Teong Eng Siong
Singapore
“Sir, on a point of order. (In Mandarin) Sir, just now the Minister said that by suggesting the granting of citizenship to these people I would be inviting competition because they would then be allowed to apply for hawker licence and HDB flats. I did not say that.”
“Only two? Mr Chua Sian Chin: Two out of 35 from the Land Divisions and 18 from the Radio Division. I think that is sufficient. If the Member is not aware, may I say that we have asked the Management Services Department of the Ministry of Finance to make a recent study into the adequacy of patrol cars on patrol at any one time.”
“Very often on pay days they crowd into the post office and pack up all the space, and the small number of staff would be kept very busy. According to my understanding, the small post office there will soon be receiving payments for PUB bills for the benefit of the people there. Of course, this will be convenient to the residents there.”
“Sir,I have also noticed that roads built under the gotong royong scheme are much better than those built by the contractors. Even after several years of use, these roads are still good.”
“Sir, in view of the Parliamentary Secretary's satisfactory explanation. I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $159,839,000 for Head O ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. The sum of $1,213,685,000 for Head O ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. Head P -”
“Another problem concerns the many HDB flats in certain areas which have not been taken up after allotment and have been left vacant for a long time. There are many such vacant flats in my constituency, for instance. Marsiling (a part of the Woodlands New Town), and I believe the same is true of other housing estates. Why?”
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“Sir, on a point of order. (In Mandarin) Sir, just now the Minister said that by suggesting the granting of citizenship to these people I would be inviting competition because they would then be allowed to apply for hawker licence and HDB flats. I did not say that. I said that without citizenship they would not be able to obtain their rights to other things. 4.45 p.m.”
“No, not three hours. It was half an hour.”
“Only two? Mr Chua Sian Chin: Two out of 35 from the Land Divisions and 18 from the Radio Division. I think that is sufficient. If the Member is not aware, may I say that we have asked the Management Services Department of the Ministry of Finance to make a recent study into the adequacy of patrol cars on patrol at any one time. For his information, in a study of 40 cases the Management Services Department found that the average response time between receipt of a report at Radio Control and the arrival of the police patrol car was about 10 to 12 minutes. I do not know whether it was an exaggeration on the part of the Member for Sembawang that it took three hours for the patrol car to answer his call.”
“To ask the Minister for Finance what the Economic Activation Committee has contributed towards the economy of the Republic since the formation of the Committee and to what extent it has assisted industries. 28.”
“To ask the Minister for Finance if he will consider introducing amending legislation to exempt non-working retired persons from income tax as this will enable the Government indirectly to look after their welfare during retirement. 27.”
“To ask the Minister for Finance what the Economic Activation Committee has contributed towards the economy of the Republic since the formation of the Committee and to what extent it has assisted industries. 45.”
“To ask the Minister for Finance if he will consider introducing amending legislation to exempt non-working retired persons from income tax as this will enable the Government indirectly to look after their welfare during retirement. 44.”
“Sir, I thank the Senior Minister of State for his answer, but he has left out two points. One is about the damaged bus windows or doors and I would like to know whether he will take steps to repair them immediately. The second point is about buses emitting obnoxious black smoke. Mr Ong Teng Cheong: Sir, the Traffic Police and the Enforcement Squad of the ROV do take action against buses with smoky exhausts. If the hon. Member would submit a Question for Written Answer or Oral Answer, I will give him the full details of the statistics on action taken, even on a month-to-month basis, for the last few years. Regarding faulty windows and the dirty condition of buses. I wish to inform him that the SBS, in fact, has been paying great attention to this. But unfortunately as I mentioned earlier, this takes time to overcome. There are too many buses. The SBS now operates over 2,000 buses and sometimes after a rainy night the buses just have to go on to the road with the seats still wet. But they do give instructions to the bus conductors to clean the buses. There are rags provided for them to wipe the seats dry and to keep them clean. If the Member has come across any particular bus which is not kept clean. I would appreciate it if he lets the SBS know by taking down the bus numbers, the time of the incidents, and action will be taken against them.”
