S. Ramaswamy
Singapore
“Sir, can the Minister of State guarantee that the concession granted to owner-occupiers will not be withdrawn? He has said that owner-occupier house-owners need not pay more tax, but this is only just eyewash. At any time the Property Tax Division can demand the full rate by withdrawing the concession.”
“Sir, another point that I want to bring to the notice of the House is that, although a certain property is assessed at a certain value by the valuers in the Property Tax Division, the same property is valued, for the purposes of land acquisition, at half the rate or sometimes even lower than that.”
“These legal firms are supplied with reports and other necessary news more quickly than other firms. I am told that sometimes the reports are tailored to suit the lawyers representing the complainant of the accident. These firms bribe the traffic police personnel regularly.”
“Sir, I will certainly supply the information concerning the disparity in the annual values of the two houses to the Minister of State. He is not well informed about the landlord passing the increase in the annual value to the tenants in Sennett Estate. I remember I wrote to him about 14 months ago on this matter.”
“It may be so, but it is also true that there are signals between the taxi drivers and the customs officials. By and large, our administration is known to the whole world as honest and incorruptible. But a few black sheep in the lower ranks here and there may spoil our good name.”
“Sir, I have an amendment* to move under subhead 1151. May I speak now because what I am going to say is related to the present discussion? * The same amendment, standing in the names of Messrs. Ramaswamy and Conceicao, reads as follows: That the sum to be allocated for Head 1401 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1151.”
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“Part of this land is presently being used by the Ministry of Interior and Defence. According to the Resettlement Department, site preparation work will shortly commence which will include sub-division and making up of internal roads. In-filling will start at the end of this year or early next year. JURONG TOWN (Measures against earth spilling on roads) 9. Mr Ho Kah Leong asked the Minister for Health what measures are being taken by the Public Health Department against the spilling of earth on the roads from earth-carrying lorries in Jurong Town.”
“The Member for Sembawang asked me whether I knew of any refusal of applications for the reconstruction of houses. Yes, there have been investigations. There have been only three applications from house owners on state land for the reconstruction or repair of their houses. Two of them have been approved. One application has not been approved because the applicant has not complied with certain requirements. If the Member for Sembawang was speaking about some other application, I will tell him that the applicant did not have the landowner's permission and the Chief Building Surveyor's Department might have refused to approve it. As far as state land is concerned, there has been no refusal. The Member for Jurong asked me whether I knew that Pulau Ayer Merbau was going to be affected by some industrial programme. Yes, there is a proposal but Pulau Ayer Merbau's suitability has not been established yet. Investigations are still going on. With regard to getting clearance by the Land Office for the repairing of roads which the Member for Jurong is complaining of, it may well be that the Commissioner of Lands has got to consult other departments, like the Resettlement Department and the Public Works Department, before the applicants can get the clearance. That may be the cause of the delay.”
“That is why an investigation is going on now. In 1966, some operators were again asked to declare their gross produce and others were required to make royalty payments. Further representations were made that the produce figures quoted by the Land Office were excessive. Many of the operators claimed that the figures they themselves had quoted to the Public Works Department at the time of applications for licences had been deliberately over-estimated in order to ensure that they got licences. The sand- quarry operators have themselves to blame for this, They seemed to be very unreasonable. It would appear that between 1964 and 1967, there was an ineffective follow-up on the part of the Land Office. We admit this in the matter of collecting royalties and, coupled with the negative response from the opera tors, this has led to an accumulation of the arrears. Action has been taken by the Land Office to ensure that the 1968 royalties are paid promptly. The res ponse has been fairly satisfactory. The Member has said that there are about 50 sand quarries. There are only 46 sand-quarry operators. Forty-two of the 46 operators licensed by the Public Works Department have paid a total of $106,709 as royalties for this year. Royalties amounting to $13,947 for this year are due from four operators. The Member for Jurong spoke on repairs of roads. The Land Office has nothing to do with this subject.”
