S. Dhanabalan
Singapore
“Mr Speaker, Sir, on a point of clarification. I said in my intervention on Tuesday that the general election is the right forum to determine the electorate's support because it puts the issue in a total and correct context.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, with hindsight, of course, we can be very wise. But since one of the three islands was excluded, it was a substantial reduction in the scope of works. The assessment then, which I agreed with, was that if you called for a re-tender, you would get a substantially reduced tender.”
“To the extent that we can, we should work with countries that have a common interest, to come together and form economic groupings targeted at trade liberalisation. We have started this process within ASEAN under the AFTA Scheme. Economic linkages in groupings like APEC are also growing in significance.”
“Mr Speaker, all these questions make a lot of sense when the events are finished, and you look back. But the officer looking at the case at that time had to deal with the facts as they were at that time.”
“ASEAN countries agreed to publish all the Inclusions and Exclusions lists, as well as the full list of actual tariff reductions. The ASEAN Secretariat had since followed up and released, as scheduled, on 1st November 1993, the publications showing these lists.”
“Kallang Theatre was closed for five months in 1992 for cyclical maintenance and upgrading costing $3 million. This included a major upgrading of the toilets, recarpeting the auditorium, rewiring and repainting.”
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“Students, of course, who are studying abroad very often do register with the overseas missions when they first arrive in the country but after they have found their feet and are confident of looking after themselves, they do not turn up at the mission at all except, as I said, when they are in trouble. I suppose that is the way it should be, because after all, we do not want to be inundated with people who do not require assistance. On the occasions that students do visit the embassies, they seek assistance in the fields that I have just mentioned, such as renewal of passports. A few, unfortunately only a few, are interested in visiting the mission to follow developments in Singapore and for such we do have journals, periodicals, news- papers which will keep them informed about developments in Singapore. Those who are registered with the mission are also kept informed of developments in Singapore as they are regularly sent copies of the Singapore Bulletin and The Mirror. Those who are in the capital city are, of course, also invited to the missions for functions, such as National Day and New Year's Day. Of course, many of the countries where we are represented are not countries like Singapore where it does not probably take more than one hour to get to the city. Our embassy in the US, for example, is in Washington and a student studying in California will have a long long way to go before he gets to Washington. But I would like to take this opportunity to encourage students overseas to turn more to the missions especially for information. For assistance, I do not think we have to encourage them. They know how to find their way. But they should come to the mission to seek information on the latest developments in Singapore.”
“I am sorry, Sir, I overlooked those points. As far as the Research Division is concerned, at present the Ministry does not have a Research Division. In addition to the other duties, the officers in the respective divisions also do research work. We are making a study to determine whether there is a pressing need to establish such a separate Research Division or to continue with the present system. As to the other point about what assistance can Singaporeans abroad expect from the missions, while it is categorically stated in Singapore international passports that Singapore citizens who are resident abroad should register their names and addresses with the Singapore mission in that country, the majority of Singaporeans do not do so. They only contact the mission when they are in trouble, when they need assistance, for example, to renew passports or when they have lost their money or when they are seriously ill, or when some friends or relatives of theirs have died overseas. We can render assistance to Singaporeans who are temporarily resident overseas or who travel abroad either on business or vacation. The missions can help in the renewal of passports or register children born abroad, perform notarial functions and give assistance to Singaporeans who are stranded or sick or victims of an accident. Singapore businessmen can also obtain trade information from the missions or obtain assistance in making appointments with officials of government departments or trade boards in the host country. Assistance can also be given to Singapore tourists when needed, for example, when help is needed when passports are lost or when somebody has suffered serious injuries or illness or has been wrongfully detained by the host country.”
“We decided not to buy a property in Bonn as well as one that was offered in Hong Kong because, as I mentioned just now, we expected prices to come down and, in fact, they have come down. When we think that the time is ripe to move in, we will do so. So for the coming fiscal year 1983, the Ministry will be concentrating on construction projects in Canberra, Jakarta, New Delhi and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Disbursements for these projects are estimated to be $8 million, and we will be spending another $4 million in buying residential properties as staff accommodation in Kuala Lumpur, Manila and Washington. The Member for Chong Boon said that we must be bullish. I think it is not a question of being bullish or bearish but of studying the factors in a property market at any one time and deciding whether it is the right moment to move. I think so far we have been fortunate in that we have made the moves at the right time and we have not been caught in markets where property prices have come down dramatically. But we are watching the market all the time and looking for opportunities to buy properties. In the meantime we will continue to rent them. The Member for Chong Boon made the suggestion that perhaps GIC could buy properties and rent to the Foreign Ministry. I am sure that GIC in assessing properties would also take into consideration the same factors as the Ministry, i.e. whether the time is ripe to buy properties. There may occasionally be instances where the Ministry and GIC may have a different reading on a situation in the market. If, arising out of such a different reading, they buy a property and they have it for rent, we will certainly consider renting it. I hope I have answered all the points, Sir, but if I have forgotten any, maybe the Member can remind me. 6.15 p.”
“As far as recruitment in the future is concerned, we have not thought in terms of a separate scholarship scheme for the Ministry, but the Ministry and the PSC have examined the need for such Foreign Service scholarships for undergraduate studies. We have come to the conclusion that perhaps we should have some sort of an intermediate step. From 1983 onwards, the PSC has decided to bond a number of the local merit scholars to serve in the Foreign Service. Local merit scholars who are bonded to serve in the Foreign Service will have to pursue degree courses which are relevant to the Foreign Service, such as political science, economics and law. If this scheme is successful, there will be no need to institute a separate Foreign Service Scholarship Scheme. A point was made and a question asked about overseas properties by the Member for Chong Boon. He asked what properties we bought in the last year and what we intend to do in the coming fiscal year. In FY 82, we spent approximately $5 million on purchasing new properties and upgrading a number of our existing properties. Of course, this is far below the amount that was committed, partly because we did not proceed with the purchase of properties in certain centres as prices were coming down. In the light of what has happened in some of these centres, I think it was a wise step not to rush in and allow property prices to come down before we moved in. Four residential properties were bought in London, Brussels and Paris, and of course we made progress payments towards properties in New York and the new chancery that is under construction in Canberra. We also continue to make improvements and renovations to existing pro- perties, and this also absorbs some of the funds.”
