that the holy land was acutely congested and the difficult conditions under which they had to work. May Allah shower them with His blessings for their good work. 3.15 p.m. MUIS has rented two rooms for use as a clinic located in Makkah where the Haj pilgrims gather. As has been suggested by the Member for Kampong Ubi, it is desirable to secure a much larger area for the medical officers and nurses to do their work. As the number of Haj pilgrims from Singapore is about 2,000 yearly and they do not live at the same place in the Holy land, it is considered adequate to provide only one clinic, but it should be sufficiently large in size and be centrally located and within easy reach of the pilgrims. The clinic should be adequately staffed and provided with sufficient medical supplies. Since the medical officers are required to visit sick pilgrims, there is therefore a need, as suggested by the Member for Kampong Ubi, for a vehicle to be provided specifically to the medical unit.”
“I would also urge the Minister to use his good offices to assist MUIS in the negotiation. Suggestion Sir, in the Minister's recent constituency tour, he mentioned in reply to a question that a scheme to assist Muslims to save in order to perform the Haj is being considered. First, I must congratulate the Minister for considering such a well appreciated scheme. In this respect, we are lucky that we have a good neighbour who has a great wealth of experience and expertise in such a scheme. This good neighbour is our closest ASEAN neighbour, Malaysia. Sir, Malaysia has a very successful scheme which they have perfected to a 'T'. They have tuned it to a fine art. This scheme is known as Lembaga Urusan Tabung Haji (LUTH) or popularly known as Tabung Haji. Therefore, I suggest that we should learn as much as we can from Malaysia and I am sure they would be most happy to share their experiences of their Tabung Haji. I know that due to prevailing conditions, we may not be able to implement the scheme in toto but with the usual Singaporean ingenuity, I am confident that we could modify the scheme to suit our situation. Towards this end, I feel that MUIS should consider sending a team to Malaysia to learn more of their project. At the same time, we can also learn what other good things that they may be implementing to enhance our own Muslim services, e.g. maybe the Islamic bank. This would in turn lead to even better and closer relationship with our ASEAN neighbour. We have been looking west and we have been looking east for science and technology. Now, I think it is time we should consider looking north to our Malaysian neighbour to learn from their experiences in Muslim services in particular, their Tabung Haji scheme.”
“Sir, I could feel their sense of pride in Singapore and SIA, but I could also sense their disappointment when told that it is purely for economic reasons that our pilgrims are not travelling on our national carrier, SIA. There has been much talk about how good SIA is and how competitive it is with the international carriers. However, I find it difficult to believe that the SIA's quotation for the journey to and from Jeddah for our pilgrims all these years is much higher than the other international carriers' quotations. To top it all, SIA is unduly fastidious with conditions which are totally uncalled for. I questioned why SIA is not competitive in its quotation. I questioned why SIA has to lay down all these conditions when the other international airlines do not. I am not asking SIA to quote below what the other airlines are quoting, although it would appear to be in order as quoting on a cost recovery basis would be in line with a contribution to the national pride and identity of Singaporeans. Sir, I am not asking SIA to make a loss. All I am asking is, can SIA not make less or no profit on the Haj flights? Furthermore, I wish to point out that the Haj occurs only once a year. I do not think SIA would go bust on the Haj flights. I do not think they will lose their shirts, neither do our Singapore Girl lose her smile. Now that the Saudi government has rightly taken the stand for the benefit of the pilgrims that only the national carrier or the Saudi Airlines can carry pilgrims, I hope SIA will not take this as a chance to be almost monopolistic. I, therefore, appeal to SIA to reconsider the position and it would be greatly appreciated and would put Singapore's national identity firmly in the minds of our pilgrims.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, first, may I congratulate the Muslim Religious Council (MUIS) for their good work done to-date? An example that I want to highlight is its Annual Report for 1981. Sir, I am saying this as a student of accountancy and not based on hearsay or anything like that. The Report is both informative and accurate. So they should keep up this good work. MUIS has been making records. But then records are made to be broken. Such is life. Sir, in speaking on this amendment, I would like to do three things: make an inquiry, submit an appeal, and propose a suggestion. Enquiry Computers is now a buzz word in Sing- apore and computerization is moving ahead in all areas. I notice that certain aspects of Muslim services have been computerized. For this reason, would the Minister elaborate on the progress of the computerization programme for Muslim services, particularly in Fitrah collections and related areas and whether he is satisfied with the progress. Appeal Sir, to a Muslim, the Haj or the pilgrimage to Makkah is a divine command and must be made at least once in a life-time for any Muslim who is financially and physically able to do so. At the same time, while performing the Haj, the Singaporean pilgrims are also proud of our country and of the amenities and facilities provided by the Muslim Religious Council (MUIS). This fact is apparent and is written on their faces in Makkah while they are there and when they safely arrive in Singapore after performing the Haj. However, many of them asked me why we are not using our national carrier, Singapore Airlines, to transport the pilgrims to Jeddah.”
