S Jayakumar
Singapore
“It is well and good for countries to announce various targets and emissions. But one vexing issue ultimately is: what will be the method for verifying compliance with each country's announced measures? Another vexing issue, of course, is the issue of financing.”
“I would appreciate it if she were to give me some specifics of the negative feedback. But the general feedback I have had about our judiciary, both of the Supreme Court and the Subordinate Courts, has been nothing but positive.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the information that I have is that there is always medical advice present when caning is administered and that if the medical opinion is that caning cannot proceed beyond a certain point, that medical opinion will be observed and the caning will not proceed.”
“Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked the Minister for Transport in view of the recent announcement to make immediate improvements to the public transport system (a) whether the Ministry has set a timeline for the increase in frequency of feeder bus services; and (b) whether the Ministry can immediately target such services that are currently running at…”
“SCDF will continue to work with HDB and other relevant agencies to ensure that such older buildings with one exit staircase meet the prevailing fire safety requirements when they undergo major renovation or upgrading works. CIVIL SERVICE PENSIONERS 3.”
“The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (Mr Teo Ser Luck) (for the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports): Mr Speaker, Sir, with your permission, I would like to take Mrs Jessie Phua's and Dr Lim Wee Kiak's questions together as they both relate to the same issues.”
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“We could probably ask the Chief Valuer to make some theoretical calculations, but I would also like to point out that most of these areas are located on land which cannot be put to other use and, in fact, we must bear in mind that the managements of the golf courses have, in fact, tended to, and looked after, the land for Government. IMMIGRATION DEPARTMENT (Provision of services of Commissioners for Oaths) The following question stood in the name of Mr Chiam See Tong - 9. To ask the Minister for Home Affairs whether he will provide the services of Commissioners for Oaths to the public at the Immigration Department and other departments of his Ministry where such services are required.”
“However, if by the time it has completed its new 18-hole course, the business park development plans are not finalized, then the Government will allow the interim use of this 9-hole course as a public course at a nominal rental. Therefore, in view of these plans, those Singaporeans who cannot join existing golf courses would still be able to afford to play the game.”
“But some safeguards will be necessary because, with the change of policy, it will generate large sums of money into the club which must be properly husbanded and wisely managed. Therefore, PUB will allow SICC to offer transferable memberships on condition that PUB would be responsible for changes to the club's constitution and will appoint the key officers of the club. The club will, of course, retain all its profits and surpluses which, in the case of dissolution, will revert to charity. This is the same arrangement which PSA has with Keppel Club. We have put this proposal to the SICC and the initial response has been supportive. The third question was about facilities for those who may not be able to afford the membership of existing clubs. Here I would like to make three points. First, the Ministry of National Development will be identifying a suitable site which it can then alienate to the Singapore Sports Council (SSC) to develop a 18-hole public golf course. To keep costs affordable, there will be no memberships and the facilities will be basic. As it would be for the use of the general public, this new SSC golf course will be treated on par with the Tanglin Golf Course, in other words, on nominal rental terms. The second point I want to make is that the PUB also has plans to construct sometime next year a 9-hole public golf course in one of the water catchment areas. Thirdly, I should also refer to the existing 9-hole course of the Seletar Country Club. The Seletar Country Club is actually building a new 18-hole course and it has to surrender the existing 9-hole course to the Government for the development of a business park.”
“Sir, the first supplementary question was about small clubs which may have difficulties in affording the lease. The way that we have approached this, as I have mentioned, a 50% discount in effect of the revised valuation, and a 10-year phase-in period where they start off in the first year with 10%, in our view, would enable most clubs an ample period to adjust and to meet the new rentals. I believe the clubs will be able, under this approach, to have enough time to adjust. Some may have to make some internal operational adjustments in order to raise revenue. There are many ways in which a club can do that, of course, either by increasing the membership, adjusting the subscription fees, reducing operating costs, or being more careful and stringent on capital expenditure. But, in any case, let me assure the Member that a committee has been set up and it is chaired by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Law, with representatives from other departments like Land Office, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Trade and Industry and statutory boards. The purpose of this committee is to coordinate and oversee the implementation of this revised policy. Those clubs which, despite the discount and the phase-in 10-year period, would still have difficulties could discuss their difficulties with this committee. I believe the second question was about membership transferability of the SICC. The SICC courses are on PUB land. Unlike other clubs, as the Member has pointed out, it has not had transferable memberships. With this move towards economic rentals and fixed term leases, the SICC officials have told us that they would wish to introduce transferable memberships. To this, the Government agrees.”
“But as this is more restrictive than the terms for the Xilin land, golf clubs will be charged rental and property tax based only on 50% of the Xilin price. This will be further adjusted for factors like the location and quality of the course. The resulting rents are equivalent to a freehold value for golf course land of between $25 and $75 per square metre. In comparison, freehold residential land is worth $1,000 per square metre or more. The clubs will also have to pay property tax on their land and improvements, like other land owners. To help the clubs adjust to these revisions, the new rentals will be phased in gradually over a period of 10 years. Initially, the clubs will have to pay only 10% of the economic rent, increasing to the full rent by the 10th year. Thereafter, the rentals will be subject to limited annual revisions, to reflect changes in the market value of golf course land. Three clubs will be charged special concessionary rates: SAFRA's proposed country club, Sembawang Golf Club and the NTUC's proposed Orchid Country Club. They will pay 10% of the rental applicable to the other clubs. This is in recognition of the contributions of reservists and SAF personnel to Total Defence, and of the Labour Movement to the economy. The clubs have been informed of the details of the lease terms.”