“The Member for Serangoon Gardens and also the Member for Chong Boon want to know what programmes we have for staff development. Sir, we have planned a programme to send Foreign Service officers, abroad and locally for courses. Obviously since we are having so much difficulty in recruiting new staff we have to concentrate on improving the quality of the staff that we already have and we have to invest in the staff that we have. Promising officers are sent to overseas universities for post-graduate degree courses. At present three officers are reading for Masters Degree at Cornell, Georgetown and George Hopkins Universities in the U.S. For the year 1983 we plan to send an officer to Stanford University and another to the School of National Administration in France. Of the 65 career officers in the Foreign Service, in the senior branch 19 officers or about 30% have post-graduate degrees. Apart from post-graduate courses, it is also important that the Foreign Ministry's officers have a competency in foreign languages. Officers have been sent for intensive language training courses overseas. In 1982 two officers were trained in the Japanese language, one in German and one in French. All officers in the headquarters are encouraged to learn approved foreign languages locally, for which the Ministry pays the course for tuition fees. Staff were also sent for professional development courses abroad, such as Foreign Service Training Courses and programmes on international relations. For the last three years, from 1979 to 1982, 33 officers have attended such courses.”
“Unfortunately, the Soviet Union, Vietnam and their friends have prevented the international community from taking effective action against them. Nevertheless Singapore will not cease in its efforts to try and stop this inhuman practice. We call upon the international community to bring every possible pressure to bear upon Vietnam and the Soviet Union not to use such weapons. Now, Sir, if I may turn to some of the other matters relating to staff and properties. Sir, the point has been rightly made that it is very important for the Foreign Service to attract good officers to serve in the Ministry. Unfortunately, Sir, the kind of requirements that the Ministry has and the kind of people that the Ministry seeks are people who are also much in demand in other services, and we have to compete with these services to get a sufficient number of people. As far as this coming fiscal year is concerned, the Member for Serangoon Gardens noted that we had, in fact, not increased the number of posts. We did not ask for an increase because there are still a number of vacant posts and, in the light of the fact that we have not been able to fill these posts, there was no point in requesting for additional posts. But I am assured that if we are able to fill these posts and the need still exists for additional posts, we should be able to obtain additional posts. The immediate priority of the Ministry is to fill the existing posts rather than fight a battle with Establishment for additional posts. In fact, we have agreed to a net reduction of two posts for the coming year. It makes a little difference whether it is a reduction of two or none until we fill all the posts. That is the reason.”
“Sir, there was an ad hoc committee that was set up to pursue a solution to this problem, and this Committee has been visiting various countries like France, Belgium, Germany and also Thailand, and it will continue to visit some other countries in ASEAN and Asia to solicit views and opinions. But I am afraid, Sir, that this Committee cannot really move very much until Vietnam is prepared to come to the negotiating table. The aim at present is to keep the Committee alive. The purpose is to keep the Committee well informed, prepared and available to play an active role when the time is ripe and the time will be ripe when events on the ground as well as relations between China and Soviet Union and China and Vietnam take a different turn. So in the meantime the Committee set up under this Conference will just have to keep itself prepared, ready and available to be used at the right time. We cannot expect anything more. The Member for Serangoon Gardens also raised the question of toxin weapons. Sir, there is some evidence that Soviet Union, and Vietnam are guilty of using chemical and toxin weapons in Indochina and in Afghanistan. Singapore condemns all use of such weapons under any circumstances. We are a party to the Convention on the prohibition of the development and stockpiling of biological and toxin weapons and on their destruction. Singapore has also consistently supported all appeals by the international community and the U.N. to cease usage and to ban the use of such weapons. As I said, there is sufficient evidence that such weapons are being used in Indochina and in Afghanistan and that Vietnam and the Soviet Union have been guilty of using these barbaric weapons against innocent and defenceless populations in Cambodia and Afghanistan.”
“But unfortunately the non-radicals were not sufficiently exercised about this problem to want to take a clear stand and India which has often professed to want to lead the Movement back to the right track did not throw its weight behind this attempt to make it abundantly clear that the Movement did not have any natural ally among the super powers. Therefore, we were not able to get a clearcut declaration. But I think we have arrested the rot and we need to continue to work with others who are like-minded to ensure that the Movement comes back on track. Sir, looking at what happened in Havana and looking at the majority of the members who are moderate, who are committed to the principles of non-alignment and looking at how well the radicals are organized and how poorly the moderates are organized, I am reminded of a quotation from the English poet, W. B. Yates, who writing in a poem called "The Second Coming", made the point that "the best lacked all conviction while the worst are full of passionate intensity." I think this summarizes very adequately the events that often take place in the Non-Aligned Movement. Sir, so much for the Non-Aligned Movement. I think I have covered both the Movement as a whole as well as the question of Cambodia. If I may take some of the other points before going on to the points relating to housekeeping. The Member for Serangoon Gardens raised the question of the International Conference on Cambodia. He wanted to know what is the present state of the negotiations and progress under the Committee set up by this Conference.”
“The fact that countries like Cuba and Vietnam, which so openly espouse the interest of the Soviet Union, not only in debates and statements but by sending their troops to Afghanistan and to Africa in pursuit of Soviet ambitions, brings into question how such countries can even be considered non-aligned, let alone take a leadership role. But, unfortunately, it is not possible to remove them without a consensus, as was done in the case of Kampuchea. Our aim in Delhi was to ensure, together with many other countries who are moderates, non-radicals, that this trend of the Movement to be aligned with the Soviet Union is stopped. I must say that we have been successful in arresting this trend in the Movement. I think many of the moderate members were so outraged by the attempts of Cuba in Havana that they felt strongly that they had to take a stand in the Movement and they were no longer prepared to tolerate open abuse of non-aligned principles. They were prepared to organize themselves to resist the efforts of a radical minority and we were able to play a small role in this. The New Delhi Summit has served to confirm that the moderates are fighting back. But the battle is far from over and the radical minority will not give up the struggle but will seek to use every opportunity to make the Movement serve Soviet interests. In fact, Sir, in view of the attempts of Cuba in the past to get the Movement to declare that the natural ally of the Movement was the Soviet Union, we thought that there should be a clear declaration in Delhi that no superpower is a natural ally of the Movement. 6.00 p.m.”
“Sir, I am afraid that the seat of Democratic Kampuchea in the Non-Aligned Movement will remain vacant until such time as the problem is resolved on the ground or until such time as some Chairman has the courage to take the stand that there was no consensus in Havana. But I think we have more than adequately demonstrated that Cuba took a decision which was not in accordance with the consensus procedure in the Movement. We were also successful in New Delhi in placing Cuba and Vietnam in the dock, exposing the illegitimacy of their actions and forcing them to defend themselves in a public forum. As far as Vietnam is concerned, their immediate priority in the Movement is not to seat Heng Samrin but to remove the item from the agenda because, as long as the item is on the agenda, they will continue to be placed in the dock and they will have to continue to defend themselves. So in this we were successful, and we were also successful in ensuring that the matter is kept open by way of an ad hoc committee that has been established to continue to consider the question. And among the questions that this ad hoc committee will address will be the question of criteria for expulsion and suspension of member countries. I think once this criteria is clearly established, it will become manifest that what was done in Havana was not in accordance with accepted procedures. As far as the Movement as a whole is concerned, Sir, it has been apparent for some time now that the Movement has been very strongly influenced by a few radicals and proxies of the Soviet Union, especially Cuba and Vietnam.”