“Sir, it appears that we now need to educate the public and that this is the best way that we are doing or going about it. Why was it not thought about earlier?”
“Sir, since this appears to be the best thing since sliced bread, why was it not thought about earlier?.”
“Sir, instead of taking repressive measures only, would the Minister consider the provision of special circuits where races could be organized under regulated conditions and, therefore, safer to both riders and third parties?”
“Sir, I am grateful to the Minister for his answers. But I wish to clarify that for the LUM mails, I know that the majority of them are for the business offices. But those that are addressed to flat dwellers should be included in the same category as the AR registered mail and should be delivered in the evenings. I do not mean that those LUM mails for the offices should be delivered in the evenings because naturally the offices would be closed too. In view of the answer given by the Minister, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The following amendments stood on the Order Paper Supplement -”
“From the many complaints, it appears that this service is no shuttle service but more like a scramble service. Will the Minister please look into the matter and further improve the service?”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head I be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead IA-01 Object Group 1100 of the Main Estimates.* Sir, in moving this amendment I wish to make a suggestion to improve our postal services and to request the Minister to investigate the SIA shuttle service. Sir, with the success of our family planning and productivity drive, it is not uncommon for both husband and wife of a Singaporean family to be working. Usually the children are sent to their grandparents' home to be looked after when their parents go to work. Therefore, the flats, where 75% of Singaporeans live, tend to be empty during office hours. It is also not uncommon for a hardworking postman delivering an AR registered mail or the like to find the addressee not at home. So he goes down the block of flats leaving behind a note that he will try again the next day. The next day the situation is repeated, with no success. Therefore, the addressee will have to either arrange for someone to collect the AR registered letter or to collect himself or herself on a Saturday morning if he or she is not working. Is this not a waste of time and effort for all parties concerned? I propose that Telecoms consider either delivering the AR registered mail and local urgent mail letters in the evenings to the flat dwellers or open the post offices until 9.00 p.m. on weekdays. Alternatively, Telecoms could consider delivering the AR registered mail or LUM letters in the evenings to the flats only after they have failed to deliver them during office hours in the first instance try. On shuttle service, I would ask the Minister whether he is aware of the unhappiness of the commuters on the SIA-MAS shuttle service.”
“Therefore, somehow, somewhere, someone has been sleeping on the job because while the library has been operating for the past three months, the fire alarm connection to the Fire Station has yet to be done. Will the Minister please look into the matter because it is unlike our usual Singaporean efficiency? What is strange is when I was monitoring the building of the Telok Blangah Community Centre, the Building Control Division, the guardian angel of public safety, appeared to be embarrassingly and unthinkingly dogmatic about safety precautions. For instance, the Telok Blangah Community Centre squash courts must be the only ones which have protruding automatic door closers on the inside of the courts. I wonder how the umpire will decide if the squash ball hits them. I now begin to question the expertise of the BCD with regard to safety standards in the light of the Bukit Merah Library. BCD cannot be entirely blamed for the situation as, I am sure, based on the Community Centre experience, the Fire Services Department must share the load as they are experts in this matter and must have been consulted and have given their approval for the plans. Sir, I could go on but I feel I have made the point and an investigation must be carried out not only into Bukit Merah Library but all public libraries because some of the older ones do not even have fire alarm systems installed yet.”
“I am told that the auditorium can hold 270 children seated but generally about 300 children are packed in there because the programmes staged here are good. Therefore, in case of a fire, you will have 300 screaming children rushing through one door into the narrow corridor leading to the six flights of stairs to the ground floor. To be fair, there is another door, but it leads to the same corridor leading to the same six flights of stairs from the third floor down to the ground floor. There is no visible sign of windows where the children could possibly jump out. To make it intriguing, the occupants of an adjoining reference room on the same third floor with a seating capacity of 100 persons, in case of fire also have to go via the same corridor to the same six flights of stairs down to the ground floor. To make sure that the least number of the 400 persons survive, and to add to the load factor, the second floor has a reading room with a capacity of 140 persons; with two exits, one leading to this same flight of stairs. So we have another 70 persons coming down the same staircase where 400 persons try to rush down from the top. To top it all, some of the people in the ground floor room, which has a capacity of 140 persons, will use the same door at the end of this staircase. Will the Minister please investigate tile situation? Please note that this public library has been operating for about three months now, and the crowd is getting larger. When I asked about the fire alarm system and whether it is connected directly to the Fire Station thereby ensuring assistance without someone having to ring for the Fire Brigade, the answer was yes when there is a line.”