“In fact, most streets have either the single or double white and yellow lines. Therefore, vehicles cannot park along the roads. As a result, in times of emergency, both public and Government vehicles cannot comply with these road traffic signs. I wonder whether in times of emergency these traffic regulations could be relaxed, especially Government vehicles on official duties. Sir, the high price of oil has in a way compelled motorists to economise in the use of their vehicles. However, since most of our roads are one-way streets. motorists have to drive a little extra whenever they want to make a U turn or to drive in an opposite direction. But then some of the U turns are sited some miles away, especially along the highways, and the motorists have to drive those extra miles before he makes the turn. This is, in fact, a waste of petrol and money. Just to quote an example. A motorist, especially, driving at night, is driving from Serangoon Road to Punggol. When he approaches the Woodsville junction and instead of turning to Upper Serangoon Road he wrongly turns into Toa Payoh Road, he has to make the unnecessary trip of driving about three to four miles ahead before he could make a U turn to come back to the original point. I wonder whether more U turns could be provided at shorter intervals in some of our highways so that our motorists would not waste petrol and money unnecessarily.”
“Once they are pushed up they will slide down again because there is no catch. As a result, whenever it rains the buses get wet, and there is no cloth or rag in the bus to wipe the seats dry. I have travelled in buses on rainy days. So I would call for immediate attention to the cleanliness and repair of bus windows. If necessary, I can produce my bus tickets to prove that I have travelled in buses. Fourthly. Sir, on the emission of black smoke. I still notice a lot of old buses emitting black smoke. Very smoky buses on the road are still to be seen. We have often asked public vehicles to be kept clean. Taxis have been summoned for smoky exhausts but I do not know whether similar action has been taken against buses. I would like some report on this in this House. Action should be taken to reduce the number of smoky buses on the road so as to alleviate air pollution in Singapore so that the people here can have fresher air for good health. Mr P. Govindaswamy: Sir, bus lanes have been introduced to speed up the bus service. Other vehicles cannot use these lanes during the restricted hours, but it seems that buses are not confined to bus lanes because they are allowed to use the other traffic lanes during the peak periods, thereby causing obstruction to other vehicles. I think the Minister has replied on this point but I would like to bring up a few more points. What action is being considered to force lorries carrying sand and stones to cover their load? These lorry drivers drive recklessly on the roads, thus posing a threat to other motorists, particularly to motor-cyclists who are at times injured by the loose stones falling from the lorries. Sir, it appears that nowadays there are too many traffic signs and restrictions in most of the City limit areas.”
“Sir, after several reorganisations the bus services in Singapore have made some improvement but this improvement is still far from ideal, I think it will take some time before it can reach a higher degree of satisfaction because I can still find certain defects and shortcomings in the bus service. I wish to bring a few examples to the attention of the Minister of State. Firstly, many Members of the public complain that some buses do not keep to the schedule regularly. For example, the bus service from Victoria Street to Sembawang, the people have to wait as long as half an hour and at times several buses come together at the same time with very few passengers. As a result of this irregular schedule, inconvenience is caused to the people living in the Sembawang area. I think this is because of poor allocation and scheduling of buses and remedial action should be taken to improve the situation. Secondly. I would like to ask the Minister of State to consider this. There should be more buses plying from Naval Base to Marsiling. At the present moment, there is only Service No. 1 69 running this route. This is inadequate. In the past, we had bus Service No. 1 60 from Crawford Street to Sembawang passing through Marsiling, but now it does not pass through Marsiling. So I would like to ask the Minister of State to consider reinstating Service No. 160 to pass through Marsiling and to increase the number of buses on this route, so that people living in this area will have a better bus service. Thirdly, I have received many complaints from the public that the buses are still very dirty nowadays. This was also pointed out by the Member for Anson. The seats are also very dirty. They have not been cleaned properly. Some of the bus windows are damaged and they Cannot close properly.”
