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 Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.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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“If the Minister will submit his proposal to the Minister for Finance, I am sure it will receive sympathetic consideration. In any case, the Minister has given a detailed explanation to the House and I am satisfied with his reply. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Minister has said just now that there are many cases pending in the Legal Aid Bureau, that a lot of cases have to be settled and, as a result, the staff might be a bit overworked to be polite to members of the public. If that is the case, I would like to suggest to the Minister that more staff be recruited in order to deal with the many cases outstanding. This is one of the solutions to the problem. I wonder whether the Minister will agree to this.”
“If they are true, I hope he will take immediate measures to remedy the shortcomings in the Legal Aid Bureau so that it will be able to serve the poor people better.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 1001 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1171. Sir, under this subhead, I wish to say something about the Legal Aid Bureau. The Bureau looks after poor people who need legal aid. It tries to solve their difficulties so that law and justice can be put at their service. It seeks to provide effective service to the masses and in a way it is a kind of welfare institution. However, I have received several complaints recently that when people go to the Legal Aid Bureau for assistance, their cases are usually delayed for three or four months and sometimes even up to six months. If that is true, then I feel that it is very unreasonable. There should not be any delay because this would inconvenience the people seeking its services. Another complaint is about the staff in the Bureau. Their attitude, when dealing with members of the public, seems to be arrogant and indifferent. They seem to be half-hearted when people go to them to seek legal assistance. It is natural that people only turn up at the Bureau because they wish to seek legal assistance in order to get justice done to them or to get help to solve their problems. If the staff in the Bureau are arrogant, the members of the public will be afraid of them, and they will not dare to turn up again for assistance. There is another matter about which I have received complaints from members of the public. The Bureau is rather slow in dealing with the cases. Very often the public have to wait in the Bureau for two or three hours at a stretch. The efficiency of the Bureau is actually in question. I wish to take this opportunity to request the Minister to look into these three complaints and see whether they are true.”
“Sir, in view of the detailed answer given by the Parliamentary Secretary, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“So we should do our best to remedy this situation, so that in the shortest possible time we may bring our standards up to the level required for international competitions. (2) We are now building the National Sports Stadium, better known as the National Sports Complex. I would like to know what is the progress up to date, and when will construction work be completed. And when completed, what kind of sports facilities will be provided by this complex. Will we have the honour of hosting any regional competitions or international tournaments in sports or athletics? Moreover, are there any opportunities for sports bodies to make a comparative study so as to improve our own standards and, at the same time, bring about a richer recreational life for our people?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 1001 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1001. Sir, the Sports Division comes under the Ministry of Social Affairs. The main responsibility of this Division is to promote and develop sports. Recently this Division has done a great deal in this direction. We can see that sports activities in the republic have been very active and are developing at a fast pace. The Sports Division has also done its share in the promotion of regional sports and athletics. For instance, we have already sent quite a number of sports delegations to take part in various regional sports meets, such as the SEAP Games and the Asian Games. At this moment another regional sports meet is taking place here in Singapore, namely, the First Commonwealth Table Tennis Tournament. All these can help to promote the development of sports in our country, and will make our people healthier and more rugged than before. Besides making our people more healthy and rugged, these sports and athletic activities can also play a role in raising our level of sportsmanship. We should develop the skills of our sportsmen in the various fields of athletics in order to raise our standards so as to enable us to win honour for our country in international competitions. In this respect, I would like to ask the Minister some questions. (1) Has the Sports Division any plans to train our national sports representatives? I ask this because our standards in basketball, football, soccer, and badminton have gone down. Very often our teams have brought back a big duck's egg from international competitions.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I believe the Minister is quite sincere in dealing with this matter. He is giving his attention and consideration to the views which have been expressed by Members of Parliament. He has given detailed answers to their questions. He thinks that the whole thing is rather complex and he is not able at the moment to think of a perfect solution. Since he is going to consider this matter in detail, I beg leave to withdraw. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The following amendments stood on the Order Paper Supplement -”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I think the Minister is rather excited and, as a result, he has not answered my question. I therefore wish to raise again the question about the chain picture books. What is the Government's attitude towards them? They have an adverse influence on our children. Can the Minister tell us the official attitude towards these books?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, our able Minister for Culture has always emphasised the importance of creating healthy culture and art. He has also stressed that good cultural traditions should be encouraged. I endorse his views without any reservation. But the important thing is this. His Ministry does not appear to be following this policy. It does not provide good educational programmes for the benefit of our people in consonance with the policy pronounced by the Minister. Lastly, I would like to discuss the question of how to promote healthy cultural activities. I have mentioned at the beginning of my speech that the Ministry of Culture has the responsibility of developing our national arts and culture. Unfortunately, in the past one year the Ministry of Culture has done very little in this direction. At the very most, it held a talentime contest on T.V. and some art exhibitions. I would, therefore, like to propose to the Ministry of Culture that in order to develop our national culture and inculcate a sense of national consciousness in our people, it should take the responsibility of promoting healthy cultural activities. It should lay down a policy on culture and art so as to encourage their development and bring about a flourishing national culture and art in Singapore. I would like to take this opportunity to propose to the Minister that there should be a cultural festival on a large scale this year. All the cultural and art workers in Singapore can then participate in it. In this way, they can not only show their culture but also learn from the others. At the same time, we can also give proper encouragement to our people in their efforts to bring about a healthy cultural life.”