“But as planners of public buildings where a panic situation involving children could arise, they must avoid such situation. Do the planners not think this to be necessary? Or maybe the planners just do not think? (3) Any schoolboy knows that the naked flame of a candle-light will easily burn the dry pages of a book. Therefore, what about fire hazards? Besides burning the valuable collection of reference books, the fire may also destroy Singapore's most valuable asset - her people. Of course, we can say, "Well, the blackout happened in the day and furthermore no one was hurt". If this is going to be the answer, then it is time we planned to get new planners, because I cannot accept the risk of a disaster before we do something sensible. Neither will I accept the need for stringent economic evaluations when lives are concerned. Sir, prompted by this situation, I visited the new library at Bukit Merah Town Centre recently with a view to looking into the fire protection system as this library would be patronized by my constituents and their children. There the facilities appeared better and the staff were as usual helpful and took pride in their new branch library facilities. Since it was a school holiday, there were many school children and many young ones were with their parents. I was informed that this library, being new, had emergency lighting which did help to tide the library over for up to two hours during the blackout. So far so good. It appeared that we have learnt with time. But my feeling of comfort disappeared when I climbed six flights of stairs to the third storey auditorium. To a layman like me, here we have a first-class well-designed fire trap.”
“I then took great pleasure in visiting the other branch libraries. I saw long queues at these libraries of students and adults being served by library staff courteously and efficiently. However, I could see that the line-balancing was poor due to inadequate manning levels. But there was always good service by the library staff. Sir, I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the staff of our public libraries for their quiet dedication and hard-work to serve our reading public. I know that in most cases they are short-handed and are working under heavy workload pressure and I hope the Minister would investigate and review the situation. There must be good reasons for the low manning levels and, in his usual efficient manner, I am sure he can sort out this situation much to the benefit of both the library staff and the reading public. Sir, while I can compliment the library staff for their good work, I regret to say that this cannot be said of the planners of our public libraries. Let me explain. Recently, we had an island-wide blackout, the first in many years. In the papers the next day, I saw a photograph of the National Library staff working in candlelight. While appreciating the blind dedication and enthusiasm of the library staff, the situation made me ask a few questions: (1) Why were candle-lights necessary? Did the library not have any emergency lighting which is battery-powered to tide the library over the initial period of the blackout to clear the people in order to avoid a possible panic situation. This is a simple fail-safe situation which any planner worth his salt should implement. (2) I know that most Singaporeans have taken the services of the PUB for granted because they have been excellent all these years.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head J be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead JE-01 of the Main Estimates.* Many years ago when I was a school-boy, I had a memorable encounter with a public library. I wanted to read the series of books known as The Saint by Leslie Charteris. The Saint series was very popular with schoolboys then. Being financially poor, I could not afford to buy them, so I had to resort to our public library. To my dismay, the librarian at the National Library told me that the library did not stock such books because they were in popular paperbacks and could be obtained at any bookshop. I found the reasoning strange, to say the least. It was because those books were popular that I wanted to read them, and it was because I could not afford to buy them that I went to the public library. That was my first and last encounter with our public library. However, times have changed and situations and policies have changed too, for the better I must add. It was only in 1979, when I became MP and when I was asked to open a book fair organized by one of my RCs in conjunction with the Queenstown Branch library, that I visited a public library again. My visit was to help me prepare my speech. The librarian and her staff were most helpful and informative. Based on the visit, I found that our public library services have been both enlarged and enriched. Besides having a better collection of books, there were popular paper-backs and even picture books for the younger members. Story-telling sessions have been developed to an art. Our younger generation is therefore better off in terms of public library services and facilities because besides providing reading and reference books, our public libraries have other community services.”
“The Member is not the Member for Telok Blangah, Sir, although he tried twice. I do not know how they do it in Anson. I am not prepared to comment. But I am more concerned about the condition in Telok Blangah which I represent the constituents.”