“Sir, I am satisfied with the reply given, and I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Very often on pay days they crowd into the post office and pack up all the space, and the small number of staff would be kept very busy. According to my understanding, the small post office there will soon be receiving payments for PUB bills for the benefit of the people there. Of course, this will be convenient to the residents there. But to tackle this job there is a need for more staff at the post office. So I would like to ask the Minister to consider increasing the number of staff there. I would like to stress here that the working efficiency of the staff at this post office is good. But in view of the small number of staff, it is difficult to tackle the big amount of work to be dealt with. So it is necessary to increase the number of staff there. (3) At the moment, this post office is a temporary one. I would like to ask the Minister whether there is any plan to set up a permanent post office on a larger scale, because more and more people will be living in this new housing estate. There is a need for a bigger post office to serve the people better.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head P be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead EAA 1101*. (* The same amendment also stood in the name of Mr P. Govindaswamy). Sir, under this amendment. I would like to raise three questions: (1) According to the complaints I have received from members of the public, the present postal services are not as good as before. In the past, if a letter is posted in the morning the addressee might be able to receive it in the evening or at the latest the following day. But in recent years, the situation is entirely different. Sometimes for ordinary local mail the addressee can receive it only after some two or three days after posting. This delay will cause unnecessary inconvenience to members of the public. particularly in the case of Government correspondence such as property tax bills. PUB bills, radio and TV licence renewal notices and certain urgent letters or notices. If delivery is delayed or missed, then the addressees can be inconvenienced by having to pay a fine or put in a difficult position for delayed payments. (2) In Marsiling, in Sembawang Constituency, there is a new HDB housing estate with a temporary post office in a HDB block for the needs of the residents there. There are altogether 37 blocks of HDB flats comprising 5,604 units of flats with a population of 30,000 people. So there is a lot of mail to be dealt with. I understand that there is a staff of only four members in the post office, including the postmaster, and seven postmen. This number of staff is not sufficient to deal with the large parcels of mail. Moreover, there are 19 blocks of factories with thousands of workers in Marsiling area. 5.40 p.m. [Mr Deputy Speaker in the Chair] Most of them have Post Office Savings Bank accounts there.”
“Sir, in view of the Parliamentary Secretary's satisfactory explanation. I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $159,839,000 for Head O ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. The sum of $1,213,685,000 for Head O ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. Head P -”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move. That the sum to be allocated for Head O be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead EAA 8109. The amount of $400,000 appropriated is for the development of a seaside park in Sembawang with a view to turning the area into a holiday resort and tourist attraction. As the MP for this constituency, I appreciate very much that the Government has attached importance to the well-being of the rural residents in Sembawang by providing recreational facilities. Now, I have a few questions to ask the Minister. Firstly, when will work on this proposed seaside park start and when will it be completed? Secondly, what recreational facilities will be provided in this park? Thirdly. I suggest that a jogging track along the park be provided, since jogging is now popular with our people. Jogging is good for the health of the people. Fourthly, I suggest that a fishing pond be provided in the park to enable visitors to enjoy the pleasure of fishing. A performing stage should also be provided for the regular staging of musical and dance performances by the people of various races. Apart from plants and flowers, statues of personalities and animals should also be erected to create an aesthetic atmosphere in the park.”
“Sir, the Senior Parliamentary Secretary has given me a satisfactory answer, and I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Sir,I have also noticed that roads built under the gotong royong scheme are much better than those built by the contractors. Even after several years of use, these roads are still good. So I would like to propose that, where road construction is concerned, whether the job is big or small, we should encourage more people to participate in gotong royong rather than leaving this work of road construction entirely to contractors. By the spirit of gotong royong, we will be able to save costs and use the savings to construct still more. within the limited supply of funds.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move. That the sum to be allocated for Head O be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead AAA 8104*. (* The same amendment also stood in the name of Mr Ng Kah Ting). Mr Speaker, Sir, the main function of the Urban and Rural Services Committee is to look after the development of the rural areas in Singapore. Over the past decade the URSC has been quite successful in the development of the rural areas in Singapore. This achievement has helped to improve the standard of living of the rural people by the provision of electricity, better roads, water supply, etc. In other words, the URSC has brought to the rural people modern facilities in their environment. Mr Speaker, Sir, notwithstanding this achievement I notice from the provision that there is a sum of only $3.94 million for expenditure on so many rural areas. This is obviously insufficient and it is less than the provision for last year. We should increase this provision so that the various construction and development work in the rural areas can be proceeded with more expeditiously. Sir,I visit my constituents very often. In the course of my visits I notice that some recently constructed roads have a lot of potholes and driving becomes rather bumpy, so soon after the completion of the road. 3.00 p.m. What is the reason for this? Sir, I think this is because supervision of the work has not been carried out thoroughly. As a result of lack of proper supervision, unethical and irresponsible contractors have provided bad services at the expense of public money. In other words there have been malpractices. They have failed to construct the roads according to proper specifications. As a result, the roads deteriorate more rapidly than expected. This is a waste of public funds. On the other hand.”
“So the intention is to get a higher bidder! Sir, although the Senior Minister of State concerned has not given me a satisfactory answer on this matter, I still beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Sir, a supplementary question. I would like to know whether the Minister concerned is aware that when a tender received is too low for a shophouse, the HDB authority has always reserved its right to call for a re-tender in order to get higher bids. Is this done intentionally to cater for the higher bidders?”