“But one member had strong objections, a member which had some border disputes with the country that was applying for membership. And because of the strong objection of this member, the country applying for membership was not admitted into the Movement. Therefore, consensus does mean that any member which has strong objections can, in fact, prevent a consensus from emerging. We went to New Delhi to prove very clearly that the decision to leave the seat vacant in Havana did not have a consensus, and I think we proved this more than adequately. The question has been asked by the Member for Serangoon Gardens that since it was so clearly demonstrated that there was no consensus, why was Democratic Kampuchea not seated? Unfortunately, the Non-Aligned Movement follows rules and procedures which make this rather difficult to achieve. First of all, to use the word "hijacked" which the Member for Serangoon Gardens used, the Movement was hijacked in Havana which resulted in a vacant seat for Kampuchea. Since it is not possible to produce a consensus to show that there was no consensus in Havana, (i hope I am not confusing Members), it is not possible to seat Democratic Kampuchea unless another Member is prepared to hijack the Movement and put Democratic Kampuchea in its seat. Or unless the Chairman clearly is prepared to take the decision that since there was no consensus in Havana, therefore Kampuchea should be seated. Obviously, the new Chairman, India, did not want to take this action because its own national policy was quite contrary to what ASEAN was trying to do. And certainly India as the new Chairman did not have the "stomach", or I would say the courage, to take a stand against the previous Chairman and the radical group of members in the Non-Aligned Movement.”
“Mr Speaker, Sit, I will try and deal with the many points raised by the two Members one at a time. First of all, the question of the Non-Aligned Movement. A question has been asked why did we adopt such a high profile and what is the result of this meeting that has just ended in New Delhi. There were two main subjects that we concentrated on in the meeting in New Delhi. One was the question of Cambodia, both the subject as well as the seating of Cambodia, and the other important subject was the question of where the Non-Aligned Movement as a whole was heading. On the subject of Cambodia, to be quite frank, Mr Speaker, Sir, our expectations were not high. We did not go to New Delhi in the hope that we would be able to seat Democratic Kampuchea as a member of he Movement. In the Havana meeting in 1979, a vacant seat had been created by Cuba and, as matters stand in the Non-Aligned Movement, since decisions are not taken by vote but by consensus, in order to fill that seat a new consensus has to be produced. Our aim in New Delhi was to prove clearly to the Movement and to the world that the so-called decision in Havana to leave the Kampuchean seat vacant, was a decision that was not arrived at by consensus. Sir, this concept of "consensus" is a rather vague concept. It does not mean unanimity, neither does it mean majority. But it means that even those who do not entirely agree with the decision in detail must be prepared to at least accept it in substance. In other words, no member must have strong objections to the very principle involved in a decision. To give you an example, Sir, there was a South American country that wanted to become a member of the Movement in New Delhi and all the members, 90-odd members, had no objection.”
“As long as the themes, treatment and scripts of dramas are guided by Singaporeans with a clear idea of the values and attitudes we want to encourage, such foreign talent can be used effectively. This is what SBC is planning to do. About 20 experienced drama producers, scriptwriters and programme researchers have been engaged from Hong Kong and Taiwan. SBC is engaging full-time local drama performers and giving them intensive training. Past experience has shown that reliance on part-time amateur talent will not improve quality. Production facilities are being augmented. Funds have already been pro- vided by the Ministry of Finance for the construction of a large television studio with the full complement of equipment needed for more sophisticated drama productions. Within the next few years, SBC will be in a better position to produce local dramas of an acceptable quality and number. Similar efforts are also being made to improve other categories of programmes like Musical Variety programmes and Children's programmes. MAIN AND DEVELOPMENT ESTIMATES OF SINGAPORE FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 1ST APRIL, 1983 TO 31ST MARCH, 1984 Order read for resumed consideration in Committee of Supply [2nd Allotted Day]. [Mr Speaker in the Chair] 3.03 p.m. Head N -”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, it has always been SBC's objective to produce programmes that will reflect the lifestyle and aspirations of our people and inculcate those values that will contribute to our progress and stability. There is relatively little problem in the production of information programmes, such as documentaries, current affairs magazines and some children's programmes. But the production of television drama, which is a very effective instrument in conveying values and influencing behaviour, is an entirely different matter. Our,population is too small for us to have a significant number of creative and artistic talent that are needed to produce good dramas. SBC's policy has varied with the language of broadcast. In the case of English, SBC has wisely not tried to produce dramas. In this area, the approach has been to select carefully programmes from the English speaking countries. Malay and Tamil drama requirements are being met with our present resources. The quality of these is being improved with the help of trainers from abroad. In terms of the size of viewership for SBC's programmes, Chinese programmes account for the top 10 programmes. SBC, therefore, needs to pay the greatest attention to the content of the Chinese programmes. SBC has depended on dramas produced in Hong Kong and Taiwan. It is unwise to continue to depend entirely on these sources because these foreign productions do not truly reflect our lifestyle, values and aspirations. But the creative talent, that is, scriptwriters, directors and producers, and the artistic talent are found in Hong Kong and Taiwan which have a larger population and an established film industry. We can use the talent in these countries by recruiting and employing them.”
“A third TV channel devoted to cultural, educational and informational programmes and telecast during prime time is the best solution to this problem. Advertising revenue earned in Channels 5 and 8 will subsidize the third TV channel, as it is unlikely that this third TV channel could recover costs on its own. It is hoped that the programmes on the third TV channel will help to stimulate and increase interest in the arts and appreciation of the finer things in life, as well as act as an information source to widen the intellectual vistas of our people. The programmes on the third TV channel will include adaptations of established classics of world literature, current affairs programmes, documentaries, concerts, ballets, dances, operas as well as programmes which will teach and promote understanding and appreciation of various forms of art such as painting, sculpture, calligraphy and others. Except for the occasional locally produced current affairs and educational programmes, the third channel will depend entirely on programmes acquired from abroad. As the new TV channel will use existing infrastructure, technical facilities and manpower of SBC, capital and operating costs will be kept to the minimum. It is estimated that the capital expenditure will be in the region of $4 1/2 million and the recurrent annual operating cost will be about $3 million. BILL INTRODUCED PUBLIC UTILITIES (AMENDMENT) BILL "to amend the Public Utilities Act (Chapter 211 of the Revised Edition)", presented by the Minister for Trade and Industry (Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam); read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. REVISION OF BUDGET SITTINGS Business Motion”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Singapore Broad- casting Corporation has been considering starting a third TV channel. It has sought Government approval to operate this new service, and approval has been given. SBC is now in the process of completing the planning to establish this third TV channel. It is hoped that the new channel can be launched by early next year. The hours of operation for the third channel will be between 7.00 pm and 10.00 pm. The actual hours of telecast will be determined later. The new channel's primary objective is to broadcast cultural, educational and informational programmes at prime time. At present during the prime time hours, ie between 7 and 10 pm, SBC's two TV Channels 5 and 8 show a whole range of programmes in all four official languages. One of the major complaints received by SBC is that most of the interesting and well produced cultural, educational and informational programmes are telecast either too early or too late. Generally, cultural, educational and informational programmes do not attract advertising revenue because the viewership is small compared with entertainment programmes of mass appeal. Entertainment programmes, such as drama and musical variety shows with a large viewership, bring in advertising revenue to sustain SBC's operations. Any drastic increase in cultural, educational and informational categories during prime time will affect SBC's revenue adversely. However, there is a significant and growing demand for high quality cultural programmes and programmes of high educational value. SBC must cater for this small section of the population which is interested in more serious programmes and try to increase the viewership of these programmes.”