“On a point of clarification, Sir. What I said just now was that itinerant hawkers are unlicensed hawkers and therefore illegal, and we should eradicate this unhealthy phenomenon because besides littering the place they are also flouting our laws. I wonder whether the Member for Anson is a bit worried in that, if we clear these unlicensed hawkers, he could not go round selling his newspapers which is considered unlicensed hawking also. But that was not my intention. My intention was to speak for my constituents who are concerned about littering and -”
“Although the Hawkers Department has been doing a good job in hawker control, I still notice that there exists, here and there and on and off, in several parts of Singapore itinerant hawkers. I understand that these itinerant hawkers are both very enterprising and well organized. I was informed that some of them even take the fines imposed on them, by the Enforcement teams from the Ministry of the Environment and the Housing and Development Board, as part of their cost of sales. It appears that the enforcement action need to be stepped up. What steps, therefore, if the Minister could relate to the House, are being taken to eradicate this unhealthy phenomenon because besides littering the place they also flout our laws. 4.45 p.m.”
“Sir, recently the hawkers in the food centres and market stalls in my constituency have been served with notices for increases of rentals with effect from next month. While these notices were served by the HDB, I was told that the unseen hand came from the Minis- try of the Environment, the Hawkers Department. Therefore, the fault is not with the HDB in this case. Although I am aware that there are certain areas, say, Newton Food Centre, where hawking is a very lucrative business, this is not the case with the hawkers' market in my constituency. Business in Depot Food Market, for instance, is particularly not good at all. This increase, therefore, would serve no purpose except for two. One, it would help those hawkers that are not having good business to go bust, and the other is that, if the business is good as in other areas, it would give a very good excuse for these hawkers to transfer the increase, plus an added premium, to the consumers. Would the Minister please explain to the House why this increase is at all necessary? If this increase is inevitable, would the Minister consider having different rates, as my colleague, the Member for Whampoa has suggested, different rates of increases for different areas or zones. The experience of the HDB in fixing the sale prices of HDB flats by zones would be invaluable and should be tapped. Surely the Minister for National Development's brain could be picked to the advantage of all, and in this respect my constituents and the hawkers in my constituency would really appreciate this very much and so would several of my other colleagues. Sir, the other matter is on itinerant hawkers.”
“If the Minister wishes to answer the question -”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, since I have an amendment* on Hawker Control and since my colleague has touched on hawkers' fees, can I join in and speak under this head?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, would the Minister inform the House when this Comprehensive Bus Study will be completed?”
“Sir, I mean undergraduate courses. If a teacher is already a degree holder, my question is superfluous.”
“Point of clarification, Sir. There are no part-time courses being run by the University.”
“Another implication of a take-over is for funds to be siphoned off. In other words, I hope Postal Services Department with a surplus of $41.5 million last year alone will not be viewed by Telecoms as a cash-cow which can be milked for years to come to finance all the other activities in Telecoms, including electronic mail at the expense of the general public. Going through the Bill, there appears to be no indication of the financial arrangements in regard to the transfer of assets and liabilities. Questions in my mind are things like: what are the estimated savings in annual recurrent expenditure affecting the Government budget, especially when the Minister spoke about the pooling of resources, and, of course, economies of scale and more advanced technology. I could go on, Sir, but with all due respect and consideration to the Chair, I will summarize by saying that, all in all, the cardinal issue here is the need for a clear assurance from the Minister that our Postal Services Department, which has been providing an excellent counter service all these years because its objective is to provide efficient service, is not in any way buried in the mass of Telecoms, especially when Telecoms may tend to emphasize other priorities than service.”
“I base this on the statement made by the Chairman of Telecoms in his annual report 1980/81, and I quote: 'With this merger, it is anticipated the services such as electronic mail can be implemented more efficiently and expeditiously.' I trust that the Minister is aware of a debate going in other countries as to whether electronic mail can and should supersede postal mail. Therefore, does the Chairman's statement mean that now that Telecoms have eliminated or at least contained the Postal Services Department and the competition in postal mail with this 'merger', we (Telecoms) can now go ahead and implement electronic mail and the public will pay us as they will have no alternative? I hope this is not the case. But I do want an assurance from the Minister, especially more so when Part V of the Bill states that Telecoms will have "exclusive privilege with respect to information communication system". It means there might be a danger of the cost of Postal services becoming more expensive. Secondly, if this is a take-over as it appears to be, will the staff of the Postal Services Department suffer? The Member for Geylang Serai has spoken on this topic. Usually in take-overs, the current staff of the take-over organization is given terms and conditions of employment which might be less favourable than they have now. This is not so. I am glad that the Minister has assured us of this, especially when the staff of the Postal Services Department are a hard-working and dedicated group of people who have delivered our mail and provide other services under difficult conditions of heavy workload without complaint. If at all, I would like to see that they are given better terms and conditions whenever possible but certainly not less favourable than what they have currently.”