“Another problem concerns the many HDB flats in certain areas which have not been taken up after allotment and have been left vacant for a long time. There are many such vacant flats in my constituency, for instance. Marsiling (a part of the Woodlands New Town), and I believe the same is true of other housing estates. Why? We have almost 100,000 applicants on the waiting lists for HDB flats and, at the same time, the HDB has so many flats unoccupied. Is this not very strange? This also represents a loss of revenue to the Government. There is one more problem I wish to bring up about my constituency, Marsiling. I wish to know how many units of flats and shop-houses will be built in the constituency under the HDB housing programme for this year, and whether any provision has been made in future programmes for the construction of a library and community centres in the constituency, as these are two essential social amenities in such a big New Town which, when fully developed, will be even bigger than the present Toa Payoh satellite town.”
“In some estates, for instance, the bid for a grocery shop unit was over $2,000, a textile retail shop unit over $3,000, and a coffee cum eating house shop unit over $7,000. If things go on like this, I am afraid that there will be another round of inflation. Be it grocery or coffee eating house shop, higher bids mean increased cost for them and they will certainly pass the Increased cost on to the consumers by raising the selling prices of their goods. The end result is an increased burden on the consumers. I would like, therefore, to suggest again to the Minister concerned that in the allocation of shop units, the HDB should fix the rentals for them and should there be more than one applicant for the same unit, allocation should be decided by ballot. This is not only a fair and sensible method but also a way to maintain rentals at reasonable levels. With reasonable rentals, the goods in these shops can be sold at lower prices and the general public will benefit immensely; so will the livelihood of our people and the economic development of the country. In this way, Singapore will be spared the anguish of another inflation. I think this suggestion is not something new. It is a system which is being practised in our country. The allocation of HDB flats and hawker stalls is all carried out by ballot to the satisfaction of all. As far as I know, shops with high rentals cannot survive for long. Many of them have closed down because they were operating at a loss, Many of them are in arrears of large sums of rentals. As a result, the HDB has to resort to legal action to recover the payments. This state of affairs shows clearly the undesirable consequences of the system of unrestricted bidding.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head O be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead AAA 3020*. (* The same amendment also stood in the name of Dr Ong Leong Boon.) The provision of $68 million appropriated for the development and construction of more housing units as well as to provide better and more adequate amenities for our people is a very large sum of money. No doubt, the HDB has attained many fine achievements over the past ten-odd years. At present, over 50% of our population are living in HDB flats. Such achievements are indeed praiseworthy. Nevertheless, there are still shortcomings in the administration of the HDB. I would like to raise the following points and complaints with the Minister concerned. Firstly, as regards application for a change of flats, the HDB officers are carrying out a contradictory policy. Take, for example, in my constituency, a couple with two children, who are living in a one-room unit. They now want to change to a two-room unit because their children have grown up. But their application has been rejected on the ground that there are too few members in their family. However, on the other hand, our Government is encouraging small families to apply for bigger flats with more rooms. Is this not a contradictory measure? I think so, because a married couple is eligible to apply for a 5-room flat. Such instance shows that some of the civil servants do not have a clear idea about Government policy. Such an erroneous way of doing things should be put right immediately. Secondly, the increasingly higher bids for HDB shop units have resulted in soaring commodity prices.”
“Sir, I have only two simple questions to ask the Minister. The first is that I have received many complaints from the electors concerning the high increase in PUB charges. In my constituency, a consumer has his PUB bill increased by nearly 100% in three years. That is to say, three years ago his PUB bill was about $100. Nowadays, it is about $200. I would like the Minister to clarify this point. Is it possible to increase the rate 100% in three years when his rate of consumption remains the same? The second question concerns the fixing of water meters in hawker centres. At present, there is one meter for every four hawkers. Some hawkers complain to me that this is very inconvenient, because some stalls use more water and some use less but they have to pay a pro rata rate. Therefore, I would like to ask the Minister to consider the feasibility of fixing one meter for each hawker stall. The Minister concerned is the Minister for National Development and he is also the Chairman of the Public Utilities Board. Therefore, he should fully understand the problems of both sides and be able to compromise. I hope he will give serious consideration to this question. 7.45 p.m.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head X be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead CAA 8101. Sir, the provision for this subhead last year was $250,000. This year it is $150,000. What is the provision for? What are the matters for study? What contribution will it make to our economic development? Can it forecast our economic prospect and give us guidelines as to the direction our economy will be heading? What type of experts will be or are engaged in these studies and whether they are local experts or from overseas?”
