Sia Kah Hui
Singapore
“Mr Speaker, Sir, a supplementary question. Is the Minister not aware that times have changed and continue to change? There are already so many complaints from flat buyers against the sub-contractors. I have here just two samples, one from the Singapore Monitor and the other from the Straits Times.”
“To ask the Minister for National Development if he will justify the increase by the Housing and Development Board from $3 p.m. rent to $785 p.m.”
“Not a copy of the letter which your Parliamentary Secretary has sent because, as I have read earlier on, this letter is not clear. Because it says, "to discharge your (the developer's) obligation to clear the temple." The developer says, "Here you are. This clearly says so.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, does the Minister know that after I have written to the developer who had in writing assured the temple people that he would build them a new temple at the developer's expense, his reply to me was that Government had taken over his obligation.”
“Sir, I am not the one who is not clear and I am not the one who is involved in this. It just happened that the developer takes your letter to mean that you are freeing him from his obligation.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, may I ask the Minister what difficulty is there that he does not want to clear this up? It is not with me. I understand, but the developer does not. He sends the letter from the Government to the temple saying, "Here you are, you see, I paid this money and there is a receipt. I am free from my obligation.”
The complete record
Every one of 309 lines we hold for Sia Kah Hui, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 4 of 7.
“Mr Speaker. Sir, at the last sitting of Parliament, if I remember correctly indications were given that a special Establishment Warrant would be issued to get the necessary staff. I am glad to say that that has already been done, and that almost all the vacancies sc established have been filled. 3.04 p.m.”
“Sir, when I said "review", of course, I meant a review of the whole picture. It need not be confined to the middle income group only. RE-ROUTING OF BUS ROUTES TO CENTRAL BUS STATIONS IN CITY AREA 2. Mr Ng Kah Ting asked the Minister for Communications if his Ministry has made a feasibility study on the establishment of two or more central bus stations in the City area and the re-routing of bus routes where practicable to one or other of the bus stations so that commuters to and from the City will not have to change buses.”
“Yes, that will be the objective all the time.”
“Sir, this is an effort by the Government to assist the N.T.U.C, so that it can help its affiliated unions in the various fields of industrial relations. In order that the trade unions can stand up to the employers who can afford to engage experts at the negotiating table, so also must the unions be assisted with expert advice and assistance. Hence the Labour Research Unit was set up.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Member for Whampoa is quite right that this subhead refers to the Labour Research Unit of the N.T.U.C. In the 1970-71 fiscal year, the provision was for $320,000, but the actual expenditure in that year came to $464,824, the $144,824 being savings from the previous fiscal year. The provision for 1971-72 is $553,960 and there is really an increase of $89,136. The main reasons for the increase were the setting up of a Chinese Section in the Labour Research Unit and the recruiting of six officers for that section; the setting up lately of the leadership training courses; and the purchase of office equipment and training aids and so on.”
“I think the Minister for Social Affairs has earlier on answered his question and he has given some details regarding this particular item. Therefore, I do not wish to repeat it again. The reason for fixing the sum at $8,000 this year is that last year we spent about $4,800 of the provision. This is only the allowance given to disabled persons and not the cost of training facilities. These disabled persons are sent to various factories or establishments which give them the training. We only give them a monthly subsistence allowance, that is, money for transport and other expenses. The sum involved in each particular case is not very big.”
“I think enough publicity is being given at present through the training facilities provided by the Ministry. The various employer agencies do make use of these training facilities. When the courses are organised, all the people concerned are informed in advance and they send their people to attend them.”
“There is also a need for stationery, training equipment accessories, duplicating materials such as stencils, ink, and items like that. That is why the amount is not large.”
“This O.C.A.R, vote is to meet incidental expenses. For example, we may need to hand out cyclostyled material.”
“Sir, T.W.I., or Training-Within-Industry, is a scheme organised by the Ministry of Labour to render service to industry, commerce, and the Government departments concerned. Its aim is to increase efficiency through effective supervision training. This point has been touched on by the Member for Katong some months back. The provision asked for is to get an assistant. In fact, as I have said earlier on, an Assistant Training Officer will be appointed.”
“Normally if a type of skilled labour is in very short supply, temporary permission to work can be given by the Work Permits Office. But until the Immigration Department gives the clearance, of course the worker will only be given temporary permission to work, but not a proper work permit. A proper work permit for six months, a year, or for stated periods will only be issued when the whole administrative process has been completed.”