“Since the Government supplies golf course land as a social amenity, it will not recover the full opportunity cost of the land, ie, what the land could earn if put to other economic use such as housing. However, like any other scarce resources, the land should be priced to reflect what it is worth as golf course land. One indication of the value of golf course land is given by Raffles Country Club, which was developed by JTC. JTC paid $8.3 million for 145 ha of land. In addition, it has so far collected a net surplus of $57 million from the membership and transfer fees. This is after paying the full development cost of a 36-hole golf course. This suggests that the value of the Raffles Country Club land is about $65 million, or $45 per square metre. A second indication is given by the recent tender for a piece of land at Xilin for recreational purposes. The winning tenderer, who intends to build a 36-hole golf course, paid $130 million, or $104 per square metre. However, the Government's view is that the Xilin price must be discounted before it can be applied to other clubs. This is because under the terms of the tender, the Xilin club is allowed to take in up to 49% of foreign members who, of course, are better able to afford high membership fees. In comparison, most of the other existing clubs have fewer than 20% of foreign members. It would therefore be undesirable to force existing clubs to increase their foreign membership at the expense of Singaporeans in order to generate revenues to pay high rentals. The Government will therefore require golf clubs (other than Xilin) to reserve at least 70% of their memberships for Singaporeans and permanent residents.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Government provides land for golf courses in Singapore as a social amenity. It is part of our effort to upgrade our quality of life. Golf courses are both for Singaporeans to enjoy, and also help to attract talent and investors. They function as open spaces and green lungs in our urban environment. We have therefore allowed golf clubs to operate on land which is not needed for other uses. Up to now, most golf courses have occupied land on Temporary Occupation Licence (TOL) with some exceptions, such as Raffles Country Club, Jurong Country Club and Seletar Country Club, which have fixed leases. Many golf clubs now offer transferable memberships. As golf has become increasingly popular, the value of these memberships has gone up. However, on TOL, golf club members have no security of tenure, and cannot be assured of the value of their memberships. The Government, therefore, proposes to place existing golf clubs which are on TOL onto fixed term leases, with effect from 1st January 1992, and they are Warren, Changi, Tanah Merah, Keppel, Sentosa and the Singapore Island Country Clubs. The leases will generally be for a period of 30 years. Wherever possible, provided the land is not required for other purposes, the Government will consider applications from the clubs to extend their leases, on terms to be negotiated, as the expiry dates approach. As for rental revision, golf courses on TOL pay low nominal rentals, often set many years ago. Now that golf clubs earn substantial amounts from selling transferable memberships and collecting transfer fees, these rentals are no longer realistic.”
“Resolved, That the written representations previously received by the Select Committee on the Architects Bill [Bill No. 28/90], the Professional Engineers Bill [Bill No. 29/90] and the Land Surveyors Bill [Bill No. 27/90] in the last Session of Parliament be referred to the Select Committee appointed today to consider the Architects Bill [Bill No. 4/91], the Professional Engineers Bill [Bill No. 5/91] and the Land Surveyors Bill [Bill No. 6/91]. - [Prof. S. Jayakumar]. NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY BILL Order for Second Reading read.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." The position here is similar to the two Bills read just now for a Second time and moved by my colleague, the Minister for National Development. This Bill is identical to the Land Surveyors Bill which was introduced on 9th November 1990 and which was read a Second time on 3rd January 1991. Because Parliament was prorogued in January 1991, the Bill lapsed and accordingly I re-introduced it on 27th February 1991. Here also, there has been no change to the provisions of the Bill and I may just recapitulate by saying that the Bill enables registered surveyors to form partnership or unlimited companies with persons who practise in related professions in the building and construction industry and also provides for the licensing of such corporations. Other aspects of the Bill are to abolish the prescribed scale of fees payable to registered surveyors, to enlarge the powers of the Land Surveyors Board in disciplinary matters, and to provide for the issue of practising certificates to registered surveyors. This Bill, as Mr Dhanabalan pointed out, is related to the two Bills which he moved just now and I agree with his proposal that these three Bills be sent to a single Select Committee and that the representations already received be considered by a single Select Committee. Question put, and agreed to. Resolved, That the Land Surveyors Bill be committed to the Select Committee appointed to consider the Architects Bill. - [Prof. S. Jayakumar]. ARCHITECTS BILL/PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS BILL/LAND SURVEYORS BILL (Motion) With the consent of Mr Speaker and the general assent of Members present, Question put and agreed to.”
“Sir, as I said, it must depend on the Public Prosecutor's decision. INCREASE IN POSTAL CHARGES (Reasons) 2. Dr Wang Kai Yuen asked the Minister for Communications what were the reasons behind the recent increase in postal charges, in particular the substantial rate increase for registered mails. The Minister for Communications (Dr Yeo Ning Hong): Sir, mail delivery is a very labour-intensive service. The increases in postal charges were necessary primarily to meet the increase in labour cost. For the information of the House, labour costs comprise about 35% of postal costs. The delivery of registered mail is a personalised service, because Telecom has got to keep track of every registered letter that is posted until it is delivered to the addressee at his doorstep. And if the addressee is not at home, Telecom has to make a second trip. So it is even more labour intensive than ordinary post. The fee for the registered letter reflects this very high cost of providing the service.”