“With one hand the Government is giving this concession, but with the other hand it is taking it back. This shows a lack of sincerity in Government's intention to promote sports. Therefore, I would like to ask the Minister whether he will consider exempting taxes on these sports organisations. Thirdly, will the Minister waive income tax on civic organisations which offer scholarships and sponsor welfare funds, and give tax concessions to donors? These organisations have contributed much to Singapore's education, culture and in the social welfare fields. They are also helping the Government by awarding scholarships to produce many useful people to serve the country. In view of this, the Government should encourage these civic organisations and donors by relieving taxes on them particularly on scholarship donations.”
“Sir, under this amendment I would like to raise three questions. On personal income tax relief the request has been rejected. There is no hope for more relief. So I would like to ask for some other reliefs. First, can the relief for maintaining parents and grandparents be increased? At the moment it is $750 per year. It is really a small amount of money averaging $62.50 per month. Now that prices are rising with inflation, $62.50 is not enough even for rental, much less to maintain an aged parent. I would like to ask the Minister to increase the relief for aged parents from $750 to $1,500 per parent per year. On average, it will amount to $125 per month instead of $62.50, so that one can better look after one's aged parents. This will be in keeping with the virtue of filial piety of the Eastern people and also in keeping with the principles of care for the aged as mentioned in the Presidential Address. The second question is on relief for income tax on sports organisations. In its policy of promoting sports the Government has been giving income tax concessions to donors who donate to sports organisations. On the other hand the Income Tax Department is taxing such organisations on all donations. For example, the Singapore Amateur Swimming Association is one sports organisation which is promoting sports and has won many laurels abroad for Singapore. Therefore, it has the support of the people of Singapore and large sums of money have been donated to this sports association for the promotion of swimming. Yet the Government taxes the donations. Last year, the tax on' this Association amounted to some $20,000. This should not be so. It means that the concession generously promised by the Government is now taken back by the Government.”
“I would therefore like to ask the Minister whether he would assure this House that in the coming two or three years he will not levy any more taxes on road tax, property tax, hawker licences, PUB bills, radio and TV licences, commercial or other taxes, licences or charges so as to enable our people to help in our economic growth in a more peaceful and undisturbed environment. Fifthly last year, there was a trade deficit amounting to $6,000 million, a surprising sum. What remedy does he have to reduce our trade deficit? When winding up his speech on the 14th of this month, the Minister said that he would consider setting up a Trade Development Council to further promote external trade. Very good, I hope practical action will be taken, not just consideration. Lastly, Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand have signed a 10% tariff concession on mutual goods for export within these three countries. What are the reactions of other ASEAN countries? Has Singapore consulted other ASEAN countries on this matter?”
“He has said that it is about 6-8%. This seems to be going backwards. So I would like to ask him on what basis has he made this calculation of 6-8% growth. Is it due to increased foreign investments here or greater expansion of our commerce and industries? Secondly, in his Budget it is stated that last year private building construction had decreased by 3%. This is a decrease for the third year. In view of this, I would like to ask the Minister what measures has he got to help the private building construction industry. If this sector can recover, it will certainly be able to contribute much to our economy. Thirdly, the Minister has also pointed out in his Budget Speech that securing foreign investments is still a heavy task for the Government to tackle. I would like to ask him what plans he has to overcome any such difficulties, how to induce foreign investments and what kind of incentives or tax and other concessions is he going to give. Fourthly, the Minister has said that there is a shortfall of about $1,500 million in the Budget. This will have to be financed by virement from the Development Fund and borrowing or the raising of bonds. This is a very judicious plan because in the past the previous two tax-free public bonds had been fully subscribed. If the Minister could plan well for development funds, I am sure it will be welcome and successful. The recent $40 million bond issue will certainly be successfully raised. In view of all these reasons we need have no fear of getting enough development funds for various projects.”