“Many sand-quarry operators did not supply this information and some forms were returned undelivered. Meanwhile, field inspections were made and consultations were conducted with the Public Works Department on the method and procedure of assessing the produce of the various quarries and the quantum to be charged for royalty. Unfortunately, this was not followed up. An hon. Member: Why?”
“As I have said earlier, the nine families were accordingly offered houses already built by the Economic Development Board on the island. Four of these fami lies have already accepted and the other five families have elected to have house sites only on the foreshores of the island. On the question of the sand quarries, here again, I have to take up the time of the House to relate the history of the arrears of royalties. The Member wants me to give an assurance that the Government will not lose any money and that it will collect all the arrears. Of course, the Government or the Land Office will do all it can to collect the arrears. At the same time, as the Member has complained that there will be hard-ship to the operators of the sand quarries, we are prepared to come to some kind of arrangement to collect these arrears. Let me go into the details of the sand quarries. The Sand Quarries Ordinance, 1961, came into operation on the 5th of December, 1962. This Ordinance requires all operators to be licensed by the Public Works Department. There had been indiscriminate removal of sand with harmful effects on adjoining dwellers, such as the drying up of wells, mosquito breeding, blockage and siltage of drains, etc. The Ordinance was designed to ensure adequate control over sandquarry operations. Briefly, it appears that following the licensing of sandquarry operators under the Sand Quarries Ordinance, 1961, the Land Office called on these operators to furnish returns on the quantum of sand removal. In 1964, all licensed operators were asked by the Land Office to declare their gross produce figures to enable an assessment to be made on the royalty to be charged. The response was unsatisfactory.”
“In the resettlement of one family from Pulau Ayer Chawan to Pulau Merbau and other families to Pulau Merlimau, there has been no negligence on the part of the Commissioner of Lands and there has been proper liaison between the Land Office and the Economic Development Board. I will give the full details of this case, and I hope the Member will be satisfied. In July 1967, an application was received by the Land- Office from one islander who had been residing in Pulau Ayer Chawan for seven years. The application was in the nature of regularising his unauthorised occupation of a hut on the island. The Licence Com mittee approved the application on 3rd August, 1967, and a proper house site was allocated to him on Pulau Aver Chawan. All this happened before this island was considered for an oil refinery site. While this was going on, investigations had commenced to establish the suitability of Pulau Ayer Chawan as an oil refinery site. As there was the possibility at that time that the island would be taken over for industrial development, the Commissioner of Lands decided to freeze the position on the island regarding the issue of a new Temporary Occupation Licence to this particular person who had already been allocated a site. Therefore, this applicant was reallocated a site in Pulau Ayer Merbau. By March 1968, the suitability of the island - that is Pulau Ayer Chawan - as an oil refinery site was established. Therefore, it was necessary to consider the resettlement of all the nine families living in Pulau Ayer Chawan. It was decided to resettle them in Pulau Merlimau which had already been laid out as a resettlement area by the Economic Development Board when it had to clear the land in Jurong.”
“But there has been no application and it has not been refused.”