“Sir, I do not know. I will assume that the Attorney-General will examine the papers and make a decision without any delay.”
“Sir, I do not know. Under the Constitution, the Attorney-General has the power, "exercisable at his discretion to institute, conduct or discontinue any proceedings for any offence." He is an independent entity. He does not report to me or get instructions from me.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the police have completed their investigations and have sent up the investigation papers to the Public Prosecutor. It will be the Public Prosecutor who will make the decision on prosecution.”
“I think we are at cross purposes here. If Mr Chiam can let me have the cases, I will investigate. My understanding is that when a couple goes to the Registry of Marriages and one of them is a work permit holder, he is advised to go to the Work Permit Office. If neither party to a proposed marriage is a work permit holder, no department's permission is needed. And I can give him an assurance on this point.”
“Sir, I stand by my statement that the Government does not prevent any person from marrying in Singapore, with the only exception of work permit holders. If Mr Chiam knows of any case involving non-work permit holders who have been told that they cannot marry, other than for reasons specified in the Women's Charter because of age or whatever, but as a matter of Government policy that permission is needed from the Government to marry, he can raise it with me, and I will cause a full investigation to be made.”
“Sir, we cannot prevent a couple from getting married. We do not. The only instance where permission is needed is by a work permit holder who is allowed to come into Singapore only to work. It is only in that case that permission of any Government authority is needed. The immigration policy is to advise on questions of permanent residence. Nobody else other than a work permit holder has to seek the approval of any Government agency to marry.”
“I would say that the approach taken in both cases is similar.”
“There is no discrimination, except that we would want the foreign male spouse of a Singapore citizen, when in Singapore, to be employed and we grant liberal periods of stay in Singapore to enable the person to look for a job. The Member is right that the number of appeals from MPs has in fact dropped on the question of entry and permanent residence for foreign wives. In fact, in 1990, the number of appeals from MPs dropped by as much as 27% as compared to the previous year.”
“Mr Chairman, when a couple applies to marry at the Registry of Marriages, it is made very clearly known to them that marriage does not mean permanent residence, it does not mean automatic rights of entry, or indefinite stay in Singapore. The intending partners are therefore advised before marriage to check with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Immigration Department whether the proposed spouse qualifies for permanent residence or indefinite stay. There is a unit in the Immigration Department which gives advice. In other words, there is, what he calls for, a predictable approach. 2.30 pm”
“If he wants to take them up as individual cases, I will be happy to look at them but the general policy is one of liberally giving permanent residence to wives of Singapore citizens but we must be satisfied, as I have said, that they would not be a burden on the State.”
“But, generally speaking, the approval rate for permanent residence for wives of Singapore citizens has been high and, as I have said, it is almost 70%. Others who are here may not be given permanent residence but they are allowed to be here on social visit pass which, however, cannot be indefinite because if it is indefinite then they are, in effect, a permanent resident. And this approach that we have taken is not unique because every country does examine whether the sponsor is able to maintain the wife or relative before deciding on permanent residence. If I may just mention, and I think I have mentioned this before, even in an advanced or developed country like Britain, they have such a procedure. And I quote from their "Immigration into Britain, Notes on Regulations and Procedures", this is what they say about entry of spouses. No entry clearance will be given unless they are satisfied that, and I quote: "each of the parties has the intention of living permanently with the other spouse, that there will be adequate accommodation for the couple and the dependants without recourse to public funds in premises of their own which they occupy themselves and that the couple will be able to maintain themselves and the dependants adequately without recourse to public funds." What more of a country which is smaller and has less resources? Much as we would like to have a complete open door and grant permanent residence to everyone, we must examine each case on its merits. I am unable to comment on the individual cases.”
“Mr Chairman, I think I know the kind of cases he is talking about but it in fact turns on the general policy of what kind of stay is allowed to spouses married to Singapore citizens. This is the question which other Members have asked from time to time about allowing foreign spouses to stay on as permanent residents. In fact, for the vast majority, there is no problem. Let me just mention that for 1990, the number of wives of Singapore citizens who applied for permanent residence was 4,582 applicants, ie, wives who were married to Singapore citizens. And permanent residence was approved for 68%, so it is a very high percentage of persons who are allowed permanent residence. In addition, there are some 4,000 wives who are here on long-term social visit passes. Of course, I do not know the specific cases that he referred to. In other words, there is a high approval rate for granting permanent residence to wives of Singapore citizens. And this is in line with the answer that I gave in 1989 to Dr Arthur Beng who had asked me whether we would liberalise permanent residence for those who were married to Singapore citizens, or who have other special roots in Singapore. But like all countries, we cannot have a complete open door in the sense that we must be satisfied in each individual case that the person who is sponsoring the relative or foreign wife will be able to maintain and support that person. Therefore, there will be some who may have to be turned away for permanent residence. But that does not mean that they cannot be here for visits or on social visit pass. I do not know the specific cases that he has mentioned. If he would refer them to me, I can have a look at them.”