“Mr Speaker, the allocation for the Main estimates is about $809 million, for Development estimates $659 million, of which $105 million is for new projects. Jurong Town Corporation gets $245 million and Housing Scheme $8.5 million. At the same time $220 million is for loans to industrial and commercial enterprises. $220 million for commerce and industry seems to me to be too small. The other day the Minister for Law and the Environment said in this House that the Raffles Centre Shopping Complex development plan would require $500 million and yet the total loan to all our commercial and industrial enterprises is only $220 million. How can it be enough? There is another point I would like to raise. The Government's loans are mainly for industry and commerce to the neglect of farming. This is not right. Since we are emphasising on the development of our economy in all fields, in other words, diversifying the economy, we should also look after the other sectors and also provide loans to the farming industry including pig and chicken rearing, orchid growing, tropical fish breeding and so on. This will help them to generate more income and also enable them to export their produce abroad to gain large sums of foreign exchange. Therefore there should not be any discrimination by the Government. Here, I would like to raise a few questions to the Minister. Firstly, the Minister for Finance has said in his Budget Speech that our economic growth was 7% last year and that our economic weather is good, our ship of state is in good shape and the command should be "steady as she goes". This is a stout slogan meaning that in the coming year we will be having a higher economic growth. I would like to ask the Minister what is the expectation or the percentage growth for next year.”
“Sir, this is a wonderful and marvellous debate, and since the Minister of State has answered the points raised, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The following amendment stood in the names of Haji Sha'ari Bin Tadin, Messrs S. Dhanabalan, Teo Chong Tee, Ho See Beng and Encik Sidek Bin Saniff - (2) That the sum to be allocated for Head W be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead BAA 1101. Haji Sha'ari Bin Tadin: I am not moving, Sir.”
“Sir, can I ask the Senior Minister of State to tell us how to differentiate between what is official full-day schooling and what is unofficial or abnormal type of full-day schooling, and whether the Education Ministry has any long term policy of changing the system to official full-day schooling.”
“Sir, I thank the Senior Minister of State for Education for his patience in answering so many questions today. Just now the Member for Jalan Kayu sent a note to me suggesting that, with such a diplomatic attitude the Member for Nee Soon could be appointed as an Ambassador. I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State to reply to this question. He says that he is very agreeable to the suggestion of a full-day school, but he did not say how to promote it. This shows that he is dubious about it, not giving any definite answer as to whether or not he wants to do something about it. I would like to ask whether the Ministry of Education itself would initiate the programme of full-day schooling. I understand that there is one Chinese high school which has started its own full-day schooling. Has the school consulted the Ministry of Education or has it done it on its own volition?”
“For students living in Woodlands New Town, it is very inconvenient for them to travel a long distance to Jurong and other neighbouring areas. So I feel that there is a need for a secondary school to be built in the Woodlands New Town.”
“Every year a few thousand students do not have the opportunity to gain admission into the Pre-U classes. These students are too young to enter the labour market. They are at this stage about 16 years or so, and they have to wait for two years before they can be drafted into national service. So I would urge the Minister to consider setting up more commercial schools to absorb such students. At the present moment. Sir, the Adult Education Board is running classes to absorb these students. But the number of classes is too small for the purpose. Furthermore, the Adult Education Board is borrowing empty classrooms in certain schools only. The number of classes is not enough to meet the requirements of Secondary IV students. Commercial schools run by private individuals are charging very high fees. Poor families cannot afford the fees. Thirdly, I would like to ask the Minister whether he is prepared to relax the restriction on the entry of students from other countries, particularly from ASEAN countries. At the present moment, we allow children of work permit holders to come to Singapore to study in our schools. Other applicants are not allowed, Since we have a surplus of classrooms and school accommodation and since students from foreign countries have contributed to our education fund, we should relax the conditions for their entry. This is good for them and good for us, because our education system will be shown to its advantage. Fourthly, I would like to ask the Minister whether he will consider constructing a secondary school in the Sembawang part of Marsiling district because at the present moment the secondary schools are too far away from Woodlands, being in Bukit Panjang. Chua Chu Kang and Jurong.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head W be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead AAA 1004*. (*The same amendment also stood in the names of Messrs P. Govindaswamy, Ho Kah Leong and Ch'ng Jit Koon). Sir, the provision for this head of expenditure, Ministry of Education, is a very substantial sum totalling more than $470 million for various educational objectives, as education is an important component of nation building. The Singapore education system places emphasis on bilingual education to meet the needs of the multi-lingual society and the needs of our technical and industrial development. This emphasis and the policy are all very correct. Over the years the education system has attracted a lot of attention and debate in this House. The debate on the education system is aimed at improving the system. Now in order to promote the healthy development of education, I would like to air a few points in this House for the Minister concerned. Firstly, will he consider the introduction of the full-day school system by stages? As far as I know, there are many schools in Singapore, particularly the aided schools, which have empty classrooms. Such schools can well be converted into full-day schools which have many advantages. The full-day school will provide more time for the students to learn the various subjects and to produce a better generation. Secondly, I would like to ask the Minister whether he will consider setting up one or more commercial schools for those who have Secondary IV qualifications but are not qualified to enter Pre-U classes. This year there are many Secondary IV students and because of the 20-point limit for entry into Pre-U classes, those with an aggregate of more than 20 points will not be admitted.”