“The collection of royalties in respect of the current year has been very- satisfactory and it is hoped that some reasonable arrangements can he worked out to collect the arrears of royalty due to the state without causing undue hardship to the operators. The Land Office, in consultation with the Ministry of Finance, will be prepared to consider any reasonable arrangement to settle the outstanding arrears in a manner which will not cause any undue hardship to the operators or landowners. The Member for Jurong raised the question of repair of roads and so on. This is not the responsibility of the Land Office, if the Member is complaining of the delay in approving applications for erection of huts or repair of houses, then certain formalities have to he complied with, and in most cases these applications have been approved by the Land Office within a period of four to six weeks. These applications have also to go through the Chief Build ing~ Surveyor's Office and this will take a further six to eight weeks. The Member for Sembawang complains of the refusal of permission to renovate a shop at the 15th milestone Sembawang. First of all, if the shop is on private land, the Land Office does not come into the picture at all. If the shop is on Temporary Occupation Licence, that is, the shop premises are on state land which is leased to the occupant on a Temporary Occupation Licence, then there should be an application to the Land Office. 3.00 p.m. There has been no refusal of any application for renovation or renewal or reconstruction of any shophouses in his area on the ground that the land is zoned for agricultural purposes. But the area he is talking about is actually zoned for agricultural purposes and the applications should be refused.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, let me-first deal with the queries raised by the Member for Mountbatten. The United Kingdom Services occupy about 14,603 acres of land in Singapore. A total of 1,177 acres of defence land have so far been transferred to the Singapore Government. The rest of the land occupied by the Services will be returned to the Singapore Government at the end of 1971. The Member for Jurong complained of the discrimination in resettling, families who were living in Pulau Ayer Chawan. I would like to assure him that there was no discrimination in resettling these families. One isolated case was a resident of Pulau Ayer Chawan who was allocated a site in Pulau Ayer Merbau. The decision was taken on or before the whole of Pulau Ayer Chawan was considered to be cleared for industrial development. The other families total nine in number. When it was decided that Pulau Ayer Chawan was to be leased to Esso (Singapore) Limited, the Land Office offered a piece of land to the remaining nine families in Pulau Merlimau which has already been laid out as a resettlement area by the Economic Development Board. Of these nine families, four of them have accepted this offer and the other five families have erected houses on the foreshore of the island. With regard to royalties paid by the sand-quarry operators, the question of arrears is a long-standing problem with the Land Office. It appears that this has not been successfully resolved. In fact, the Ministry is investigating the circumstances under which these arrears have been allowed to accumulate.”
“The other point I would like to mention is that in our multi-racial society where people are all too ready to see communal favouritism, Inche Yusof has succeeded in making people accept him as the symbol of all communities, races and classes. Though he is by accident of birth a Malay, nobody, as far as I know, thinks of him as Malay Head of State. He has been accepted by all communities as Singapore's President or "Our President". This again is due to his ingrained indifference to the racial and religious origins of the peoples he comes into contact with. This is a very essential quality in our multi-racial society, especially at this particular juncture of its history. For these, among other reasons, Mr Speaker, I support the motion by the Prime Minister. Question put, and agreed to. Resolved, That this Parliament, in accordance with Article 1 of the Constitution of Singapore, elects Inche Yusof bin Ishak as President of the Republic of Singapore for a further term of four years to commence immediately after the expiry of his present term of office. ADJOURNMENT Resolved, "That Parliament do now adjourn to Tuesday, 5th December, 1967." -[Dr Toh Chin Chye]. Adjourned accordingly at Twelve minutes past Three o'clock p.m. to Tuesday. 5th December,1967.”
“But people are not impressed simply because a President has managed to cut a tape properly at some opening ceremony. What is important is how he talks and conducts himself with the people who have invited him. Just as important is what people think of both his private and public life. In a way, the Head of State is what every citizen believes a model citizen should be. During his eight years in office, Inche Yusof and his wife Puan Noor Aishah have managed to surround the office of the Head of State with an air of dignity and simplicity. Inche Yusof, in so far as he has personified the State for the ordinary people, has enhanced the popular image of the State. I do not want to repeat what some of my colleagues have said about Inche Yusof and of the reasons why it is appropriate he should be elected as President. I would only like to mention two points. The first relates to his refusal to surround his office with flamboyance and pomposity. A lesser man would have transformed himself into a larger-than-life President. But Inche Yusof has managed to make the President no more than Citizen No. 1 - an ordinary citizen faithfully discharging the duties he has been entrusted with. Evidence of this is his choice of residence. He could have chosen to stay in the palatial Istana Negara. However, right from the start, he requested that he be allowed to stay in a modest bungalow in the Istana grounds. The Istana Negara he uses only to receive and house distinguished visitors. This may be a small point, but it does show his approach to the office he holds. He invests the office of President with the necessary ceremonial pomp, but not his person.