“There is no doubt that in the past one year we have seen many good programmes on T.V. They include forums and debates on social and economic problems. These are all very educational. However, there are a lot of shortcomings in the light entertainment programme. For example, the Chinese variety show produced by R.T.S. has no educational value. The programme consists of nothing more than showing men and women in love and stories of jilted love. The singers always sing, "I don't want to go home tonight." All the items in the programme are in very low taste. They give our young people all kinds of funny ideas. I cannot see any educational value in such a programme. On the question of films shown on T.V., I regret to say that most of the actors and actresses in these films are already dead and gone. In fact, the pictures are too old for screening. It is my hope that such nauseating programmes will not be shown again on T.V. We should not show pictures which are more than ten years old. I hope the Minister will see to it that some improvement is made in the T.V. programmes, especially those relating to culture. For example, concerts or variety shows can be produced by inviting students from the various language streams, the universities and institutions of higher learning. I am sure that some students are able to produce good and healthy programmes. They already have their choirs. They can sing, blow the harmonica, put up plays, give piano recitals, and even recite poetry. These programmes are very popular with our people. I am sure the public will be very happy and welcome them. At the same time, R.T.S. will be able to nurture a new generation of artistes. It can kill two birds with one stone.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 0901 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1001*. (* The same amendment also stood in the name of Mr Conceicao.) Mr Speaker, Sir, the Ministry of Culture is a very important Ministry. It has the responsibility of looking after broadcasting in our country. More important still, it is also charged with the mission of taking the lead in developing our national arts and culture. It is also responsible for creating a national cultural image. It must inculcate in our people a sense of national consciousness and patriotism. It must enrich the life of our people with healthy cultural activities. It also has the duty of imposing censorship on publications and books in order to remove any material that may poison the minds of our people and to ensure that they obtain a healthy mental pabulum. I have received complaints that in recent months chain picture books have flooded our markets. The contents of these chain picture books are full of fantasy. They contain mythical and pornographic material which adversely affects the children of this country. These children read these undesirable picture books and, as a result, their studies are adversely affected. Mr Speaker, Sir, this is a matter of grave concern to us. It is my view that the civil servants in the Ministry of Culture have failed in their duty. I hope that the Minister will take the necessary action to ban all these fantastic, mythical and pornographic picture books, so that the minds of our young children are not poisoned because they are the future leaders of our country. Next I wish to talk about television. At the moment television has many viewers. Therefore, whether the programmes are good or bad, they have a great influence on the people.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I think the Minister has done his best to answer all the questions raised by the Backbenchers. So we will let him have some rest. I beg leave to withdraw. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“I would like to serve notice on the Finance Minister, who is not present here, that I will take issue with him on the delay that his Ministry is causing in the teachers' negotiations when this House considers the estimates of his Ministry in the Committee of Supply. I wish to inform the Members in this House that the current negotiations between the Teachers' Unions and the Education Ministry do not deal only with salary matters. They also deal with a host of other problems such as the questions of teachers' quota in schools, the relationship between teachers and Ministry officials as well as other professional problems. Some of the problems arise because of the lack of communication and consultation between Ministry officials and teachers. I would therefore like to ask the Education Minister whether steps will be taken to ensure that his Ministry officials become more communicative and more amenable to the idea of consultation with teachers, particularly with the Teachers' Unions, on matters of professional interest and importance.”
“Mr Sia Khoon Seong: Mr Speaker, Sir, the Education Minister on 16th March remarked in this House that he would hate to think that teachers in the education service are attracted only by the salary scales. I am sure that the Minister said this more in jest than in seriousness. In the context of our present situation, the question of monetary incentives should not be dismissed in such a lighthearted fashion by a mere statement of a pious platitude. There is nothing more or nothing less human in the teacher than in any individual in our society. Teachers, just as other individuals in our society, also have personal commitments and responsibilities to fulfil. They have families to raise, mouths to feed and homes to look after. All these require money. Why should the question of money become "unchaste" with teachers? As I said on 16th March, 1971, in this House, the teachers are beginning to wonder what is happening to the current negotiations between the Teachers' Unions and the Education Ministry. The then Education Minister invited the Teachers' Unions to negotiate on 1st September, 1970. The first meeting between the representatives of the Teachers' Unions and officials of the Education Ministry took place on 10th October, 1970. Today is the 19th March, 1971. The Teachers' Unions have yet to receive any response from the Education Ministry to the proposals they put up to them. The Education Minister informed this House on 16th March, 1971, that his Ministry had made its recommendations to the Ministry of Finance.”