“Sir, I am afraid I cannot speak for the Immigration Department. But as far as the Work Permits Office is concerned, we deal with the applications in the normal way. And for those people who are resident outside Singapore, their cases must, of course, be referred to the Immigration Department. Mr Cheong Yuen Chee: Mr Speaker, Sir, since the forms for the application of a work permit as well as for a visa are issued, by the Work Permits Office, surely there must be some liaison between these two departments.”
“Sir, for any category of workers that are in short supply, work permits will be given.”
“Sir, if construction workers are not available, that has nothing to do with the Work Permits Office. It only issues work permits when contractors can find the workers. We do not find workers for them. The Member for Potong Pasir must not confuse the issue. In fact, I can say that up to the end of February this year. 243 contractors had submitted block applications for work permits. And -at this moment I think there are 5,527 non-citizen construction workers being employed by the contractors. So you can see how quickly applications for work permits are dealt with. The Member for Sembawang talked about factories having to wait three or four months before they could get work permits for their workers. This is rather surprising to me. But if he will give me the particular instances in writing, I can assure him that I will look into them. I just cannot see any reason for applications to be hanging around in the office for three or four months. He also asked for figures relating to the number of applications approved, rejected, and so on. I am afraid I cannot give them to him now, but if he will put the question in a separate item of business, I shall be glad to answer him.”
“Sir, to deal with the last question first. The Member for Anson talked about the specific case of a skilled cook. I should say that if there is no skilled cook available in Singapore and if he can find one somewhere else, I am sure a work permit will be given to him. As for the Member for Potong Pasir who talked about drivers and construction workers, I think it is an exaggeration to say that there are hundreds of such vacancies in Government. I do not think there are that many. There are probably 40 or 50 vacancies in the Government service. As for his question on construction workers, I think he has not been reading the newspapers in the last few months. If you will remember, Sir, a couple of months back there was a hue and cry from contractors regarding the shortage of construction workers. So a meeting was held between the Ministry of Labour and the Singapore Contractors' Association to simplify the procedure of applying for and issuing of work permits, and this was implemented. I should, therefore, imagine that there has been no difficulty so far.”
“The Ministry of Labour will be glad to assist and to participate in any safety measures that the N.T.U.C, can think of. Anyway, in the revised Factories Ordinance, the setting up of an Advisory Council on Safety Measures is contemplated, and that will involve the workers, management, and Government - a tripartite affair, as the Member has said. We are all obviously aware that no single individual or body can really tackle this problem, as it needs the co-operation of everyone concerned, including the N.T.U.C.”
“-to educate the workers, in the sense that they are their leaders. The Ministry of Labour is more concerned really with labour legislation and control, and to assist wherever necessary. In this respect, as I have said, the most important thing is the new building regulations. They will help because, at the moment as the people concerned do not take the Factories Ordinance seriously, some of the items in the new regulations have been listed in great detail. I do not want to waste the time of the House by quoting some of the regulations, but I hope that Members will have a copy in their hands soon.”
“Sir, lately the N.T.U.C, has been organising many seminars and meetings on safety measures, and I think that the Member for Kallang was instrumental in calling a meeting immediately after Dr Goh had made a speech at one of the seminars. That was followed by some more meetings at the N.T.U.C., and quite a number of them were reported in the press. I think the N.T.U.C, would be the appropriate body -”
“Sir, offhand I cannot give the figures involved, but the training officer in the Ministry conducts courses all the time and the people concerned are invited to attend. Perhaps this debate is a good opportunity for the press to give more publicity to this health and safety course. However, I can say that facilities are available in the Ministry of Labour for those people who are concerned with factory safety, especially in the manufacturing and non-manufacturing establishments. I would ask them to make good and full use of these facilities. As for the films, I am afraid we can only screen or lend whatever is available. Although the Member for Katong may be quite right in saying that the films were made quite some years back, the purpose of the films is to show the danger of wearing the wrong type of apparel on the factory floor, and to get across the idea that certain types of clothing, even the long hair worn by female workers in factories, could be a source of danger to themselves. I think that is the whole idea, and not so much the kind of pants a factory worker puts on today.”
“Sir, the Members who visited the Ministry of Labour to see training within industry were also shown some films on factory safety measures. These same films are available to any factory supervisors who, having attended a safety course in the Ministry, would like to show them to their workers. They are at liberty to borrow the equipment and the films.”