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to join my other colleagues in supporting the motion standing in the name of the Prime Minister. As the Prime Minister said, this is the third time that Inche Yusof bin Ishak is being nominated as Head of State. On the first occasion, he was appointed by the British Queen as the Yang di-Pertuan Negara of an internally self-governing Singapore. On the second occasion, he was appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong when Singapore became a State within the Federation of Malaysia. And now on the third occasion, his election as President is to be effected by the Parliament of an independent Singapore. There are very strong reasons why Inche Yusof, who has served as Head of State for eight years, should once again be nominated to hold this high office. It is often said that a President and Head of State is merely a symbolical figure expected to do no more than perform dreary ceremonial chores. This may be so in terms of constitutional abstractions, but in the eyes of the ordinary people who do not understand political abstractions, the Head of State is something more than a legal abstraction. He is the State personified. The State cannot open a sports meet or a charity bazaar. But when the President or his wife does these things, the abstract concept of State is grasped in terms that people can understand. The President and his lady make the State comprehensible. This being so, the character and personality of the President and his wife are as important as their ability to perform ceremonial rituals correctly. Anybody can be taught to perform ceremonies of State and we should, on this criterion, have no difficulty finding candidates to fill this post.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Section 15 of the Stamp Ordinance provides for exemption from payment of stamp duty on any instrument made for the purpose of the transfer of shares in connection with the reconstruction or amalgamation of companies. This section has been held inapplicable to cases of reconstruction or amalgamation of companies incorporated outside Singapore. The proposed amendment seeks to extend to foreign companies who reconstruct or amalgamate with companies incorporated in Singapore the same exemption applicable to companies incorporated in Singapore. This would encourage foreign companies, which have their business interests or the majority of shareholders here, to reconstruct and incorporate in Singapore. Sir, I beg to move. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill.-[Mr Ramaswamy]. Bill considered in Committee. [Mr Speaker in the Chair] 4.04 p.m. Clause 1 ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 2 - Amendment made: In page 1, to leave out lines 6 to 14 inclusive and insert - "by inserting immediately after the fourth line of subsection (7) thereof the following new definition : - "the expression "company" means a company wherever registered or incorporated;" ".-[Mr Ramaswamy]. Clause 2, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill. Bill reported with an amendment; read a Third time and passed. SINGAPORE ARMY (AMENDMENT) BILL Order for Second Reading read. 4.07 p.m.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, In page 2, line 25, after "of", to insert "any". This is a printing error. Clause 2, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clauses 3 to 9 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I have listened to the criticisms made by the Member for Havelock. He should note that the Government wants the rubber industry to be run without any disruption and that we want continuity. That is why the present setup is continued in the new Bill. The hon. Member's criticisms will be looked into and considered in due course. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. -[Mr Ramaswamy]. Bill considered in Committee. [Mr Speaker in the Chair] 4.20 p.m. Clause 1 ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 2 -”
“The Minister under clause 14, acting on the recommendation of the Corporation, has power to make orders for the imposition, collection, variation or cancellation of a cess on rubber exported from Singapore. Any orders made by the Minister under this provision are to be published in the Gazette and presented to Parliament. It is made clear in the Bill that all expenses incurred by the Corporation in the administration of this legislation shall be borne by the Corporation. The Corporation may, with the approval of the Minister, make rules for the purpose of this legislation. The Corporation may revoke, amend or add to the rules, but such revocation, amendment or addition will not be effective until ratified by the Minister and published in the Gazette (clause 17). It is intended that the existing Rules of the Association will, with certain modifications, form the basis of the rules to be made under this proposed legislation. This will ensure continuity. assist the Association in its transition to a corporate body, and cause the minimum of disruption to the rubber industry in Singapore. Sir, I beg to move. Question proposed. 4.13 p.m.”