“The Ministry is the highest authority for making decisions. There are many educational experts in the Ministry who can find ways and means of implementing these decisions. They must find a solution, practical and feasible, so that all schools can follow this decision. We should not adopt the practice of asking the principal to do as he sees fit. The third point is whether relief teachers can be considered for confirmation and absorption into the permanent establishment. We know that many relief teachers are fully qualified and some of them have had many years of experience in practical teaching. I think they are fully qualified to be absorbed into the permanent establishment. What is more, I understand that at the moment we are short of teachers. If so, why do we not consider giving these relief teachers normal and permanent status? The last point I would like to raise is how to use the revised syllabus for primary one and primary two pupils. According to the policy of the Ministry of Education, they are going to start in the second term of this year a revised syllabus for primary one and primary two. However, there has been no comprehensive plan on how to implement this. I understand that when some inspectors went to the schools they asked the principals and teachers when they could implement the new syllabus, and sometimes they asked whether they had already implemented the new syllabus. When the principals and teachers mentioned the difficulties, the inspectors did not know what to say. They merely said. "Whatever you can do, you do now. What you cannot do, you may do as you please." What will the Minister say about this?”
“This is because many principals and teachers are faced with a great number of difficulties. I would like to take this opportunity to ask the Minister for Education four oft- recurring questions. I hope that he will investigate and perhaps remedy them. The first point is about the changing of textbooks. We find that there has been some delay. Last year the Ministry of Education directed that all primary schools should use the textbooks published by the Educational Publications Bureau. They were the Primary One and Primary Three civic textbooks. Perhaps the Minister of State does not know the ones I am referring to. All the primary schools naturally followed the directive of the Ministry, but when the schools reopened this year for the first term, the textbooks published by the Educational Publications Bureau were not enough for all primary schools. Some primary schools could not use textbooks published by other companies. As a result, the teachers have had difficulties in teaching. Moreover, the pupils have had unnecessary difficulties in learning the lessons. I hope the Minister will investigate this matter. The second point is about the Mathematics textbooks in primary schools. A few years ago the Ministry of Education directed that all primary school textbooks in Mathematics should be in English. At that time we had a shortage of teachers. Now we find that the students cannot understand these textbooks. Therefore, the Ministry has decided to reverse its decision on the use of English Mathematics textbooks. The question now whether to use Chinese or English Mathematics textbooks in primary schools is up to the principal of the school concerned to decide. This has caused some surprise to the principals. I think this is not an appropriate thing to do.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 0801 he reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1001*. (* The same amendment also stood in the names of Messrs. Sia Khoon Seong and Ho Kah Leong). Last year, the estimates for Education were $174 million. This year the estimates have been increased to $191 million. This represents the second largest item in our total expenditure. From this we can see that the Government has undoubtedly paid a great deal of attention to the development of our education. There is no doubt that the educational system is vital to our nation building. Whether a country is strong or weak depends on how strong the educational system in the country is. Education will train people in a country to be well educated, highly cultivated, and to acquire knowledge, especially in this era of technology. We have to train a large number of people with specialised knowledge so that they can take up the task of nation building. Therefore we can see that the task of the Ministry of Education is indeed very heavy. The Ministry of Education in its implementation of policies will have to be very cautious. The compilation of the syllabuses will have to be very sound and comprehensive. The contents of the textbooks must be realistic and tailored especially to the needs of a developing country. It is only in this way that we can have people well trained for their jobs so that we will not produce a large number of people who cannot apply what they have learnt. As a matter of principle, we are trying to implement a multilingual education. We emphasise the teaching of science and technology. This is very appropriate. However, in the implementation of policies, there have been some anomalies.”
“Sir, in view of the detailed explanation given by the Minister, I beg to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The following amendment stood in the name of Mr P. Govindaswamy - (2) That the sum to be allocated for Head 0705 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1027.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 0705 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1001*. (*The same amendment also stood in the names of Messrs. P. Govindaswamy and N. Govindasamy.) The vote is about the expenditure for the Postmaster-General. In the past our postal service had a good reputation because it was efficient. Mails were delivered quite fast. Normally when a letter was sent, it could be received the following day. But recently I have received complaints regarding delays in delivery of letters. I personally also have this experience. Sometimes it would take two or three days before I received a letter. Even a letter sent by Parliament was received after three days. Therefore, this does not speak well for the postal services. I understand that as the population increases, the volume of mails also increased. However, we have to maintain the efficiency of our postal services. Maybe we need to increase the number of staff. This can be a solution. If a letter is delayed too long, especially when it is urgent, it may cause a great deal of trouble. I hope the Minister can take steps to remedy this abnormal situation. The second point I would like to raise is about the wrong delivery of letters. For instance, a letter was addressed to "A", but it was delivered to "B". Even I myself have had this sort of experience. Letters were wrongly delivered. This will also affect people in certain ways, because if a person has not received his letter there may be some delay or inconvenience at his end. I hope in this respect the Postmaster-General and his senior officers will supervise the staff under them and build up a more efficient postal service.”