“Why should there be the need to double check? It was already announced in Parliament that all those who hold laminated pink identity cards are Singapore citizens. Why should there be the need to double check?”
“Sir, I have a question to ask the Minister. In 1962 or 1963, an exercise was carried out to change the old paper identity cards to plastic laminated identity cards. I think the exercise was carried out in 1966. If an identity card was issued before 1948 and if the holder was born in Singapore as recorded in that identity card, then he was issued with a citizen's pink identity card. But I have received certain complaints from my constituents that birth certificate numbers are not recorded on the pink identity cards. So when the children go to school, the teachers normally ask their parents to produce their birth certificates. But the certificates were lost and could not be produced. Since 1948 the issue of identity cards recognise the proof of citizenship as recorded in the old cards and we have pink new plastic laminated identity cards as evidence of citizenship as recorded. So why do our schools require the children to produce their birth certificates or birth registration numbers. I would like the Minister to clarify whether pink identity cards are indicative of citizens' identity cards.”
“Sir, for the information of the Minister, I was at the Woodlands checkpoint at 6 o'clock in the evening, not at midnight. It was at 6 p.m. during the peak hours when there was heavy traffic and only two channels were opened, not eight channels, If the Minister's information is eight channels, then he has been deceived. Between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., only two channels were opened. It is usually the case. Who is the person in charge of the checkpoint? He should inform the Minister correctly of the truth of the situation. He should not give the Minister a wrong picture. Concerning permanent residence, the Minister has said that to qualify for consideration, the wife of a Singapore citizen should have the minimum length of stay after the marriage and also the monthly income should be sufficient to support the family and other factors. Very soon I will be writing to the Minister to inform him of this application so that he can take the necessary action for a serious consideration.”
“Not citizenship but permanent residence, Sir.”
“The Minister should get the officers there to speed up their work and to open more traffic channels during peak hours at this checkpoint to facilitate traffic flow. 5.15 p.m. Thirdly, I would also like to ask the Minister whether he would be liberal in his consideration of applications for permanent residence. One of my constituents who is a Singapore citizen has a Malaysian wife. They have been married for over ten years and have two children born in Singapore. One of them, namely the husband, is a store assistant earning about $600 per month, and he has been paying income tax every year in Singapore. His monthly income is sufficient for him to maintain his family. He has many times applied for citizenship for his wife but has been rejected every time. His case deserves sympathetic consideration and approval.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move. That the sum to be allocated for Head V be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead DAA 1101. Sir, the Immigration Department is one Government office that constantly meets people both local and from abroad. Last year there were 1.5 million tourists passing through Singapore. Of course, many of our citizens have also gone abroad. So it is important for officers in this department to be courteous to the public. There has been a general improvement in the work of the Immigration Department. However, there are certain shortcomings. So let me inform the Minister. Firstly, I have received many complaints from members of the public that the officers at the counters in the Immigration Department are quite discourteous to members of the public. They do not properly help them in their dealings with the department. Many of them who have business to go there are dissatisfied and they have a very bad impression of the department. Even though that impression is created only by some members of the staff, it will give a poor image to the department thus reflecting on the Government of Singapore. The Minister concerned should look into it and take steps to rectify this situation. Secondly, at Woodlands checkpoint the officers in charge are not doing their duty properly. They just sit inside and would not care about the crowd thronging outside. At peak hours they would open up only two checkpoint entrances leaving the other entrances closed. There is usually a long queue of vehicles waiting to go through, particularly at this checkpoint because many people who pass through that checkpoint everyday are either coming to Singapore from Malaysia or going from Singapore to Malaysia.”
“Sir, it is not a traffic sign. I can draw on a piece of paper to show the Minister what kind of lines I am referring to.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, on a point of clarification. I did not say that we should not book drivers who speed. However, we should not book those who do not speed.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like the police officers to attend to their work and not to take part in dinners.”