“This is offered under clauses 3 and 4 of the Bill. The principal objects of the Corporation are to promote sales and exports of rubber from Singapore, to collect a cess on rubber exports for this purpose, and make rules and regulations governing the marketing of rubber (clauses 4 and 14). The management of the statutory body is vested in a Management Committee, which consists of 15 members, seven of whom are nominated by the Rubber Trade Association of Singapore and seven of whom are nominated by the Singapore Chamber of Commerce Rubber Association. The remaining member is a public officer. It is proposed that this public officer will be the Director of Trade of the Ministry of Finance. This officer will not, however, be concerned with the day-to-day operations of the Rubber Association. The Chairman and Deputy Chairman will be appointed by the Minister from the 14 members of the Committee representing the two component associations mentioned above (clause 10). [Mr Lim Cheng Lock in the Chair] 4.10 p.m. All the powers of the Corporation are subject to the provisions of the Act and the rules made thereunder, vested in the Management Committee. The Committee will, subject to the directions of the Minister, control the Singapore Rubber Fund which is established under clause 13 of the Bill. All moneys received by the Committee, including the proceeds of any cess collected under clause 14, will be paid into this Fund and the Fund will be used to pay the expenses of the administration of the Committee and for carrying out the purposes of this legislation generally. The accounts of the Fund will be subject to audit.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." This Bill is designed to incorporate the Rubber Association of Singapore (hereinafter called "the Corporation") as a corporate body. Since its inception in 1963, the Rubber Association of Singapore has been responsible for regulating transactions in the Singapore rubber market. Its responsibilities were inherited from its original sponsors, the Rubber Trade Association of Singapore and the Singapore Chamber of Commerce Rubber Association. The Association not only deals in the day-to-day operation of the clearing house, regulation of trading, shipping and fixing of prices, but also in the fields of contracts, arbitration, packing standards and disciplining of the market. The Association's income depends entirely on members' subscriptions, tender fees and commissions on auction sales. In recent years, the Association's income from these sources has declined. To enable the Association to function effectively and competitively and to maintain and approve the high standards of conduct of the Singapore rubber market, it is clearly necessary that the Association should have adequate finances. With this in mind, the Association approached Government with a proposal that it should be authorised to levy a cess on rubber exportation from Singapore and to use the proceeds of the cess to cover its expenditure. Since there were, however, legal objections to empowering the Association, as incorporated under the Societies Ordinance, to collect a cess, it was considered that the most appropriate means of overcoming these objections was to constitute a Corporation to replace the Association. The assets and property of the Association would then vest in the Corporation.”
“Expenditure on urgent development projects for which there is no provision in the Development Estimates will be charged to the Contingencies (Development) Fund. This fund will have to be replenished each year with resources in the Development Fund. Section 4 (6) of the Development Fund Ordinance, 1959, which disallows the issue of transfer warrants in respect of a closed financial year, will also be deleted. In practice, transfer warrants have to be issued to regularise the Accountant-General's accounts. A vote may be exceeded inadvertently or owing to wrong entries. Transfer warrants are required to rectify such errors in the new year in respect of accounts of the previous year so that the accounts can balance. Clauses 4 and 5 of the Bill deal with minor miscellaneous amendments arising from Singapore's independent status, such as deleting the words "Legislative Assembly" and "the Legislative Assembly" wherever they appear therein and substituting therefor the word "Parliament". Sir, I beg to move. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. -[Mr Ramaswamy]. Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. NATIONAL RECORDS CENTRE BILL Order for Second Reading read. 5.25 p.m.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Mr Speaker, Sir, the Development Fund Ordinance (No. 52 of 1959) was enacted to allow the Minister to vire funds from subhead to subhead; the only limitation being the amount available in subheads from which funds are to be vired. However, the Minister does not have the power to create a new subhead even when funds from other subheads are available. This has resulted in unnecessary delays in the implementation of urgent projects. The Ordinance has been in operation for the past six years and, in the light of this experience, certain amendments to the Ordinance are necessary. The Development Fund (Amendment) Bill, 1967, seeks to bring the Development Fund Ordinance (No. 52 of 1959) in line with the Financial Procedure Act which was passed by Parliament in April 1966 to empower the Minister to create new subheads and to transfer any surplus arising under any other subhead of the same head to the new subhead created; that is, it follows a similar procedure as that for the ordinary Estimates. This is provided for under clause 2. The use of virements using savings from one subhead to meet increased expenditure under another subhead may lead to slackness in planning projects in the knowledge that there are savings to be vired from somewhere, or a tendency to withhold implementation of difficult projects on the excuse that funds for such projects are urgently needed elsewhere. To discourage the use of virements, a Contingencies Fund is provided to meet any urgent and unforeseen need for expenditure on projects for which no other provision exists.”