“Sir, perhaps the Minister can implement the policy of using the four official languages in the airport. In recruiting airport hostesses, the Civil Aviation Department should see to it that they can speak the four official languages fluently. The Minister has said that eight of the airport hostesses can speak at least three official languages. If that is the case, they should meet the requirements of our people.”
“Sir, I have something to add to what the two Members have mentioned. Recently, I found that the airport hostesses made announcements in only two languages - Malay and English. It seems Tamil and Chinese were omitted. I hope the Minister can look into this matter. Another matter is that in the plane only Malay and English are used. I feel that it is rather inconvenient to the passengers because some of them may not understand English or Malay. In the past, announcements were made not only in the four official languages but also in the various Chinese dialects. But nowadays this is no longer the practice. I hope the Minister can also look into this matter.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Minister of State has given me a satisfactory answer, and I beg leave to withdraw. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“If there is, it should be explained. Does the delay mean that the relaxation of the rules in respect of work permits is being reconsidered? If not, it is probably the failure of the Government servants concerned to speed up their work. It is my hope that the Minister will supervise more closely the work of the civil servants involved so as to improve the efficiency of the Work Permits Office. In this way, it will also contribute to our industrial development. The next query I wish to ask is this: over the past one year, how many cases of applications for work permits have been received, how many have been granted, and how many have been rejected? What are the main reasons for rejecting these applications?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I have heard the explanation given by the Minister and I am prepared to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Mr Teong Eng Siong(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 0601 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1351*. (*The same amendment also stood in the names of Messrs. S. Ramaswamym, P. Govindaswamy and Ho Kah Leong.) Under this subhead I would like to raise some points regarding work permits. I have received a number of complaints from factory employers that their applications for work permits have been unduly delayed, in some cases, for as long as three to four months without a reply. It is my view that this delay is causing unnecessary difficulty to the factories involved. Mr Speaker, Sir, I remember that during the budget debate last year the Minister for Labour stated that the rules relating to the applications for work permits would be relaxed to some extent. In fact today he himself has stated that non-citizens are also eligible to apply for work permits which will be given on sympathetic grounds. This is a very welcome piece of news to many people. We all know that our factories are short of workers, particularly skilled workers. Manual workers are also in acute shortage in some places. Therefore, the Work Permits Office should assist the factories involved by speedier processing of their applications for work permits and granting them quickly. The work in the Work Permits Office should be spread out. I have received many complaints from various factories about unnecessary delays. I do not know the actual reason for the delay. It is my hope that the Minister will look into the matter and find out whether there is any good reason at all for the delay.”
“Our Government has given these people preferential treatment. I wish to know how many of them have been granted citizenship in the last few years. How many years have they been resident in Singapore? What is the position of their investment? How much have they invested? I wish to know also how many people applied for citizenship last year.”
“Since these people are in a position to support their families and will not impose an added burden on the Government, why do we not approve their applications for citizenship so that they can be loyal citizens and contribute their bit to the country? On behalf of these people, I would like to ask our Minister to consider their situation sympathetically and solve their difficulties. There is another point I wish to raise. This concerns our policy of foreign investors. What attitude do we take in granting citizenship to them? We offer them facilities to stay here because they are useful to the development of our economy. This is as it should be.”