“I think the Member for Moulmein has misunderstood me. The training within industry is mainly for managerial personnel supervisors on the factory floor. As the Member says we cannot expect to train the thousands of workers on safety measures, but we only hope to reach the factory floor supervisors and the executive people in the factories so that they will be able to educate their own workers. We cannot expect the Labour Ministry to educate all the workers. 6.00 p.m.”
“As Members are aware, there is the training within industry set up in the Ministry of Labour. As the Government Whip, some months back I arranged for Members of Parliament to visit the Ministry of Labour to see this training within industry. More than 20 Members attended the morning talk given by the training officer. There is a special room set aside for this purpose and the training officer conducts courses on the safety measures. In fact, in this year's estimates, there is provision for an assistant training officer. This assistant training officer will spend most of his time on factory safety measures. You can see that every effort is being made to create safety consciousness among the people involved.”
“No, Sir,If that is the case, the fault will lie with the employer, because it is the duty of the employer to see that safety devices are there. If they are not provided for, certainly the fault lies with the employer.”
“As to safety measures, I have indicated earlier on that the new set of Building Operations and Works and of Engineering Construction Regulations, 1971, will be ready shortly, and it will be obligatory on the part of employers and employees to observe the regulations set out. Members may not be aware that the Inspectorate publishes a cyclostyled newsletter called "Safety Inspectorates" every six months. A thousand copies of this newsletter are printed and distributed free to the larger factories. Every aspect of safety is dealt with therein. I think this also contributes to the education of both management and workers.”
“First, in answer to the Member for Mountbatten. The Factory Inspectorate at the moment have only 20 staff. Of these, a few are office boys, messengers and process notice servers, posts like that, so the establishment is very much under strength. Although there is provision for 45 staff in the Inspectorate, I am afraid at the moment there are, as I have said, only 20 staff. The Public Service Commission is still doing some recruitment exercises. As to the qualifications required of these people, I cannot say offhand what they are for the various grades of staff, but the job of recruitment is left with the P.S.C. As soon as they can get the candidates, the Inspectorate can function. Until the Inspectorate has reached such a stage that it feels there is the need to set up a branch in Jurong, I do not think steps will be taken to that effect. The Member for Katong talks about the cases of accidents and the responsibility involved. For 1970, out of a total of 9,682 cases, 81.14 per cent of the accidents, that is 7,856 cases, were due to the negligence of the workers. These figures are compiled from the Workmen's Compensation Claims. A total of 81.14 per cent were due to the negligence of the workers; and 271 cases, that is 2.8 per cent, could be attributed to the negligence of the employers. But there were 1,555 cases which were, I would call, real accidents, where nobody was really at fault. So you can see from these comparative figures that the workers themselves were largely to blame for the accidents.”
“I understood the Member's question all right. However, unless it is ready and properly printed, we are not in a position to present it to this House.”
“No, Sir. Although we have finished the paper work in the Ministry of Labour, it has still to go to the Attorney-General's Chambers for vetting and from there it will have to go to the Government Printer. I cannot say how long they will all take.”
“The workmen's compensation will certainly be increased. I do not know what he meant by `informed sources". But we have not published the figures yet. As I have said earlier, a review has been made and we have definitely taken a decision on it. When it is ready, Members will be informed.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, as I have indicated before, the Workmen's Compensation Ordinance is under review. At this moment I can only say that it is in a very advanced stage of preparation, and it is very likely that a revised version will be ready for presentation at the next sitting of Parliament. As to the increasing number of accidents at building sites, we are aware of it. In fact, the Factories Ordinance is being revised to spell out control in greater detail. The new set of Building Operations and Works and of Engineering Construction Regulations, 1971, has already been printed in draft form and when it is finally printed it will be presented to Parliament. Members will see that detailed control of building construction and engineering works is contained therein. 4.45 p.m.”
“Sir, I beg to move, "That the clause be read a Second time." This new clause is to amend the definition of "wages" in section 2 of the Ordinance. As it stands at present, "wages" means all the remuneration in money due to a person in respect of his employment as an employee. In practice, this has been interpreted to exclude an ex gratia bonus from C.P.F, contributions. The new definition will make it' clear that all bonuses paid or granted to an employee will be subject to C.P.F, contributions. Question put, and agreed to. Clause read a Second time and added to the Bill.”