“Firstly, I think this supplementary question does not arise out of my answer. Secondly, the Finance Minister explained very elaborately about this yesterday. ASEAN FOREIGN MINISTERS' CONFERENCE AT BANGKOK 7. Mr P. Selvadurai asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the achievements of the conference of ASEAN Foreign Ministers held at Bangkok recently. 8. Mr Ng Kah Ting asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the Conference of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) held at Bangkok recently and state in what way Singapore can benefit by being a member.”
“Summing up, the Government is prepared to consider measures to protect local industries from imports, but does not consider prohibition of imports as the best means of doing so.”
“The policy of the Government with regard to protection of local industries is quite clear. The Government is prepared to grant protection to industries if several factors are satisfied. Firstly, the industry must be in a position to supply a major part of the local market. Secondly, the industry should result in a net gain to the economy by way of foreign exchange savings, local income generated and local employment created. In addition, the industry should as far as possible be one with some export potential. The industry must show evidence of being willing and able to compete in the export market. Thus it can be seen that the productive capacity of an industry alone is not sufficient to conclude that it should be protected. There are other no less important factors to be taken into consideration. In considering the actual measures to be adopted, we have learned through experience that prohibition of imports is not the best means. Firstly, such prohibition does not set an automatic limit to the extent to which local prices can increase. Secondly, prohibition of imports would mean that the local industry would be divorced from the competitive pressures of new designs and improved quality which are constantly being developed by industries abroad. Thirdly, prohibition creates a situation which opens the administration to business pressures and enticements. It also results in a very high premium for the imported products, which encourages smuggling. For these reasons the Government would prefer to grant protection in the form of import duties. There are, of course, cases where quantitative restrictions on imports are necessary in the initial stages of an industry's existence. In such cases, the Government is prepared to consider such measures.”
“I said in my answer that the precaution is that the officer who is due for promotion or confirmation is not seconded for more than one year. PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF LOCAL INDUSTRIES 6. Mr Bernard Rodrigues asked the Minister for Finance, with a view to promoting and protecting local industries whose production capacity can meet the demands of local consumption, if he will consider prohibiting the importation of products similar to those of such local industries.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I can assure the hon. Member that an officer's career in the civil service will not be adversely affected by reason of his secondment for service outside the Government service itself. I have explained, in answer to the hon. Member's previous question, how this can be adversely affected if the secondment is not properly worked out.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the policy is that an officer's confirmation and his prospects for promotion should not be affected by his secondment for service outside the Government service. Although this is the policy and the intention, it is obvious that unless care is exercised over the length of the period of secondment, this may not happen in practice. The reason is that if an officer is seconded for an unduly long period of time, it may not be possible to assess his suitability for confirmation or promotion, especially if the nature of the duties of the post to which he is seconded differs vastly from that of the service to which he belongs. To ensure that the interest of the officer would not be adversely affected, it is the practice to limit the period of secondment in the case of probationers to within one year. Because of this precaution, no case is known where the confirmation or promotion prospects of an officer have been adversely affected by a secondment to a post outside the service.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I require notice of this question.”