“Sir, this non-citizen member of the family has reached the age when he can apply for citizenship. He has already submitted three applications to the Registry of Citizenship, but every one has been rejected. He has since submitted his application for the fourth time. This young boy normally is full of life and zeal, but because time after time his application has been rejected, he has become very dejected, depressed and pessimistic. Sir, I think the circumstances of this case are not isolated. There are many people in similar circumstances. Therefore, we have to consider this question very seriously. If most of the members of a family are citizens, where could a non-citizen member turn to for a living? He must find a means of livelihood in Singapore so that he can settle down and have his own family. I think this question should be seriously considered by the Minister and he should instruct his department to treat such cases with sympathy and not to reject all applications. 6.15 p.m. Another example is this. Our Minister has often said that, as more people are given citizenship, our burden becomes heavier. I quite agree with him on this point. I think some of the applicants for citizenship need not impose an added burden on the Government. For example, some traders have a monthly income of $500 to $600. Sometimes their monthly income is $300 to $400. This is sufficient for them to support their own families. There are some applicants who are hawkers and if their business is fair, their income will be considerable. They will, therefore, be in a position to support their own families. However, applicants who are in this situation have also been rejected. I think perhaps the Government has been too strict.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 0601 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1251*. (* The same amendment also stood in the names of Messrs. Ng Yeow Chong, P. Govindaswamy, Sim Boon Woo, N. Govindasamy.) Sir, this question of citizenship is a painful one when I talk about the way it is dealt with. Sir, you will remember that in every budget debate over the last few years this question of citizenship always came up for discussion. The reason why we are concerned with this particular subject is that we, as representatives of the people, often come in close contact with the people and therefore have talked with them about citizenship. Citizenship is concerned with the livelihood of our people. If an applicant is not given citizenship, it will give rise to many other problems. First of all, he will not be able to get a job. Because of this, his family will suffer and his wife and children will suffer too. This is a very serious topic. I hope Members opposite will not joke about it. Mr Speaker, Sir, I fully realise that in the last few years the Government was very strict about granting citizenship. The reason is that out country was faced with serious economic problems then and therefore we had to adopt a very strict policy and not grant citizenship readily. But I wish to say that there were some aspects of the policy which were incorrect or inappropriate. Let me take, for example, the case of a family in my constituency. The parents are citizens of Singapore. Of their five children, four were born in Singapore, and only one was born outside Singapore. In other words, in a family of seven members, six are citizens of Singapore, and one is a non-citizen.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to clarify a point. I do not treat experts with contempt. I have no such intention. If I should treat them with contempt, I would not call them experts at all. What I tried to say was that the recommendations of a seminar or a meeting should be more practical and feasible for adoption. If at the end of a seminar or a meeting, there is no follow-up and that is the end of it, then, in my view, such a meeting or seminar will be quite a waste of time. In any case, I must thank the Minister for being very patient with me and for enumerating the number of measures that he has taken, I am satisfied with his answer. I beg leave to withdraw. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“We should take immediate remedial action in this field. I wish to ask the Minister whether the number of factory inspectors will be increased this year. There are more factories in Singapore now and the number of workers is ever increasing. We should, therefore, have more factory inspectors to go round to ensure that the safety measures are properly observed. They should go round and see that the factory employers themselves have proper safety measures in their factories. I wish to draw the attention of the Minister to another point. Can he inform this I-louse why there has been an increase in the number of industrial accidents? What are the causes contributing to such accidents? Is the Ministry of Labour making any comprehensive study of the matter? If we have the reasons, and a proper study is made, we will be able to reduce the number of accidents.”
“If you think I have used an unparliamentary expression, I withdraw it. What is worse is that their recommendations and proposals are very high sounding but rather impractical. In my view, the seminars are just a waste of time. They have not contributed anything that will actually solve the problem of industrial accidents. If we wish to do something about this grave situation, we must invite those who have practical experience in the industrial field to study the problems and to make recommendations for their solution. For example, we can invite factory managers, engineers or even foremen to come forward with suggestions on how to solve the problem. It is these people who know the actual situation and are capable of recommending measures to reduce the number of accidents. I am sure they will be able to contribute useful and more practical proposals than those expounded at seminars by the so-called experts. The employers of factories should also take greater responsibility to see that the number of industrial accidents is reduced. They should ensure that over-age machinery is replaced in time in order to safeguard the lives of the workers. I remember that in the last fiscal year, during the debate on the budget, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Labour told this House that the greatest problem confronting the Industrial Safety Unit was the shortage of factory inspectors. The reason was that the allocation of funds was inadequate for the increased number of factory inspectors required. If that is the case, I think the problem is rather simple. When we have more factory inspectors, we will be able to increase industrial safety. We can spend a bit more. We should be prepared to allocate more funds for this purpose.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 0601 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1006. Mr Speaker, Sir, under this subhead 1 wish to talk about industrial accidents. There has been a considerable increase in the number of industrial accidents over the past one year. According to statistics released by the Ministry of Labour, the number of accidents which occurred last year was more than that in the previous year. Undoubtedly this is a grave situation which warrants proper attention. The victims and their families deserve our sympathy and help. Their welfare is at stake. We should therefore consider their plight. Many of the victims' wives have become widows and their children have become orphans. I urge the Minister for Labour to take positive and effective steps to reduce the number of industrial accidents. He should ensure that our workers are able to work in safer circumstances. However, in spite of my appeal, it is regrettable that the Ministry of Labour has not taken any steps to improve the situation and to solve the problems arising out of industrial accidents. At the very best, the Ministry has only set up some so-called committees to look into the matter superficially. They even go to the extent of organising industrial seminars just to put up a show. They have invited so-called experts to talk "hell of a lot" at such seminars and nothing else.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, of course if we want to establish more foreign missions, they must he of benefit to us. There is no doubt about it. I feel the Minister should know this better than I do. He has, in fact, given this House a very satisfactory answer, and I beg leave to withdraw. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 0501 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1001. Sir, our foreign policy has reaped very good results in recent years. We have appeared in the international arena as a non-aligned nation, and have made friends with many countries. This position is important to the survival and growth of our country. But at the same time we should also appreciate that developments in the international field keep changing all the time. Therefore, in the best interest of our own country, I think the Minister for Foreign Affairs will agree with me that we should adopt a very flexible foreign policy. Under this broad guideline, I would like to raise two points with the Minister. Firstly, in the new fiscal year, will the Government establish more foreign missions in order to promote friendship and better relations with other countries? Secondly, Britain's decision to sell arms to South Africa has sparked off a great controversy in the international field, particularly during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference held in Singapore early this year. At this conference this subject was keenly debated by many African countries. In spite of this, Britain has gone ahead with the sale of arms to South Africa. I would, therefore, like to ask the Minister what is Singapore's attitude on this matter. Have we taken any appropriate steps in this field?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, even though the number of such cases is small, we have to remedy the situation, otherwise their influence will spread and this will be even worse.”