“Mr Ng Kah Ting asked the Minister for Trade and Industry why it is necessary for the Jurong Town Corporation to engage foreign consultants to upgrade its port facilities when expertise is available locally.”
“I take it that this sudden and belated interest of the Honourable Member in the Cambodian problem, which has been with us for four years, is above board. I also take it that his question is meant to mobilise support for the Cambodians and not to provide the Vietnamese with information which is now denied them and which would be valuable to the Vietnamese to quell the growing pressure of Khmer resistance forces. The honourable Member should know that Singapore, together with ASEAN and the overwhelming majority of UN members, support the struggle of the Cambodian people to liberate their country from Vietnamese occupation. We have together with like-minded countries worked to bring political, diplomatic and economic pressure to bear on Vietnam. These efforts have helped the Cambodian patriots in their struggle against 200,000 well-equipped Vietnamese soldiers. The Vietnamese, for security reasons, have never disclosed the actual quantum of military assistance they receive from the Soviet Union and other socialist countries. If the Member for Anson is interested in helping the Cambodian patriots to free their country of foreign occupation, then how is public discussion of who is supplying arms to the Cambodian liberation forces and the "conditions of their supply" of any help? The Cambodians know who is helping them and how they are being helped. The Vietnamese do not know but would like to know. Vietnam would like to know if arms are being supplied to the resistance forces, who the suppliers are, the kind of arms being supplied, how they are supplied and the conditions of their supply. Public disclosure of such data can only help them. Who does the Member for Anson want to help? UPGRADING OF PORT FACILITIES (Engagement of foreign consultants) 19.”
“Encik Mansor Haji Sukaimi asked the Minister for Trade and Industry the state of the computerized programme indicating its progress so far, the problems faced, and the measures undertaken to overcome the problems; and to also state (a) how many companies have now installed computerized facilities; (b) how many Government departments and statutory boards have expanded their existing computerized facilities or installed new ones; and (c) how many new computer companies were established during the last two years.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, there are 64 licensed amusement centres in the Republic. My Ministry has been monitoring the operation of these amusement centres. We are aware of the undesirable influence these centres have on our young people. Many of them have become addicted and waste considerable time and money on these video games. Schools and parents have complained of students playing truant and squandering all their pocket money on video games and neglecting their studies. Some even resort to theft to finance this pastime. Members may remember that in February this year, three primary school students were arrested for committing a spate of burglaries. Police investigations revealed that they spent a considerable sum or most of the stolen money on video games in amusement centres. The amusement centres are also frequented by undesirable characters. Young people who visit these centres may come under the influence of these characters. For some time now, the Ministry has stopped licensing new amusement centres. For the existing 64 amusement centres, stringent licensing conditions have been imposed, and regular inspections conducted to ensure their compliance. However, enforcement action is made difficult as these centres are scattered all over the island. In view of the undesirable influence these amusement centres have over school children and teenagers, my Ministry is considering phasing out all these centres beginning with those near schools. The operators of these centres will be given adequate notice to wind up their business. COMPUTERIZATION PROGRAMME (Progress) 14.”
“Sir, the National Library provides bulk loans of 300 to 400 books at a time to community centres at their request. This library extension service provided over 24,000 books to over 20,000 people in 50 organizations, including community centres, Residents' Committees, child-care centres and so on. In addition, the Central Library lends books to two community centres, the Kampong Eunos Community Centre and also the community centre in Toa Payoh. Books lent to community centre libraries by the National Library do not include old books or books which are not suitable for the young. Such books are likely to be obtained by the community centres themselves in the form of gifts of old books given away by residents and other donors. So perhaps the people who run these libraries have confused the books donated by residents with the books lent by the National Library. Community centres are welcome to make full use of the bulk loan facilities of the National Library which will provide them with a variety of good books for children and adults.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I appreciate the masked remark made by the Member for Leng Kee about recruitment of foreign artistes. In the recruitment of foreign artistes or local artistes, the auditioning process plays an important part. However, it is not practical to put a potential artiste through, for instance, the whole gamut of character roles before a contract is offered. SBC's effort at recruiting overseas talent has been largely successful. In a few instances, artistes hired have not been found to be wholly satisfactory and therefore they have been asked to go. The same applies to local artistes who are not found to be up to the mark after they were recruited, and their services are terminated. At present, SBC offers artistes contracts ranging from six months to three years. In the light of recent experience, and to take the point that the Member made, SBC will in future be engaging artistes for short-term and, wherever possible, for specific productions. One of the problems, Mr Speaker, Sir, has been that artistes who are engaged on long-term contracts cannot be fully employed because their use depends upon other resources being available such as scriptwriters, producers, directors and so on. So in future, SBC will be recruiting artistes for specific projects, specific dramas or series and at the end of that project, they can go back to where they come from. If they are from Singapore, of course, they can do something else. The attrition rate among artistes at SBC has not reached alarming proportions. Of the nearly 80 musicians, dancers, singers and dubbing voice talent, only three have not had their contracts renewed or terminated prematurely.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Kallang Theatre Complex was purchased by the Government in November 1981 for $12.5 million for conversion into a concert hall cum theatre. Tenders will be called as soon as the architects and engineers have completed the plans for the conversion. In the meantime, the building is looked after by temporary watchmen. Therefore, the provision in the estimates is only for temporary staff. Once the building is operational, permanent staff will be employed. When converted, the theatre will be fully equipped for full-scale dance and musical performances including operas, concerts and theatrical shows, It will also have facilities for SBC to do live TV transmissions or recordings of popular music or variety-type presentations. If necessary, it can also be used as a venue for ceremonial functions requiring a large auditorium. It will have a seating capacity of close to 2,000. The theatre, of course, will be available for private organizations to hire in the same way as the other facilities at present maintained and run by the Ministry of Culture. The conversion is expected to take 1 1/2 to two years from the date of commencement of renovation work.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, this Government is not afraid of challenges. But challenges must be of substance. The Member said that I was creating a spectacle of riots and violence which were not founded on facts. The Member is the leader of the Workers Party but I do not think he has much idea of the personality, character, aims and motives of many of his members who have been presented as leaders, candidates and activists of his party. Take the specific case of the Workers Party rally. He applied to hold a rally on 9th January 1982. Members and Singaporeans are aware that five members of the Singapore People's Liberation Organization arrested on the 9th and 10th January 1982 were Workers Party members. 10 people were arrested and five were members of the Workers Part%, ,. The members of the SPLO chose the meeting in connection with Prophet Muhammad's Birthday celebration in the National Stadium on 9th January, the same date as the date on which the Workers Party wanted to hold its rally, for the distribution of inflammatory pamphlets. Fortunately, they were apprehended before they could cause mischief. If the Workers Party rally had been held on the same day, it is obvious that five of the 10 who were members of the Workers Party would have seen the Workers Party rally as a target for them to cause mischief. Sir, we have no confidence in the assurance of the Member for Anson that he knows what is going on in his party or that he can control his members.”