“Recently somebody complained to me that because he was not familiar with the meaning of the white cross-lines on the road, he ran into them and was fined $50. According to the Police authority's explanation to him, such white cross-lines on the road mean that they represent stones. If one runs over the white cross-lines it means that one is knocking against the stone. So it is a traffic offence and the driver will be fined. This is really funny. I do not quite understand the use of this road sign at all. Some people commented that perhaps this is because the traffic police want more revenue that they induce drivers to run over such lines drawn on narrow roads. During peak hours when traffic is very heavy people would inevitably run over the white cross-lines. So the traffic policemen standing by the road side would take down the car numbers and fine the motorists. I would like the Minister to look into the matter. What are these white lines drawn on the road for? They had better be abolished as they serve no useful purpose.”
“This will promote a better understanding of the relationship between the police and the public, thereby removing any bias that exists between them. There is a feeling that the police are "unapproachable ones". Therefore, with greater cooperation and understanding between the police and the people, members of the public would dare to make reports to the police if anything happens. Secondly, I would like to ask the Minister whether he would set up in every police district a public complaints bureau at a convenient place to facilitate complaints from the public, because ordinary people are not used to complain or to report any case to the police, particularly when there are police officers who are haughty and arrogant. So the people dare not go and report to a police station. The officer in charge in the complaints bureau should be bilingual or even multi-lingual in order to facilitate an understanding of the complaint. Thirdly, I would like to ask the Minister whether he will consider increasing the number of police patrol cars in order to increase efficiency. At the moment I feel that the number of patrol cars is not sufficient. Not so long ago at my meet-the-people session a voter complained to me that somebody threw stones at his house. I telephoned for a police patrol car but it turned up only half an hour later. I asked him why he took such a long time to come. He said. "I am sorry, but we are short of patrol cars." So I appeal to the Minister to increase the number of patrol cars, as it will not only meet the need to maintain law and order but also increase the efficiency of the police. The fourth point is the white cross-lines drawn by the side of many roads.”
“Generally speaking, the Police Force in our Republic has performed well with a high degree of efficiency. Their duty is to protect lives and property of our people. In order to increase the efficiency of our police and to promote better cooperation between the police and members of the public, I have several suggestions to make. In the past few years the police has been organising Police Weeks every year. The response has been good. It improves the relationship between the police and the public. Since it is good and useful, I would like to ask the Minister whether Police Weeks will continue to be organised. Personally, I think it should be held so as to build up a better relationship between the police and the people. Besides achieving better cooperation between the police and the people, I would like to ask the Minister whether the Police could organise an "Open House Day" for members of the public to visit police establishments. This can be done also through community centres and other public centres because during "Open House Day" members of the public will learn how to liaise with the police in the event of a crime or accident. In this way the people can understand the work of the police better and on the other hand it will promote cooperation between the people and the police. This is a good objective. In order to achieve it concrete steps must be taken. Senior police officers themselves should set a good example in promoting this cooperation. I feel that every policeman of the rank of Inspector and above should frequently take part in social and community activities. For instance, they should take part in activities conducted by community centres in the various constituencies. The police officer in charge of the constituency should be present.”
“Sir, in recent years after a restructuring of the Police Force, there has been an improvement in the administration of the Police Force, resulting in greater peace and order in our society. However, there are still some shortcomings with the Police Force. According to complaints I have received, some people had occasion to make a report at a police station, but the policemen were not prepared to take their report saying that the Inspector in charge was not in. So they had to wait until his return. After about four hours of waiting, the Inspector in charge of the station did not return. So the complainants had wasted their time. I then enquired of the Police Department whether it was necessary to report only to an Inspector or a station head. The reply was, "No. Any ordinary police officer on duty can take down a complaint." This shows the policemen at the police station quoted above had not performed their duty properly. I have also received complaints that certain traffic policemen have abused their power by booking drivers at random. There is a mobile squad in the Traffic Police that specially deals with this. Sir, if they take measures to deal with speeding motorcyclists it is all right, but it is not right to flag down any driver who has not been speeding. Also, there have been complaints that some mobile squad personnel themselves have been speeding on the road, recklessly and dangerously. Their performance could well beat any racing motorcyclist. This is what they should not do because they are endangering other road users. So the authorities concerned should look into this matter. Police officers are people who enforce the law. So they themselves should not infringe any law.”