“So he is talking about a situation where there is no breach of the marriage restriction policy. In other words, it raises the question of whether such spouses are allowed to stay in Singapore under permanent residence. Because if a person has not breached the marriage restriction policy, then that person's stay in Singapore is either on permanent residence or on a short-term social visit pass. Can he clarify, Sir?”
“Mr Chairman, I am not sure whether the kind of situation Mr Chiam is referring to are cases which are governed by the work permit marriage restriction policy. I take it that he is not referring to cases where there has been a breach of the marriage restriction policy because that leads to a situation where the persons ---”
“Sir, I have also stated before that Mr Chia Thye Poh's involvement in the CPM was made known to us long before 1980 and was communicated to Mr Chia Thye Poh because it was revealed by a high ranking CPM element. He knows about it and it was put to him, and he knows that we knew about it.”
“I can see why Mr Chiam does not see the logic of it. But from the security aspect, we need to observe and be satisfied before all the conditions are removed.”
“Sir, it will be tedious for me to repeat what I have said before. Mr Chia Thye Poh would not have been released in the first place because he has refused to renounce the use of force or disavow any links with the CPM. But because the CPM's strength had been weakened and we knew that they were engaged in peace talks, we took the step of releasing him. But we were and we are continuing to be very cautious in this. We are releasing a person whom we would not have otherwise released. Therefore, initially he was confined to Sentosa. Then last year we relaxed the conditions to allow him to come to the mainland, but to return to Sentosa at night. We will continue to be cautious in this regard.”
“Sir, his rejoinder to me on this foreign worker is almost unbelievable. If the foreign worker feels so strongly that a grievous wrong has been done to him and that he is willing to incur legal expenses in pursuing it in the courts, should he not also feel strongly enough to buy a train ticket or bus ticket or whatever it is - I do not know which country he is from - to come to Singapore? Either he is serious about it or he is not. And I have given him the assurance that, unless he is banned from entry due to any other infraction of the law, he is free to come down and I thought that should answer the question. But now he wants the Government to pay the foreign worker to come down to pursue his legal rights. That is really frivolous and absurd. As to his questions on the ISA, I do not think I need to answer his non sequitur linking up foreign affairs with internal security. 1.45 pm”
“He has been released on conditions which are necessary because, in his case, unlike other CPM elements who have been released, he refused to disavow the use of force or to renounce the CPM. And until he does so, the relaxation of the conditions must therefore depend on the professional judgment by the Internal Security Department.”
“But when he comes in on a social visit pass, he cannot of course work without a valid work permit or employment pass. So I hope I have clarified the position. On the ISA, Dr Lee Siew-Choh has now admitted that he has in fact raised this many times and it should come as no surprise to him that my answer will not be very different from the previous occasions. First, some specific points. He has taken the Deputy Prime Minister BG Lee Hsien Loong's point about Malaysia terminating the ISA out of context. This is not something knew. That has been said in this House on many other occasions, to demonstrate how closely intertwined are the security problems of Malaysia and Singapore. And we have pointed out the examples. When they had racial riots there, it triggered off events here. That is a fact. And we have explained before that in our decision to review the ISA, we also take into account the security situation across the causeway, and when we decide to repeal the ISA, we will also consider whether Malaysia is going to abolish its ISA. I have said before, despite the laying down of arms by the Communists, it does not mean that we will not have Communist united front tactics or subversion ever again. And I have also mentioned before that the ISA will be needed for terrorism or activities to undermine our security by religious or racial extremists. So what I have said in this House before still stands and I therefore do not want to repeat everything. As regards Chia Thye Poh, Dr Lee Siew-Choh, of course, would like to consider him to be still under detention. But as I have said before, he has been released from detention, first, on suspension direction and on restriction order subject to various conditions, which have recently been relaxed. But he is not a political detainee.”
“Sir, first, his question on whether the immigration policy is designed to prevent foreign workers from pursuing their legitimate rights, if necessary, in our courts. I do not know the details of the particular case. Therefore, I can only answer in general terms. First of all, it is not true that the immigration policy is deliberately designed, to prevent any person in Singapore from pursuing his legal rights. If a foreign worker, whether on employment pass or on work permit, feels that his employer has done him wrong, and in this case apparently he wanted to sue, he can give instructions to his counsel to sue and the immigration authorities will have no reason to penalise or punish him for that. But if his work permit or employment pass has been cancelled, then it is cancelled and he cannot stay in Singapore on the basis of the work permit. But that does not mean that he cannot pursue his legal rights. One does not have to be in Singapore physically all the time to pursue his legal rights. A lawyer can take up the case. Unless the worker is barred from coming back to Singapore - maybe Dr Lee can tell me whether he was banned from entry - then he can come back to Singapore on a social visit pass any number of times to have further discussions with his lawyer or to attend court hearings, mention dates and so on. So I do not see how there is interference, leaving aside whether the employer or the company in this case was justified in its actions, because that is a separate question. I am only answerable here for the immigration policy. Immigration will not bar him from coming back for the purpose of attending to his legitimate recourse to the courts for the vindication of what he considers to be his legal grievance.”