“The Member would be well advised to come out with a positive programme. So far all we have heard from him in this House is just carps on Government policies, He has not been able to produce a single idea, Mr Speaker, Sir, of how Singapore can be made a better place. He has had many ideas as to how we can spend our money, how we can fritter away what we have saved so far, but he has not produced one single idea, to my knowledge, of how we can earn more.”
“But, Sir, that is not my idea, nor the idea of this Government, and we will never allow such a situation to be created in Singapore. We have been elected to govern the nation on the basis of a programme that has been presented to the people. We are still waiting for the Member's programme. Some parts of the programme may involve immediate hardship and time is required to demonstrate that the people of Singapore will benefit from such programmes and policies. At each general election the people will be able to examine as a totality the Government's performance and achievements and they can deliver their verdict through the secret ballot. 3.45 p.m. I think the Member for Anson should be the first to bear witness that the ballot in Singapore is secret and fair. The people of Singapore have decided through many past elections that what they are interested in is the substance of good government and not merely in the form which is what the Member for Anson seems to be so obsessed with. The Member for Anson can make known his views. He is free to make known his views and that of his party in Parliament here. He can give press conferences, tell fables to foreign correspondents or hold meetings of his party members. Incidentally, Sir, lately there have been a spate of articles where foreign correspondents have been quoting "local experts", and from the remarks that the Member has made, I think I have an idea of who some of these "local experts" are. As far as I am concerned, I have no intention of allowing a situation either of political parties holding public rallies or newspapers to use the position that they have, to undermine the security and stability of Singapore. If you have constructive suggestions, constructive criticisms, there are avenues for you to make them known.”
“We must be aware of the sensitive issues peculiar to Singapore which can be easily used by irresponsible elements craving for publicity to incite crowds into violence or other such behaviour. It is clear from the performance to-date of the Member for Anson that he is prone to present half-truths and untruths and to magnify imagined injustices. One of the main factors, and I like to emphasize this to the Member, the main, if not the decisive factor, for our successful development is the internal stability and peace that we have enjoyed. My Ministry has no intention of allowing any room for anyone to attempt to disturb the internal peace and stability of our nation or to undermine our security. Confidence in the Government's ability to maintain internal peace and stability is crucial to our continued progress. Every Singaporean is only too well aware of the chaos and confusion in countries where political parties and pressure groups with vested interests are free to organize meetings and provoke incidents to arouse public protest against specific government policies and actions, before such policies can be implemented or before such actions can be demonstrated to be beneficial to the people. Singaporeans can see such examples often on their TV sets and read in the newspapers. In this respect not only political parties but newspapers and the media can also be pointed as being responsible for such situations in these countries. The spectacle of governments being driven from pillar to post putting out bush fires ignited and fanned by single interest pressure groups may be their idea of democracy and may be the Member's idea of democracy in action.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I was wondering, as the Member rambled on, what he was actually getting at, because suddenly he seems to have become the champion of the press. But fortunately, he got to the real point of his complaint towards the end of his statement, which is that his party was not allowed to hold a rally. Sir, I want to make it very clear what the policy of my Ministry is on this matter. It has been the policy since 1976 that no permit will be issued for public rallies or meetings of political parties except during elections or to celebrate special occasions, such as National Day or to inaugurate a party. A political party can, of course, hold a meeting of its own members in any place it chooses to hold as long as the meeting is confined to its members. This rule applies to all parties, including the PAP. Sir, in his comments on newspapers, the Member has clearly revealed that he has picked up ideas and ideals of a by-gone era, maybe in the country where he was educated, and is trying to transfer and apply them wholesale to the situation in Singapore. Sir, I make no apologies that we in Singapore do not follow the rules that he thinks we should follow. We make our own rules as to how political parties or the press should conduct themselves and how public issues should be discussed. As I said, Sir, I make no apologies for not following the practice in countries like the United States, UK or other Western countries. We know from bitter experience in Singapore as well as from what is happening elsewhere in the world today, how easily political parties and discontented groups can twist issues and hold meetings which degenerate into riots and mob rampage.”
“Photographs have to be changed periodically showing visitors to Singapore or other important events in Singapore. Display boxes will be put in 20 strategic sites and the photographs will be displayed in these display boxes. The Member also asked about the production of a pictorial. We do have at present two publications, the Singapore Mirror and the Bulletin and the Ministry is now looking into the possibility of either combining the two or starting a separate publication of the kind that the Member has mentioned. The trouble about starting this venture is that to do a good job you need good people. It is not just a question of having the money. It is a question of having people who are trained, who are able to present articles and views in a manner that will attract and keep the attention of the reader. This subject is in hand and I hope that I will be in a position to report, maybe at the next budget, that it has started.”