“Sir, I beg to move, In page 1, line 7, to leave out from "the" to the end of line 8 and insert "Ordinance". Sir, the amendment now proposed is consequential on a new clause which is to be inserted after clause 1. Amendment agreed to. Clause 2, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clauses 3 and 4 ordered to stand part of the Bill. New Clause - "Amendment Section 2 of the Central Provident of section 2. Fund Ordinance (hereinafter in this Act referred to as "the Ordinance" ) is hereby amended by deleting the definition of "wages" appearing therein and substituting therefor the following: - ""wages" means the remuneration in money, including any bonus, due or granted to a person in respect of his employment."." -[Mr Sia Kah Hui] Brought up, and read the First time.”
“Sir, I beg to move, In page 1, line 4, to leave out from "shall" to the end of line 6 and insert "be deemed to have come into operation on the 1st day of January, 1971.". Sir, the amendment now proposed is to make the Act effective from 1st of January, 1971, as this is considered to be the most convenient date for implementing the provisions of the Bill. Amendment agreed to. Clause 1, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 2 -”
“Sir, may I seek your consent and the general assent of Members that notice be dispensed with in respect of amendments to clauses 1 and 2 and the new clause which is set out in the Supplementary Order Paper Supplement? The Chairman: I give my consent. Is it the pleasure of the Committee that the amendments be moved and the new clause introduced? Hon. Members indicated assent. Clause 1 -”
“To overcome this restriction, clause 3 of the Bill has therefore been introduced to enable a Malaysian citizen to withdraw from the Fund if he has left or is about to leave Singapore permanently for the States of Malaya, that is West Malaysia, under such circumstances as are approved by the Minister. Clause 4 of the Bill is introduced to facilitate administration of the Ordinance in connection with claims for withdrawal. Under subsection (1) of section 13 of the Ordinance, when a member who continues to be employed withdraws from the Fund, the contributions paid for the month in which the withdrawal is authorised and for the following month must be paid to him when they are received, although contributions for later months must be retained in the Fund until such time as the member is again entitled to withdraw. The amendment to subsection (1) of section 13 by clause 4 of the Bill will enable the Board to finalise claims for withdrawal more quickly by giving it a discretion to leave all contributions received from the member after his withdrawal in his account until such time as he again becomes qualified to withdraw. 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 Sia Kah Hui]. Bill considered in Committee. [Mr N. Govindasamy in the Chair] 6.00 p.m.”
“Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Sir, the present proviso to subsection (2) of section 11 of the Central Provident Fund Ordinance (Chapter 150) as it stands allows the Board, where it has approved a member's withdrawal from the Fund, to credit interest to his contribution at the fixed rate of two and a half per cent for the year in which the withdrawal takes place, in spite of the fact that the rate of interest declared for the previous year is in excess of two and a half per cent. As the Board has declared interest at the rate of five and a half per cent per annum to members' contributions since 1967, the present proviso has been the subject of much criticism by contributors of the Fund, especially when they withdraw their contributions late in the year. To remove this manifestly unfair proviso, clause 2 of the Bill has been introduced. This clause will enable the Central Provident Fund Board to compute interest payable to a member for the year in which he withdraws from the Fund at the same rate as that declared by the Board for the previous year. Section 12 (2) of the C.P.F. Ordinance allows a member of the Fund who is not a Singapore citizen to withdraw from the Fund after he has left or is about to leave Malaya permanently with no intention to return thereto. As Malaya has been defined to include the States of Malaya, what is now West Malaysia, and Singapore, it has been felt that this section of the Ordinance is unduly restrictive and does not allow a member of the Fund who is a Malaysian citizen to withdraw from the Fund where there are good reasons for withdrawal, that is, when he wishes to go back permanently to his country of domicile.”