“But I want to stress that my Ministry does not advocate using the electronic tagging as a substitute for detention or imprisonment. In other words, the electronic tagging must not be a soft option and it must not undermine the deterrent nature of our approach to law enforcement. Where and how then can electronic tagging be of use to us? We think it can be useful in strengthening the level of supervision in at least three types of cases. First, drug addicts who are put on the day-release scheme. Secondly, convicted prisoners who are put on compulsory supervision on day-release scheme (DRS). Thirdly, drug addicts who are put on compulsory supervision. I say it will be useful because we may be able to utilise the resources more effectively. Secondly, it also means better supervision of the inmates. We cannot expect, for example, every person who is put on supervision to report every day to the police station. But if a limited use is made of electronic tagging, we will be able to ensure that the inmate is indeed indoors during the hours that he is supposed to be indoors. We will start our pilot programmes first with the first category that I have mentioned - drug day release inmates. After they have finished the last phase, that is, the residential phase of the three-phase rehabilitation programme, we will evaluate it and, if the results are encouraging, we will extend the DRS to more inmates. The next stage will be when we extend the electronic tagging system to drug supervisees and supervisees under the Criminal Law Act. But I do want to mention again that it is an aid to supervise, to ensure confinement hours and is not a soft option in lieu of imprisonment, or in lieu of rehabilitation in the DRC.”
“He will be allowed to go home after work, but must be indoors during specified hours to prevent him from mixing with addicts and other addict pushers. The length that he spends in each phase will depend on the Drug Review Committee. Therefore, from what I have said, especially on the three-phase rehabilitation programme, Dr Arthur Beng will note that we also attach importance to family support, especially when the drug addict is released. We do not want to keep them longer than necessary in the DRCs, or on day release. But it is important that they can be released only when the doctors and others are satisfied that they have kicked the habit. Because if they are released when they have not kicked the habit, the chances are they will come back as hardcore addicts. The Member has referred to electronic tagging, and I think I should say a few words about this because quite a bit has been mentioned in the press. Some of the press have even expressed concern. So it is right that I should explain what it is that we are thinking of, because it not only concerns the drug rehabilitation programme, it may also have an impact on other aspects of law enforcement. 1.15 pm My Ministry is going to try electronic tagging on an experimental basis this year. It has worked well in some other countries. How it works is that an electronic tag or bracelet is worn by the offender or person who has been put on day release on supervision. A home unit is connected to the telephone at the offender's home which is linked via telephone network to a monitoring centre. This tag sends out a radio signal continuously which is picked up by the home unit and if he leaves the home the monitoring unit is alerted. It is a good system for home confinement regime.”
“Basically, there are three basic changes that we have made. One is the programme which Dr Arthur Beng has referred to, that is what we have called the exit counselling programme (ECP) which was introduced in 1988, that is, Sharp, Short, Shock treatment for selected first-timers. Has this been effective in reducing the relapse rate? First findings are that, yes, it has been effective. The relapse rate for those selected for the ECP programme one year after discharge was 44%, compared to nearly 57% for those who were not put on the programme. So far, about 40% of the first-timers were selected for the ECP programme. Because the results have been fairly encouraging, we now intend to extend it to more first-timers. The second area in which we had a look is a similar kind of programme for those repeaters, who show an indication or desire to kick the habit. This is known as intensive counselling programme (ICP) which involves rigorous physical exercise and intensive counselling, followed up by day release schemes. Home leave is allowed at the end of the day release scheme to facilitate integration into society. The results show also some encouraging figures. The relapse rate for intensive counselling programme inmates was 39.2% compared with some 45% for those not on the ICP programme. So we will also pursue and try to extend that programme. The third area is what we call the three-phase rehabilitation programme which was in fact introduced this year. This involves three phases. The first phase is a 12-month rigorous physical exercise; second phase is a six-month rehabilitation in the community through the day release scheme; third phase is a residential day release to re-integrate him with his family.”
“Sir, as far as giving an update on the drug trafficking or addict scene is concerned, there are some goodnews and some news which are still a matter of concern. I think the good news or the light at the end of the tunnel is that we have seen a drop in the number of first-time or new drug addicts in the past two years. In 1989, there was a drop of 10.9% over the previous year. In 1990, there was a drop of 12.9% over the previous year. This is a good sign, but I must make it clear that these are figures for new addicts or first-time addicts. Since from time to time we have also discussed the problem of high rate of drug addiction among Malays, I am also glad to say that in that area, we have also seen a drop. In 1989, there was a drop of some 22.4% of first-time Malay drug addicts. In 1990, there was a drop of 13.4%. What is a matter of some concern which we are very carefully monitoring is that we have seen some increase in the number of Malay women who are on drugs. The figure is creeping up. So we are watching that quite carefully. When I say that there is good news that the number of new addicts has declined in the past two years, the flip side of that is that the problem which we will have to cope is that of relapse cases. Because the less there are new addicts, then the less is the residual problem of relapse cases. And to be frank, the relapse rate can be reduced. For one-year relapse rate for normal rehabilitation programmes for repeat drug addicts, the relapse rate is 45.4%. And for first-timers, it is 56.6%. Therefore, what my Ministry and those in charge of the drug rehabilitation centres have been doing is to concentrate on the various reforms and improvements that can be done to the various rehabilitation programmes.”