“I think that, on the whole, our army maintains itself very well in public and the cases they mention are the exceptions rather than the rule. As regards eating in public, of course, soldiers must eat in public. They are human beings. It will be a sad day if we prohibit them from eating in public.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to raise two questions. We know that soldiers should always maintain good discipline so that they will leave a good impression on the people. But 1 have sometimes seen soldiers and even officers of our army appearing in public places, for example, in restaurants, coffee-shops and such other places, taking their meals. I am not sure whether there are any rules and regulations which require them to have permission to appear in public places in uniform and take their meals. I would like the Minister to clarify this point. I have also witnessed some other unfortunate events in certain places. Some of our soldiers and officers display a rather unbecoming attitude. For example, they are sometimes arrogant. They behave as if they are in some ways different and quite apart from the ordinary people. In this respect, we have to instruct our officers and soldiers not to be arrogant and not to adopt such an attitude in public places. I would like the Minister to clarify these two points. The Minister of Defence (Dr Goh Keng Swee): Mr Speaker, Sir, on the question by the Member for Katong on uniforms. Soldiers, whether they are in camp or outside camp must be properly dressed, and if they are not properly dressed, they have committed an offence. The trouble is that you cannot have regimental police everywhere to make sure that all offenders are brought to book. As regards hair cuts, I think the Member is slightly exaggerating the position. We try to be as accommodating as we can, but there are limits and, we have not gone as far as other armies in the world who allow shoulder-length hair-dos. The disorderly conduct of our servicemen mentioned by the Member for Katong and the Member for Sembawang is quite regrettable. Every flock has its black sheep.”
“Can the Minister of State for Education tell me for how many years has this system of relief teachers been in existence? Can the years of teaching as relief teachers be considered for qualification as experience when applying for the post of teachers? Do these relief teachers have the benefit of the Central Provident Fund? If they do not have it, what is the reason for it? Even daily-rated employees have the benefit of the Central Provident Fund. Dr Lee Chiaw Meng(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, first, I do not have this information in detail at hand. If the Member for Sembawang wants it, I can prepare it for him later. Whether the relief teachers can be trained depends on whether they have the necessary qualifications. As I have said, the programme of training of relief teachers will be carried out under the whole review of teacher training. As to the Provident Fund benefit, I think the Member has not read today's or yesterday's newspapers.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to congratulate the Minister on introducing this Bill. At the moment, although the problem of pollution of our seas is not serious, there are already signs that it will be. Therefore, the fact that the Government is ready to introduce this Bill in order to be able to take positive steps to prevent further deterioration is a far-sighted policy. There are many countries which are already facing serious problems of sea pollution. For example, in Tokyo the pollution of the sea is so serious that the fish die. So we can say that this Bill is a far-sighted policy to maintain a pollution-free port. We are taking positive steps to make Singapore a clean garden city. On the one hand, we bring about better living conditions for our people, and, on the other hand, we attract more tourists to our country. As we have spent a great deal of time and effort to keep our roads clean, we should also take steps to keep our Singapore waters clean, otherwise our livelihood will be affected by their pollution. We realise that we are a port. At the moment, we are the fourth biggest port in the world, and we are improving and expanding in size. One day we may become the third greatest port in the world, or even the second. So any steps taken in this direction are necessary. I believe the people of Singapore will support the Bill and keep our waters and our port clean. I hope that the administrators in the departments concerned will carry out the policy effectively so that we have a beautiful and clean port. 2.49 p.m.”