“Sir, I think the posters which the Member referred to is the Photo News, full of pictures. It was started in 1959 and it used to cover events like official opening of schools, factories, community centres and so on by Ministers and MPs. It also used to cover visits of foreign dignitaries, visits of the Prime Minister overseas, and so on. This used to be displayed in community centres and other institutions but it was discontinued in 1968 because of the widespread ownership of TV by then. People could see these events on their TV and the posters were really outdated. Since then, of course, we have only just presented photographs taken by the Ministry of Culture in two places, i.e. in Supreme Court and City Hall. But we do take the point that the Member has made that there is a need for something similar to the Photo News that we used to have from 1959 to 1968. The Ministry is now looking into the feasibility of producing a Photo Display by theme, and pictorial broadsheets. These broadsheets which will have photographs pertaining to the themes of the particular broadsheet will be sent to schools, community centres and institutions of higher learning for display. Those Residents' Committees who want the broadsheets can also request for the broadsheets when they are produced. Our initial inquiry shows that most RCs claim that they do not have notice boards that are large enough to take these broadsheets and their present notice boards are already taken up with many little notices and notices of the activities of the RC. But, as I have said, if any RC wants to have such broadsheets it is welcome. In addition to this, it is also intended to identify 20 more sites where photographs can be displayed.”
“I am sorry, Sir. I missed that point. If the Member means, by this point, whether we have a plan to arrive at a distinct Singapore culture within a definite time-frame, I must say we do not have such a time-frame. Evolution of a Singapore culture will have to be allowed to take its own time. But we do have plans of what we would like to do for the next five years. The Member himself, as he mentioned, when he was in the Ministry was involved in the formulation of certain cultural promotion programmes and some of these are on-going projects, such as the Drama Festival, National Music Competition, Festival of Choirs and so on. I do not want to list all of them because I think there are many other things we want to discuss. But the Ministry is now in the process of drawing up its next five-year plan. Apart from evaluating the present projects, the Ministry will be looking into new areas for development. We are studying the feasibility of setting up professional companies and identifying areas for cultural expertise to nurture. We are studying the additional facilities that will be required to build up more artistes and we are also looking into a more efficient structure for cultural administration. The Ministry is also studying steps to build up local artistes through such steps as publishing their works overseas in publications, records, tapes and so on. All these plans are still preliminary and I am afraid I cannot go into much detail at this stage. The plan should be ready in about six months, and if the money is available we can start implementing the plan later this year or early next year.”
“I am not certain whether the Member will be pleased when the findings and recommendations of the Committee are published but I can assure him that the last point that he made that any changes that the Committee recommends or the Government intends to implement should not go against the established values and morals of Singapore, has been foremost in the mind of the Committee. I would ask the Member and the other Members of the House to bear with me until we can publish the full report of the Committee. I think I have answered all the points, Sir, but if I have not, maybe the Members would want to remind me.”
“In addition to the full-time artistes that I mentioned, SBC has also been able to enlarge the register of part-time artistes by 10% in the past two years. Local talent development for Radio and Television is a slow and difficult process, especially as SBC has to rely almost wholly on its own efforts in this endeavour. Given the realities here, even with all that SBC has been able to do in local talent development, there is need to moderate expectations. SBC will continue to stress on realising qualitative standards and local talent resources. The instant star is an extremely rare breed and I am not very optimistic that we will strike such instant stars in SBC. And even the instant stars that we know are people who have gone through a long and arduous process of mining, refining and polishing before they become stars. The Member also asked about the progress of the Censorship Review Committee. That is the title of the Committee. The Committee has made its report which has been accepted by the Government. I think most, if not all, of the recommendations of the Committee have been accepted and the report of the Committee will be published very soon, I hope within the next six weeks. I hate to reveal some of the recommendations of the Committee because the recommendations must be seen in the total context and to just mention one or two might mislead Members of this House and the public into expecting things which will not be realised.”
“SBC also engages part-time artistes on a per programme or per series basis. SBC has on its staff now 49 artistes, 70% of whom are local artistes. The number of musicians in the SBC Orchestra has been increased from nine to 29 musicians. Singaporeans make up 83% of the SBC Orchestra. SBC also maintains a register of part-time artistes whose services are called upon when required. When SBC started its recruitment drive for artistes, it received very good response. The first recruitment exercise for drama artistes attracted 3,500 applicants but, unfortunately, as with such recruitment drives, many who wanted to become stars did not have the qualities. After screening and auditioning, only 10 were selected as candidates who could be offered contracts ranging from two to five years. But the more promising of the remaining applicants were considered for part-time employment. I think this is the only approach that we can adopt if we want to maintain standards. Only those artistes with the potential for training can be selected. To better tap talent and coordinate matters concerning engagement and casting of part-time artistes, a Casting and Artiste Liaison Unit was formed. Recruitment of talent has been successful in so far as it has helped to enrich and facilitate SBC's local productions as well as, of course, in providing an outlet for local talent. With professional artistes available full-time for training, production standards have been enhanced, especially in Mandarin-dubbed programmes. Being the largest user of performing artistes in Singapore, SBC has become the focus for established talents as well as aspirants to stardom. Since incorporation, SBC has received and processed about 8,000 local applicants for performing on Radio and TV.”
“The problem in the past, Mr Speaker, Sir, has been that those dealing with public relations have not been senior enough to be brought into the confidence of the Permanent Secretary on policy matters and we have tried to rectify this by asking the Ministries to appoint officers who are senior enough to be involved in policy-making and to be aware of the thinking behind policies. These officers will be provided with some training by the Information Division and the Information Division of the Ministry will regularly liaise with them and assist them in their work. It is hoped that this arrangement, which will be a temporary arrangement until such time as we can get sufficiently qualified and well-trained Information Officers, will improve the flow of information to the public until Information Officers from the Ministry of Culture can take over. The Member for Leng Kee also made some very pertinent points about the role of the press. I can only echo the sentiments expressed by him and reiterate once again the importance of the press and Government working closely together with the press for the common aim of the betterment of Singapore and Singaporeans. He made some suggestions about the training school for journalists. We will take his suggestion into account and see what can be implemented. The Member for Alexandra made some very welcome remarks about SBC. Usually SBC is at the receiving end of very severe criticisms and I am sure the staff of SBC appreciate his very kind remarks. 3.15 p.m. He asked about local talent. What SBC is doing to encourage and train local talent. SBC has tried to recruit more local artistes to meet TV and Radio production requirements. Full-time artistes are put on contracts ranging from six months to five years.”
“Off-hand I do not have the number of activities that were organized purely by private cultural organizations but my estimate is that about 80% of the figure that I mentioned were organized by private cultural organizations with the support of the Cultural Division. The Member raised the problem of Information Officers and what progress has been made in the recruitment and employment of such officers. As the Member mentioned, the scheme was established in June 1980 and 34 new posts were established under this scheme. This includes the 15 Public Relations Officers in the various Ministries. In all 13 new officers have been recruited, some of them to fill vacancies existing before the establishment of the Information Officer scheme. We still have 31 vacant posts. It is not an easy task to recruit suitable people in the required numbers because of the limited pool of Singaporeans with the qualities required of Information Officers and because of the competing demands from other services, such as other Government departments and statutory bodies as well as the media. No Information Officer has yet been posted as a Public Relations Officer to any department. Those who have been recruited are still undergoing training, but as a whole the Ministry has not been able to recruit enough staff of sufficient experience to do the job straightaway. For the time being, in order to ensure that the public is kept well informed of the work and policies of the Government, each Ministry has been asked to appoint a senior Division I officer to cover the functions of public relations, with this officer working directly under the Permanent Secretary.”