“Sir, as I said just now, both in the Police and in the CD, the reservists play an important role in the SJCDF as the 60,000 or so reservists form the backbone of our CD's rescue capability. I agree that because the reservists have served with distinction and enthusiasm, and because they form an important and integral part of the Police's and CD's mission, we must recognise their contributions. The Home Affairs Ministry will give attention to the management of reservists. A Home Affairs Reservists' Committee has been set up comprising Police and Civil Defence reservists and it has been meeting and obtaining feedback on reservist matters since last year. As far as the RECORD Committee's recommendations are concerned, this is another area which is being looked into. I can say that my Ministry fully supports the RECORD Committee's recommendations on the setting up of separate associations for Civil Defence and Police reservists. I think this association will help to build up the identity and the esprit de corps among the Home Affairs' reservists. I also agree to the recommendation to have a SAFRA-type of clubhouse to cater to the recreational needs of these reservists. I think they should be of the scale and scope of the latest SAFRA clubhouse. I hope this new clubhouse will be ready in three to five years' time if we obtain the necessary approval for land and funds. Meanwhile, I have instructed my Ministry's officials to look into the prospect of a temporary clubhouse for our reservists.”
“For this, I am glad to announce that a new training academy will be built at a site in Jalan Bahar at a cost of some $62.9 million. This academy will have basic, advanced and refresher training facilities for reservists, regulars, NCOs and others. It will have purpose-built facilities, like a special ruins area, a high tower for high-rise fire fighting, and areas for heavy plant training. Construction is expected to start this year, and I hope it will be completed by 1994. At the same time, camps which now exist in Nee Soon, Hougang and Jalan Bahar will be upgraded. 12.45 pm Dr Arthur Beng also asked about the role of volunteers in the constituencies vis-a-vis reservists. The volunteers at the constituency level play an indispensable role and they will have to work hand-in-hand with the CD reservists in a real emergency. I say they are indispensable because if a disaster occurs, in peace time or in war time, they will be the first at the scene. They know the residents and the residents know them. So they will be instrumental in bringing about a certain calmness, prevent disorder and chaos, and even attend to basic roles such as first-aid evacuation before the specialised rescue teams arrive. To demonstrate the importance of volunteers in the constituency, they are involved in most of the important civil defence exercises, including the large scale community spirit exercises. I hope I have answered his questions.”
“Sir, when we adjourned I have not had the opportunity to answer the remainder of Dr Arthur Beng's question on civil defence. If I may now take them up. He had asked about the plans for reservists. The answer is that we consider the reservists to have very important roles in all aspects of civil defence, for example, the public warning system, the shelter programme and I would say that in all CD operational units they are made up of reservists and we saw how important a role they played in the Hotel New World rescue operation. We are also very pleased with the dedication and enthusiasm of the CD reservists when we had the Baguio earthquake. Many of them rang up to volunteer although we had, because of time, already despatched a mission to Baguio. The organisation, as Dr Arthur Beng knows, is formed to division, constituency and zone units. As far as training is concerned, most of the existing reservists have served in the SAF or the Police but they are given conversion training for their CD roles and also specialised training and upgrading. For example, we have several upgrading courses and programmes. We have introduced a Section Commander course to upgrade reservist private to the rank of corporal to hold section commander appointments. We have some 1,680 of them. We have also a Platoon Commander course to upgrade reservist NCOs to hold appointments of platoon commanders. And the graduands are given the rank of sergeant. There are some 1,100 of them. There is also the Reservist Officer course for Platoon Commander course graduands found suitable for upgrading to the officer rank. We have some 150 reservists appointed as Second Lieutenants. What of the future? Because of the importance we attach to the reservists, we must have better training programmes.”
“But the most important point I want to make is that over the years we will shift from decentralised exercises in districts, different constituencies and regions of Singapore, and slowly we must move into nation-wide exercises. We hope to do this in 1992. From 1992 onwards, we intend to organise one nation-wide emergency exercise every year. We may start with the food and water exercise in 1992, followed by transportation exercise and blood rescue exercise in subsequent years. Thereafter, this cycle of three nation-wide exercises can be repeated. In this way, at least once a year, we will bring the message and activities and the importance of civil defence to all Singaporeans. I think events in the Gulf War have brought home the message loud and clear: take total defence seriously, including civil defence. But how often we can have a Hotel New World collapse, how often we can have a Gulf War, will be far and in between. In the meantime, we need to have exercises and I hope the encouraging response will continue.”
“In which case then, I will first answer the question on exercises and may have to take up the other points when we meet again. Whether we are satisfied with the level of public response to the exercises, I think that we have been heartened by the public response to the various emergency exercises. We have had some 20 exercises since we introduced them in 1985. The objectives of the exercise are known. They are to test the plans, create awareness amongst the public and for the public also to be familiar with the dos and don'ts so that if a real emergency occurs, there will be no panic or chaos. We have from time to time utilised professional survey firms to assess the response of the public and the findings are that more than 90% of our population are aware of civil defence and recognise the importance. The majority favour periodic exercises. And a separate survey of grassroots leaders also shows that the overwhelming majority of them support these exercises. All I need to point out is the recent exercises such as the blood and rescue exercises in September last year attracted more than 1,700 blood donors, well beyond our target. Likewise, the shelter exercise at the Braddell MRT station drew a crowd of 6,300, again well beyond what the organisers had anticipated. As for future plans, we will continue with these exercises. We must, because more and more youngsters who leave school and so on will need to be put through the familiarisation process. Secondly, plans will have to be revised. Thirdly, we never know when the real emergency will occur. We hope it never does, but if it does, it is far better that as many of our people are prepared. I agree with Dr Arthur Beng that we must inject some reality into it and we will do so gradually.”