“The number of Government officers at present on secondment or on loan to Statutory Boards and other organisations is 89.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in 1966, Singapore imported a total of $271.1 million worth of goods from China. For the same year, Singapore's exports to China included $0.2 million worth of Singapore processed rattans and canes and $18.9 million worth of re-exports. There was no export of locally-manufactured goods to China during the year. PROHIBITION OF SPEEDING AND UNDESIRABLE DRIVING ADVERTISEMENTS OVER T.V. SINGAPURA 10. Mr Ng Kah Ting asked the Minister for Culture and Social Affairs if he will consider prohibiting advertisements over T.V. Singapura in which speeding and undesirable types of driving are used to boost the sales of motor vehicles, as they run contrary to the campaigns of the National Safety First Council”
“The Government will consider this matter when the productivity is increased.”
“We will look into it. WORK PERMITS (Particulars) 6. Mr S. V. Lingam asked the Minister for Labour to give the numbers, up to the latest convenient date, of persons (a) who have applied for work permits: (b) who have been given work permits: (c) whose applications for work permits have been rejected; and (d) whose applications were still under consideration on that date.”
“I do not know the Chinese Language, Sir.”
“Development of property on a large scale takes considerable planning and preparation, and it will take time before the full effect of the new tax concessions could be known. It is, therefore, premature at the moment to gauge from the response from private developers, although a number of inquiries have been received from them following the announcement of the concessions at the last sitting. SINGAPORE CITIZENSHIP (Residential qualification for alien husbands and wives) 10. Mr Bernard Rodrigues asked the Minister for Labour if it is the intention of the Government to maintain the existing minimum two years residential qualification for alien wives of Singapore Citizens for registration as Singapore Citizens and whether similar provision will be extended to alien husbands of Singapore Citizens.”
“In our case we are confident that the impact on our economy may come even sooner than the normal pattern in other countries.”
“The investment and export incentives for industries in Singapore were announced in the Budget Speech on 5th December, 1966. A draft Ordinance is now being prepared, embodying these new incentives in the legislation, and when completed, further publicity will he given to these incentives to both the local and foreign business and industrial centres. However, purely on the very brief outline of the incentives given in the Budget Speech alone, the Economic Development Board has reported a significant increase in industrial inquiries made both at the Singapore Office as well as its overseas offices. There were a total of 180 industrial inquiries on record for 1966, or an average of 15 inquiries a month. In almost the first 2 months of this year (only up to 23rd February), there were already a total of 46 inquiries, or an average of 23 inquiries a month. These were from local as well as international corporations which have indicated interest in a wide range of industries, ranging from electronics to petrochemicals. Some of the proposals involve large sums of investments. These inquiries reflect an almost 50 per cent increase per month. This increase in inquiries for the months of January and February has been achieved in spite of many public holidays. From the serious manner in which these inquiries have been made, the Economic Development Board is confident that many of these projects would be carried beyond the mere inquiry stage and would be implemented. It should be pointed out that in all developing countries there is always a gestation period between the introduction of incentives and the achievements of full impact on the national economy. It takes two or three years to get a large industrial enterprise into full operation even if the final decision is made today.”
“The Member can get any amount of soap in the market at 30 cents a cake. If he is paying $1.10 for three cakes of soap, I think he is being swindled! Mr Ho See Beng (Bras Basah): Mr Speaker, Sir, there has been a hue and cry from the public that the prices of locally-manufactured goods are increasing by leaps and bounds. Would the Government consider refraining from providing local manufacturers with tariff protection against imported goods, particularly pharmaceutical products, if they cannot meet the demand?”
“If there is an increase in the price, we will lift the duty on imports.”
“There has been no increase in the price, Sir.”
“It is not controlled. It is a fixed price.”
“I have no information that the price of soap is 40 cents a cake.”
“A locally-manufactured cake of toilet soap is sold at 30 cents. Mr Govindaswamy: Is there a controlled price, Mr Speaker, Sir?”