“Sir, it is still a secret right now. LORONG TAI SENG AREA (Installation of post-box) 3. Mr Tay Boon Too asked the Minister for Communications if the Postal Services Department will consider installing a large posting box at the junction of Lorong Tai Seng and Upper Paya Lebar Road, after completion of the widening of Upper Paya Lebar Road, in view of the growing population in the Lorong Tai Seng area. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Communications (Mr Phua Bah Lee) (for the Minister for Communications): Mr Speaker, Sir, I have been asked by my Minister to answer. Sir, the Postal Services Department is now checking the number of letters and other mail posted at the existing post-box at the junction of Lorong Tai Seng and Upper Paya Lebar Road. If there is a need for a bigger post-box, it will be installed immediately. ROAD TAX ON MOTOR VEHICLES (Payment at post-offices) 4. Mr Yeo Toon Chia asked the Minister for Communications if he will consider the feasibility of providing for the payment of road tax on motor vehicles at post-offices where there already are facilities for the renewal of motor driving licences.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, if I remember correctly, the last time when the question of workmen's compensation was brought up, the answer was that we were not ready then to make amendments to the present Ordinance. But today I am saying that we are going to do it and that the drafting of all the new regulations is being made right now.”
“No, Sir. His withdrawal is on the condition that I give him the assurance that the granting of citizenship will be under constant review.”
“My Minister has already indicated that that is so. In 1967, about 8,000 applications were approved, and in 1968 about 3,000. Last year about 11,000 applications were approved.”
“He said I was stubborn and he followed it up by calling me "Kou sze sin fei", that is, I am a liar. The Chairman: Mr Teong, I take it you will withdraw this expression?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, earlier on the Member for Sembawang was talking about citizenship and he said that there should be constant reviews in the granting of citizenship. He said I was a stubborn old man and that I was a liar. The Minister has indicated just now the number of applications approved over the last three years. This definitely shows that there have been constant reviews in the policy of granting citizenship. The Member for Sembawang called me "Kou sze sin fei". Mr Speaker, you did not get the translation, but that is equivalent to calling me a liar. I think that is an unparliamentary remark and he should withdraw it and apologise.”
“I can go through a thousand files if I do it his way!”
“No, Sir, but consideration will be given to such an application. OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS (Mailing to Singapore students abroad) 2. Mr Ng Yeow Chong asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Labour whether official publications and other informative materials such as "The Mirror", etc, are being mailed regularly to our students abroad from the Republic's missions overseas, so as to keep them informed of current affairs in Singapore. The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (Inche A. Rahim Ishak) (for the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Labour): Mr Speaker, Sir, our students abroad are normally kept informed of current developments in the Republic through official publications distributed by our overseas missions. In addition to the Mirror, there is also the publication called Berita Pelajar, published by the Public Service Commission. A number of our overseas missions also publish the Singapore Newsletter which is distributed among students as well. Such publications are sent sometimes on request by individual students, or to student organisations or groups who share them. Besides these publications, some Singapore daily newspapers are available in the missions for students to read. It may well be that official publications do not reach all students, but where requests are made by individuals or groups of students, every effort is made to meet their requirements.”
“Sir, that again is not practical, because, as I indicated earlier, the policy is under constant review. Madam Chan Choy Siong: I would like to ask this question. If the applicant reapplies, will the Government ensure that he will get his citizenship?”
“What I actually meant was that this applies to a person who can really make a definite contribution to the country. This is the policy enunciated by the Minister in May 1968.”
“Sir, the circumstances of an individual change all the time. Several years ago, a person might not qualify for citizenship. If he were to reapply now, the circumstances might be different. He may now be a millionaire or a manufacturer or an industrialist. So the circumstances are different. Therefore, when we ask an applicant to reapply, it means that we will reassess his present situation to see whether he qualifies for citizenship.”
“I really do not know what the Member wants. If he says that we should give citizenship to a man with many wives, I do not think that is relevant. That could be a disqualification. As I said, we have to look into every aspect of the individual. Mr Lee Teck Him(In Mandarin): Sir, does the Parliamentary Secretary mean that a person with many wives is not qualified to be a citizen? As we are not debating this question, I suggest that the policy on citizenship should be reviewed. Madam Chan Choy Siong (Delta): Mr Speaker, Sir, during my meet-the-people sessions, I receive many cases of applications for citizenship made years ago. They were informed by letter that their applications had been refused and were told to reapply again. But when they reapplied, the Registry of Citizenship did not accept their applications. Can the Parliamentary Secretary explain why their applications were not accepted when they had been told to reapply again?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I am afraid the Member is not asking a supplementary question at all. He is, in fact, giving a speech.”
“Sir, as I said just now, the policy on citizenship is always under constant review.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the first question of the Member for Paya Lebar was asked by the Member for Mountbatten, and I have already answered it. As regards the second question, I do not think there is any proof that individuals were told in 1964 not to apply. Even if that were so, the case will still have to be considered on its own merits.”