“The third episode will depict the Post-war years leading to Singapore's self-government, independence through Malaysia, and present-day Singapore. The planning for the Gallery has already commenced. Detailed plans and drawings and cost estimates are being prepared by the Public Works Department. Renovation work will begin as soon as these are finalized and estimates approved. The second point that the Member raised was on the Cultural Foundation. He asked for the amounts collected in 1981. As at the end of 1980 the Cultural Foundation had a total of $2.7 million in its capital account, in the form of donations received. During the year 1981 the Foundation received a further $850,000 from donations as well as fund-raising projects. Therefore, the total capital amounts to $3.5 million. Of course, this capital has been earning interest. So the total in the Fund now is $4.3 million. In 1981 the Foundation approved 19 grants/schemes for cultural organizations and talented individuals, and these schemes will cost about $1 million. A total of $166,000 has been spent and outstanding commitments on these schemes amount to $872,000 which will be spent over the next two to three years. The Member may be interested in some further breakdown in the projects funded by the Cultural Foundation. Broadly, a total of 35 projects have been funded so far. Local cultural events 9 Seminars/workshops 10 Study grants 6 Cultural exchange 1 Literary and other competitions 5 Folk songs, quiz, employment of choreographers and so on 4 The Member also asked about the number of cultural activities organized in the year 1981. The Cultural Division was involved in promoting 259 projects in the fiscal year 1981-82.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, may I take the points raised by the Member for Leng Kee first. He asked about the progress of the History of Singapore Gallery. This Gallery will comprise two parts. One will be a gallery that will present, through three dimensional displays of historical artifacts and materials, Singapore's early history and try to bring alive and make vivid for Singaporeans the scenes and people of early Singapore. The second part will be an audio visual presentation of the history of Singapore. The object of the History of Singapore Gallery is to provide Singaporeans, especially the young Singaporeans, with a sense of history and also to inspire Singaporeans with a recreation and recounting of the stories and accounts of the early pioneers of Singapore and the achievements of our founding fathers. The establishment of the Gallery requires the following work to be carried out. Firstly, renovation of the physical facilities for the permanent display of exhibits. Together with the planning of physical space, of course, research has got to be done to collect and document exhibits, artifacts, paintings, photographs, maps and so on. This is now in hand. Secondly, the audio visual presentation. For the audio visual presentation, the Ministry is now negotiating with a consultancy firm to undertake the project. This audio visual presentation will be a 20minute presentation which will augment the exhibits in the Gallery. It will depict three episodes; the first episode being the landing of Raffles and the early inhabitants of Singapore. The second episode will depict the life of the early and later immigrants up to World War 11, the Japanese Occupation Period and the Surrender.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to report that the Committee of Supply has made further progress on the Main and Development Estimates for the financial year 1st April, 1982 to 31st March, 1983 and ask leave to sit again tomorrow.”
“They are serving in London, Bonn, Jakarta and Wellington, and though the Member was not impressed with the explanation given by the previous Minister of State, I am afraid I will have to repeat those explanations. The truth may not be acceptable but it has to be stated. An MP need not serve only his constituency. He must also serve his country. I think all Members will agree. He should not be denied the opportunity of serving his country abroad, particularly where political and economic benefit can be generated for Singapore as a whole. We live in an interdependent world where countries have to interact with each other and in this respect a country which has no natural resources is even more dependent and economically linked to the world. The ambassador has to protect and promote his country's interest. He has to lobby, win support, influence people and so on. And no one who has the qualities to do this job, to serve his country as an ambassador, should be excluded just because he is a Member of Parliament. It is true that MP's service abroad will entail absence from his constituency, but I think we all know that every Member of Parliament has got his colleagues to help take care of his constituency and the constituency is not neglected. I think the example of Ulu Pandan is a good one where although the MP has been away others have pitched in to help and have been able to take care of the constituents and even raise enough to put up a spanking new community centre. The MPs who serve abroad are also given opportunities to come back to Singapore as often as possible to attend to functions in the constituency or to keep in touch with progress and problems in the constituency.”
“Twelve of the remaining posts are filled by officers seconded from the Civil Service, another 17 are filled by contract officers and the remaining 44 posts are vacant. There are 71 officers serving in diplomatic appointments abroad. Of this, 50 or 70% are career foreign service officers. Of the 20 so-called "outsiders", 14 are heads of missions. There are 19 posts of heads of missions and at present one is filled by a career officer, our High Commissioner in Canberra. Steps have been taken to appoint another three career officers as heads of missions within the next few months. These will be in Manila, Geneva and Bonn. These heads of missions will be assuming duties, as I said, within the next few months. The Foreign Service has at present 17 Superscale officers. More, of course, will be promoted to Superscale grades. Officers who are in these grades, i.e. Superscale grades, are considered eligible for appointment as heads of missions, and more will be appointed in the near future. Nevertheless, I must reiterate what I have mentioned previously in the House - that while we hope to fill more posts of heads of missions with career officers, we will continue to appoint persons from the university, from politics and from businesses and other sectors of the population if they are found to be effective envoys to promote and protect the interests of Singapore. [Interruption]. We will consider that in due time. Thirteen heads of missions are accredited to more than one country. This is not an unusual practice, especially for a country like Singapore with limited manpower. The constraint of manpower does not permit us to establish missions in every country that we want to have missions in. At present, only four of the 19 posts of heads of missions are held by MPs.”
“Coming to the other points made by the Member for Delta and also by the Member for Chong Boon on plans within the Ministry to recruit new officers and to have more professionals as heads of missions, my Ministry has sustained the recruiting programme. It recruited 41 diplomatic officers in the past three years. However, as with all other Ministries, we have a large number of resignations. Thirty-three officers resigned, obviously because of the wide disparity of income between the private and public sectors. The salary revisions that were announced in the House last week, as well as the salary revisions under consideration for other Division I and II officers, should reduce the attrition caused by resignations. The Ministry will then be able to consolidate its position and improve the staffing both in headquarters as well as in the overseas missions. My Ministry is very conscious of the need to improve terms and conditions of service if we are to attract and retain talent in the foreign service. Improvements have already been made in several areas, such as various types of allowances paid to our overseas serving officers as well as better training opportunities in universities overseas, better accommodation and so on, and the Ministry is now engaged in a study together with Treasury to consider increases in the cost of living allowances. We hope that these improvements, together with other improvements that are in the pipeline, will make the Ministry a more attractive place to work in. The Ministry at present has 111 career diplomats in the headquarters as well as overseas. This is out of a total establishment of 184 posts.”