“Sir, I am not sure I will be able to answer all the points.”
“Therefore, there will be more promotional opportunities for older officers with long years of service. Salaries have also been upgraded last year. If I may turn to Dr Beng's question concerning national servicemen and Police reservists recruited into the Police. These officers are actually deployed mainly in specialised and technical branches. Their promotion prospects will not suffer because of lower qualifications. We will ensure that no less opportunities will be available to them for progressing through their ranks than other officers. They have been specially selected for the jobs in the specialised and technical branches because these jobs require them to possess special attributes like physical fitness, leadership, technical proficiency, instead of merely academic qualifications. Promotions in those branches will be determined more by his performance than by his academic qualifications. However, I agree that incentives and assistance should be provided to encourage them to upgrade themselves academically through part-time study. Incremental credits will be given to serving officers who manage to obtain better academic qualifications. The Police Academy will also conduct evening classes for serving officers who are doing part-time studies if there is a demand for it.”
“The majority are unlikely to be posted out of the service to which they belong, because there is enough challenge within a particular department to which they are posted. But we will have cross posting for selected good officers, not only at the top level but also at other levels. For example, two Assistant Superintendents of Police have been cross posted to the Prisons and one CNB officer is earmarked for a stint in the Police. We also have police officers who have been posted to the Ministry Headquarters. For example, one Assistant Commissioner of Police is in fact Director of Operations in the Ministry of Home Affairs. The general principle for such cross postings is that it must be beneficial for the particular officer's career development. It must also be beneficial for the department and generally for bringing about a more effective well-rounded law enforcement officer. May I turn to his other point about persons who retire at the age of 45 or at such early age. Actually, Police junior officers do not have much problem in finding useful employment on retirement. Many choose to retire early at 45 years of age in order to start a second career. The problem in fact is to persuade them to extend their retirement age to 50 and stay longer in the Force. To make it attractive for such officers to remain longer in the Force, their career prospect has been considerably enhanced. The Police plan to fill 30% of the senior officer cadre with officers promoted from the junior ranks. More opportunities for junior officers to move up to senior ranks and to take on higher and challenging appointments will be made. Now, more scope exists for career advancement because two new junior ranks have been added recently.”
“It will be a centre of excellence for the training of our police and law enforcement officers. We have considered the future needs of the police in planning for the Academy and the police's role as the main training institute for other law enforcement agencies in Singapore. In other words, the proposed new Police Academy will be developed as the central training Academy for all our law enforcement agencies, such as Police, CNB, Prisons, Immigration and CISCO. There will, therefore, be a sharing of the instructional resources amongst these various law enforcement agencies and, where appropriate, there will be common courses. Each Home Affairs law enforcement department will still have basic facilities such as classrooms for conducting their own specialised training, but major facilities such as firing ranges, obstacle courses, parade grounds and so on will be shared. The details are now being worked out in consultation with the relevant authorities and it is my hope that the Academy can be realised within the next five years. 4.14 pm Sir, the Chairman of the GPC also referred to his idea for cross postings. Because of the general Police scheme of Service which was announced last year, and as manpower resources are centrally managed under the Ministry of Home Affairs, infusion and talent sharing, particularly among the three branches of the Police Service, is possible. Good officers can be cross posted to expose them to different facets of law enforcement and security. For example, a good officer who is involved in narcotics intelligence, it will be good to expose him at some time to intelligence work in the CID. But I would like to say, however, that cross posting is not something that we envisage as a general scheme for all.”
“It also shows that efforts at community policing, ie, trying to get the community on board, have paid off dividends because, for the first time in 10 years, crime rate for seizable offences had come down for two consecutive years. It also shows a second facet of our crime prevention efforts, that is, the public have been supportive and have cooperated with the police. More people are coming forward to assist and cooperate with the police. And our assessment is that it is a direct result of the community policing system. In 1990, to give you one set of figures, 1,973 suspects or criminals were arrested for preventable crimes like robbery, housebreaking, outraging of modesty, and so on. Of these, 40% were arrested with the assistance and cooperation of the public. So while we must always be vigilant and take even further measures to bring the crime rate low, those two sets of figures will lead me to conclude that we are on the right track as far as the police's efforts at community policing are concerned. And I am particularly heartened by the fact that we have put behind us the old attitude of "them and us" as far as people distancing themselves from the police are concerned. Now the people consider the police a part of the community and are willing to cooperate with them. Turning now to the other point raised by Dr Arthur Beng, Sir, the present Police Academy, which is located at Thomson Road, is going to be acquired by Government and an alternative site of some 17 hectares in Yishun has been offered for development of a new Police Academy. The Police have submitted a proposal to the Master Plan Committee. The plans and the concept that we have envisaged for the Police Academy are very similar to what Dr Arthur Beng has himself advocated.”