“The latest available breakdown figures up to and including the 25th November this year are as follows: Citizens 1,041,330 Non-citizens 125,376”
“The Trade Mission to Africa visited seven African States in March and April this year. Since its return, a continuous flow of trade inquiries from Africa has been received. Individual merchants from Africa have also visited Singapore and concluded business with our own manufacturers and traders. The Manager of the Zambian Trade Fair recently came here to persuade our manufacturers to participate in the Zambian Trade Fair to be held next year. We would consider favourably participation in this Fair. Trade between several African countries and ourselves has shown encouraging increases. These countries are the United Arab Republic, Kenya, Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania. An increasing amount and variety of locally manufactured goods are finding markets in Africa. Exports of products such as tyres, tubes and steel pipes have shown substantial increases in the first 11 months of this year, compared with the same period last year. For instance, exports of tyres and tubes increased from $121,000 in 1965 to $674,000 this year. Similarly, exports of steel pipes have increased from $40,000 last year to $330,000 this year. We are confident that with active export promotion, our goods will find ready acceptance in African markets in terms of price, quality as well as delivery. NATIONAL REGISTRATION FOR NEW IDENTITY CARDS 7. Mr Ng Kah Ting asked the Minister for Labour when the National Registration for the new identity card will be completed, and what are the latest available breakdown figures in respect of citizens and non-citizens of the Republic. The Acting Minister for Labour (Mr E. W. Barker): The registration for new plastic laminated identity cards is expected to be completed by the end of the year.”
“I am not aware. But this is what the Government or the Economic Development Board is doing, asking employers to pay a housing allowance instead of a transport allowance.”
“I have just said that the employers are requested to pay a housing allowance instead of a transport allowance, and most of them are doing that.”
“I have given the figures of occupation of these flats. There are 4,512 units. Of this number, 2,614 units are occupied. Of course, the hon. Member can calculate whether it is half or more than half.”
“In leasing out lands to industries in Singapore, a clause is inserted which requires all lessees to try to house their workers at Taman Jurong in the industrial estate. Manufacturing and other firms located at Jurong are regularly informed of the availability of low-cost housing for their workers. Industrial firms themselves are also encouraging their workers to stay in Jurong by granting housing allowances in lieu of a transport allowance.”
“The Economic Development Board has so far built 4,512 units in the residential zone of the Jurong Industrial Estate. Of this number, 2,614 units are occupied. The rates of rental are $20 per month for a one-room flat; $46.50 per month for a two-room flat; and $66.50 per month for a three-room flat, inclusive of service and conservancy charges. These are the rates of rental applicable only to Singapore citizens with a family income of less than $800 per month. Singapore citizens whose family income is more than $800 are only eligible for three-room flats and are charged a rental of $91.50 per month. Further, flats may also be let out to non-Singapore citizens on the specific approval of the Economic Development Board. Rentals applicable to non-Singapore citizens are $106.50 for a three-room flat; $66.50 for a two-room flat, and $30 for a one-room flat. It will be noted that while rentals for workers who are Singapore citizens are at subsidised rates, non-Singapore citizens with work permits have to pay the full economic rental if they wish to stay in the flats at the Jurong Industrial Estate. In planning the development of the Jurong Industrial Estate, the Economic Development Board aims at building up a self-contained community. Low-cost housing is therefore built so that workers may stay near their places of work and need not commute from other areas of Singapore to Jurong, which may involve journeys of 20 miles or more a day. The Board's policy, therefore, is to encourage as many workers as possible to stay in the flats at the Jurong Industrial Estate. The housing estate at Taman Jurong is provided with markets, a school, shops, a playground, a football field as well as a community centre. Early next year an open-air cinema will be built there.”
“Their complaints are of being asked to work hard and occasionally having to work outside normal hours. That is all.”
“Officers have from time to time complained of being asked to work harder than the staff in other Government departments and occasionally of having to work outside normal office hours during peak periods. This is to be expected as taxation work is both exacting and onerous. During peak periods the staff will occasionally have to work extra time, but this is offset by a freer time during off-peak periods.”