“Sir, can I take the easier part first of the points made by the two Members, i.e. the Member for Chong Boon and the Member for Delta. First, on the question of properties, I informed the House in March last year that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs owns overseas properties amounting to $73.2 million at original prices. Since then the Ministry has purchased staff residences in London, New York, Manila, and also additional office space for the chancery in Washington. These purchases cost $10 million. In view of the high cost of rentals in New York and London, my Ministry accorded priority to the purchase of staff accommodation in these two cities. The total value of the properties owned by the Ministry at original prices is now $83 million. For the next financial year the Ministry will be studying the possibility of purchasing office premises or residences in Bonn, Washington, Geneva, and it will also be commencing construction of the chancery in Canberra and New Delhi. The sum of $12 million, which has been provided in the estimates, is expected to be adequate. My Ministry's objective is to purchase as many properties as possible which we need to occupy in order to fulfil our overseas representation. While we want to be bullish, we cannot purchase all that we require overnight. We have to go about this job selectively and judiciously. On the question of new missions, Sir, my Ministry is in the process of establishing a new mission in Brunei and this will be operational in the new financial year. On other missions to be established, it is somewhat premature at this stage for me to make a categorical statement.”
“Sir, I think that when we have a surplus we will have to consider the matter in the circumstances prevailing at that time. There is much scope for improvement in the SBC services. We are not using the surplus to pay dividends to anybody. Every cent generated will be used to provide a better service to Singapore. MAIN AND DEVELOPMENT ESTIMATES OF SINGAPORE FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 1ST APRIL, 1982 TO 31ST MARCH, 1983 Order read for resumed consideration in Committee of Supply [6th Allotted Day]. [Mr Speaker in the Chair] 3.42 p.m. Head T (cont.) - Amendment moved [23rd March, 1982], "That the sum to be allocated for Head T be reduced by $10 in respect of Subhead TE-01 of the Development Estimates." - [Mr Ho See Beng].”
“Sir, I am afraid I cannot give the hon. Member an estimate right now. The rates will go up from next month, which is the new financial year, and the full impact will be known by March 1983.”
“As it stands now, the colour TV licence fee at $54, black and white TV licence fee at $36 and radio licence fee at $12, are already very low, considering that the licensee has available 13 hours of SBC TV programmes daily and 18 hours of radio programmes over each of the five radio channels. The revenue from radio and TV licences for the financial year 1980 amounted to $13 million or 20% of SBC annual income. A downward revision of licence fee will significantly affect the financial resources of SBC. To try to make good the loss of revenue by radio and TV commercials will mean that there will be far more commercial breaks interrupting programmes. This is not desirable. Moreover, not all of SBC's programmes are commercially exploitable. The overall audience response to changes and improvement made since the inception of SBC has been favourable. The momentum built up in improving its services will be lost if SBC's revenue were to be reduced. Hence, so long as SBC uses its surplus to improve the quality of programmes and the standard of services for the benefit of its viewers and listeners, no one should grudge paying the radio and TV licence fee. Mr Hwang Soo Jin (Jalan Kayu): Mr Speaker, Sir, I believe the advertising rates of SBC are going up, Could the Minister give an indication of what is the estimated increase in revenue?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, while it is true that SBC has realized a surplus of $19.3 million during the 14 months of its operation, I do not consider it prudent to reduce the licence fee. SBC has achieved the surplus because of improvements which have made the broadcasting service a more attractive advertising and sales media, resulting in an increase in income for SBC. The surplus is to be ploughed back on improvement of SBC's programmes. SBC intends to build up its capability both in facilities and talents in order to increase its own production of programmes, geared specifically to meet our needs and interests. However, production of local programmes is much more expensive than acquisition of programmes from abroad. Therefore, it is necessary to have access to additional financial resources. Without additional funds, SBC can at best hope to maintain its existing standard of service. Even this may not be possible in the face of mounting inflationary pressures. It is also SBC's intention to purchase better programmes which are educational, informative or of better cultural value. Such programmes will cost more to acquire because they are not usually available on the "bicycle circuit". Therefore, SBC would not be able to share the cost of such programmes with other TV stations in the region. SBC is a young organization. It is prudent to build up a reserve fund to cater for the future expansion of operation, improvement of quality, training and upgrading of manpower and any unforeseen circumstances. I mention the last point because advertising business is among the first to suffer from a cutback in expenditure in a recession. SBC's licence fees on TV and radio have remained unchanged for the past four years in spite of substantial increase in operating cost.”
“I think the Member for Anson should look carefully at the accounts. By his own definition, maintenance, repairs and upkeep appears under more than one item under Expenditure. If he looks at it carefully, he will find that the word "conservancy", though used in both Expenditure and Income, does not cover exactly the same items under both accounts. As I said, by his own definition, he is jumping to conclusions by just deducting two items, just because the same word happens to be used under Expenditure and Income. So please look carefully at the total accounts, look at the problem as a whole and not just one particular figure and jump to conclusions.”
“So there is no question of HDB making profits out of conservancy charges. I think he should stop going about repeating these half-truths or jumping to conclusions. I am reminded, Mr Speaker, Sir, of the advice of James Thurber that you should not jump to conclusions because the conclusions you jump to may be your own.”
“Sir, I am sure that my colleague, the Minister for National Development, will not mind if I were to try and supplement the answers that he has just given. The Member for Anson, in passing, mentioned once again the subject of conservancy charges which he dealt with at some length, I think, at the first meeting that he attended here. I remember at that meeting he quoted from the accounts of the HDB that, according to the latest accounts, the expenditure, under the Expenditure column, on service and conservancy charges was $67.8 million, and under Income, service and conservancy charges was shown as $100.7 million. Therefore, by a simple deduction of expenditure from income he arrived at a conclusion that the Housing Board was making something like $32 million profit out of the conservancy charges. In spite of my colleague's explanation that one should not read such conclusions from these accounts, the Member insisted on repeating this point. It reminds me, Mr Speaker, Sir, of somebody who reads, let us say, the accounts of a cinema operator. He sees under the Expenditure column, cost of printing tickets and, of course, there are a lot of other expenditure - salaries, film hire, rentals and so on. Under Income, you have sale of tickets. So you just take away cost of printing tickets from sale of tickets and you arrive, of course, at a huge profit. [Interruption]. Of course, it applies. Because under this expenditure, there are other items - management of housing estates and land, maintenance of repairs of buildings, ground works etc., and some of these items are covered from the conservancy charges. What is important is that at the bottom of the accounts, it clearly shows that the Housing and Development Board has a deficit of $39.5 million.”