“If he or any member of his constituency, or of his Citizens' Consultative Committee, or of the People's Action Party branch in Sembawang is interested in training courses on planting trees, then he should make application to the Ministry of National Development which runs such courses for the benefit of those who do not know much about shrubs or flowers. These courses have been running for more than six months now, and perhaps this is the first time the Member has heard about it. As for the trees in Bras Basah Road, I would advise him to stick to his problems in Sembawang and leave the problems in Bras Basah to the Member for Bras Basah. There have been trees planted on one side of Bras Basah Road but they have not hindered traffic. They are not really huge or large trees; they are pom-pom trees planted on one side of the road. If they grow too big, they can be chopped off or trimmed. 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 Barker]. Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. PARKING PLACES (AMENDMENT) BILL Order for Second Reading read. 7.50 p.m.”
“It is agreed that we have a shortage of horticulturists to advise others on how to plant trees and flowers, and I do not know whether the Government or the Minister concerned has any plans to train more people. I have also noted that in certain crowded areas, such as Bras Basah Road, the traffic conditions are generally appalling during peak hours, resulting in traffic jams. In spite of the shortage of space in such areas, trees are being planted. They take up a lot of space in a very crowded area. One tree takes up at least 10 square feet of space, and the presence of trees in these crowded areas will only aggravate traffic conditions. I wonder whether the officers concerned have given due consideration before planting trees in these busy areas and public roads. Sir, no doubt trees are being planted with good intentions, as they will beautify our environment and refresh the air. With the success of this "Keep Singapore Green" campaign, we have no doubt that Singapore will become a garden city in the true sense of the word. In this way we will be able to attract more tourists to our garden city. They will go back to their own countries and give us favourable publicity. The "Keep Singapore Green" campaign will therefore contribute in no small measure to our economic development. I fully support the Bill. Mr Barker: I am glad to see that the Member for Sembawang is also interested in keeping his constituency clean and beautiful.”
“Mr Govindasamy, Sir, I believe that Members in this House are aware that over the past few years many trees have been cut down because of urban renewal or other forms of development that have been taking place in Singapore. As a result, the number of trees in the city is decreasing from year to year. Sir, we are living in the tropics. It is, therefore, essential that we have enough trees and plants because they will regulate our rather dry and hot climate. Their presence will freshen the air, thereby promoting better health among our people. The introduction of this Bill is a follow-up of our campaign to keep Singapore clean and green. This Bill will protect trees and plants in our Republic. Over the past few years we have been launching campaigns to keep Singapore green, and these have been receiving great support from our people, for example, in my Sembawang constituency where there has been a tremendous response from my constituents. Over the past few months the Citizens' Consultative Committee in my constituency and the Management Committees of the People's Association have concertedly launched a tree-planting campaign. As a result of these efforts, many shops and private houses have trees and plants around them. In public places, too, trees have been planted, thereby enhancing the beauty of the surroundings. Mr Govindasamy, Sir, because of this "Keep Singapore Green" campaign, we have a shortage of horticulturists and of young plants. A lack of experienced personnel to look after the plants has caused a lot of these plants to wither and die. Furthermore, a lack of personnel with expertise in planting trees has also given rise to the wrong method of planting them.”
“I wonder whether the Minister has any plans to prevent or to reduce the influence of cigarette advertisements from foreign broadcasts. Thirdly, Sir, I would like to indicate my support if there is a campaign to educate the people against smoking. If we can start a campaign of this nature, I am sure that popular support will be forthcoming. And it is my hope that when the campaign is launched, those Members of Parliament who are smokers will take the lead and set a good example by giving up smoking. 7.03 p.m.”
“If there are no inducements or encouragement from cigarette advertisements, our young people will not succumb to temptations. There are Members in this House, including Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries, who are smokers, but they are probably indulging in this bad habit because there was no such Bill in the past. Secondly, this Bill will help bring about a more robust physique and better health among our people. It will definitely reduce the hazards of smoking to which smokers are exposed, that is, from the medical point of view as mentioned by the Minister for Health. Thirdly, the Bill will also help the growth of a less polluted environment. This Bill works in close conjunction with our campaign against pollution, particularly air pollution. According to experts, smoking of cigarettes will also add to air pollution. Sir, in spite of all I have said, there are certain loopholes in this Bill which I wish to point out. For example, there are certain loopholes in the provisions for exemption which may be open to manipulation by certain people whereby they will be able to bring home the message of smoking pleasure by some other means. I therefore invite the attention of the Minister concerned to several points. Firstly, as regards imported publications such as Life, we must note that there are many cigarette advertisements in them. If these imported publications are distributed free to the public by cigarette dealers or tobacco companies, will it not defeat the purpose of this Bill? Has our Minister any plans to deal with such a situation? Secondly, Sir, if our people turn on to the T.V. programmes and radio broadcasts of neighbouring countries which do not ban cigarette advertisements, our people will still be exposed to such advertisements.”