“Mr Chairman, first, Dr Arthur Beng's request for status of the crime situation. I take it that he is not asking for detailed statistics because the Police have, for some time, been giving the detailed crime statistics to the press. But perhaps what I can say is that I am pleased to inform the House that although the Police have had a 5% or so vacancy that, they have been effective in combating crime. Particularly heartening is the fact that the total number of seizable offences dropped for two consecutive years, in 1989 and 1990. In 1989, the number of seizable offences dropped by 3.6%. In 1990, the number decreased by 1.7%. And for the last 10 years, this is the first time that crime rate for seizable offences had decreased for two years in a row. I am not sure how many other countries, particularly in densely populated metropolitan or city states, can boast of such an achievement and I hope that we can keep it this way. If we compare our crime rate with other countries, we also compare very favourably. Using Interpol statistics for serious crimes in 1989 - crimes like murder, rape, housebreaking, and so on - the Singapore rate per hundred thousand population was 233. Other countries like Tokyo, 274 per hundred thousand; UK more than 2,000 per hundred thousand; and West Germany, 1,900 per hundred thousand. I think I will just make those two points. These very telling figures can give us some cause of satisfaction. What does it show? To me, it shows that our police and our policing methods have been effective, and I think credit should be given to the Police.”
“Sir, I would be the first to agree that we need as many good draftsmen as possible, particularly if we have a legislative programme that is quite heavy. Many Bills are tabled in this House - some are fairly complicated, some may be novel, which do not have a precedent anywhere else in the world. I know that the Attorney-General's Chambers is also anxious to ensure that it gets a fair share of lawyers to join the service who can make good draftsmen. But I should inform Dr Arthur Beng that the recruitment of draftsmen is not done as draftsmen as such. Lawyers are recruited into the legal service by the Legal Service Commission and then assigned to different jobs, some of which may be in the Attorney-General's Chambers, some other assignments may be in various other departments like the Judiciary, Legal Aid and other departments. The draftsmen of course are assigned to the Attorney-General's Chambers and within the Attorney-General's Chambers a person does not automatically become a draftsman. He has to be trained. 4.00 pm Drafting is a highly specialised skill and only after some years of exposure to different facets of law can a person begin to draft with any degree of confidence. In other words, a person cannot become a draftsman overnight. He must have a fairly good grounding of other legal skills. If his point is that given our workload of legislation, and given that some of our legislations are novel and complicated that we must have good draftsmen, I take note of his point and I wish to assure him that in making known his requirements to the Legal Service, the Attorney-General has this uppermost in his mind.”
“That is a good point. In other words, when the information about a client's transaction or case is stored electronically, I take it that the Chairman of the GPC is asking me whether we will have adequate safeguards to ensure that nobody else can have access to it. I have in fact made this precise point to those in charge and they have assured me that there will be enough security features to ensure confidentiality.”
“LawNet can also allow the lawyer to track the progress of the case in court as well as allow the computerisation system to remind him of the critical dates for filing documents and hearing dates. All these transactions can be conducted, in other words, without leaving the comfort of the law office and will be at the lawyer's fingertips. From this just one example, it is obvious that the clients can expect faster and more efficient legal services. It will be more comprehensive, more reliable, less prone to costly errors resulting from negligence or oversight in the manual system, and the clients can also expect to be better informed, more regularly informed, of the status of their cases. On the national level, the benefits must also be obvious. It brings about a competitive edge for legal services. It will contain escalating cost of legal services. In short, it is a one-stop, non-stop centre of excellence for the legal service. The Chief Justice, the Attorney-General, and the Law Society have welcomed and supported this proposal. I have noted what the Member has said about the concern of cost. I understand that no tremendously expensive new equipment or software will be required. I have spoken to the Chairman of the National Computer Board. He assures me that the NCB and the EDB are in fact keen to help law firms take advantage of LawNet under the Small Enterprise Computerisation Programme. He has assured me that NCB and the EDB had in fact assisted law firms, and will continue to give such assistance, and that law firms will be treated no less favourably than other SMEs when applying for assistance to computerise. I hope this answers the concerns of the Chairman of the GPC.”
“For lawyers, this major computerisation programme will benefit them and will address the concerns of Dr Arthur Beng, because it will in effect provide a one-stop service by providing lawyers and other members of the public, shall I say, a single window into all the various laws and legal information required in law practice. In fact, when LawNet is in place, it should bring about quite a revolution in legal services. Law firms need not any longer maintain multiple subscriptions, multiple software and multiple subscription fees for the various electronic legal services. Let me give an example to illustrate the point. A client may wish to see a lawyer to seek advice and recover damages, say, from a breach of contract case. The lawyer can use his computer terminal, dial into LawNet and conduct legal research on the relevant provisions in the legislation, as well as in the subsidiary legislation, rules, regulations, and so on, as well as use LawNet to scan and research the available case law on his particular case, in the case law database, and still using LawNet he can conduct a search on the Registry of Companies database to ascertain the relevant particulars of the potential defendant, whether it is worthwhile to sue the particular company. The potential defendant may be just a $2 company with hardly any assets. If a trade or service mark is involved, another on-line search can instantaneously give the relevant particulars of the registered owner of the trade mark. And should the client decide to sue, LawNet allows a law firm to file his legal documents in court and pay the stamp fees electronically, saving a lot of paperwork, and saving a lot of queuing up in the court registry.”