“Sir, the introduction of this Bill is, in my view, conducive to the promotion of better health and hygiene among our people. However, I do not consider it comprehensive enough. In my view, it has been introduced on a piecemeal basis. Nevertheless, it is still a progressive piece of legislation. It will cause some loss of revenue to our country, as has been pointed out by the Minister for Health, particularly revenue from advertisements over radio and on TV, and advertisements put up on our overhead bridges. This is the price we have to pay, but it is worth while. There is no doubt that this Bill will bring great benefits to our society as a whole. One of them is that our T.V, viewers will be left in peace to enjoy their programmes without the harassment and embarrassment of cigarette advertisements. This is, of course, a minor benefit. But there are major benefits. This Bill is closely related to an earlier Bill, that is, the Prohibition of Smoking in Certain Places Bill. One of the provisions in the present Bill prohibits advertisements on smoking through pamphlets, price lists, packets and other forms of publicity which aim at promoting smoking among the members of the public. This Bill shows that our Government does not endorse public encouragement of smoking amongst our citizens, particularly our young people. This Bill will be conducive to the cultivation of good habits or at least the discouragement of bad habits amongst our people, particularly the young ones. This is a Bill with good intentions. After the implementation of this Bill, other benefits will come too. The Bill will prevent our young people from succumbing to temptation through indulgence in smoking.”
“I have received a complaint about such a case. The boy was called up and has so far done about six months' training. Last month the Minister announced a new policy to exempt those born before 1949 from full-time national service, and to allow them to do part-time national service. I would Jike to ask whether those graduates who were born in 1946 can be allowed to do part-time national service, rather than full-time. The third point I would like to raise is this. Our Government has given the assurance that jobs would be found quickly for those who have completed two years' national service. But in point of fact I have received many complaints from these ex-servicemen in my meet-the-people sessions in Sembawang. The complaints are that they have waited for as long as three months and are still without jobs. Although we have a Director of Employment to allocate jobs and there are many commercial firms which require people to fill their vacancies, how is it that these ex-servicemen still have to wait for such a long time? Is it because the Director is inefficient? I would like the Minister to pay attention to these complaints. The last point is in regard to requests from national servicemen to go on honeymoon. I understand that the Ministry gives them only three days for a honeymoon. I think this is rather inhuman. We should allow the husband and wife to enjoy a longer honeymoon. Three days is too short, I wonder if the Minister will consider this question sympathetically and grant these people who are getting married a longer leave, say, a week or two weeks; perhaps a month will be ideal. 5.00 p.m.”
“Mr Govindasamy, Sir, as the Minister has pointed out just now, this Bill expresses our stand on the question of national service the implementation of which has had satisfactory results. No one can doubt that national service is essential to an independent country. It is also a necessary obligation on the part of our citizens. For the last few years most of our citizens have responded well and fully supported and participated in national service. But there are a number of anomalies or defects in the system, and we must always seek to remedy them whenever we come across them. I would like to raise four or five points here and I hope the Minister will explain them. The first point is this. I have received complaints from many parents whose one and only son has been called up for national service. The complaint is that their only son has a job which pays him $100 to $200 every month to support his family. In order to satisfy the requirements of the law, when he reaches the appropriate age group he has to be called up for full-time national service training. Mr Govindasamy, Sir, of course the Minister realises that there is a large difference between the allowance a national serviceman gets and the salary he earns outside. Every month he only gets about $100 while in national service and deductions have to be made for food. So what he can take home is only a very meagre sum. I wonder whether the Minister can sympathetically consider allowing such boys to do part-time national service only. In this way we can, on the one hand, give him military training, and, on the other hand, we will not disrupt the livelihood of these families. The second point I would like to raise is about those university graduates born in 1946 and who have already been called up for national service.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, this Bill deserves our support, because it seeks to preserve all the historical monuments for the benefit of our future generations. The history of our nation is very short. If we count from 1819, we have a short history of 150 years. Last year, we celebrated our 150th anniversary. The main objective of this Bill is to preserve all the worthwhile relics and monuments for the benefit of Singapore. Recently, our Prime Minister went on a tour of various countries. We read from the newspapers that when he visited Russia, he went to pay his respects to a heroic and grand monument at Leningrad. In Singapore, we have many memorable monuments and relics. At Lavender Street, there is a building called Chau Chia Kuan. It is dated 1819. In other words, it has a history of more than 150 years. This building -should be preserved by us. We know that there is a temple named Siang Lim Sze at Toa Payoh. Siang Lim Temple is also a very grand monument. All these monuments should be preserved for the benefit of our future generation. They are attractions to tourists. There are certain provisions in the Bill which lay down that any land, site or monument which has a historical interest will be preserved and the Government will assist in its preservation. This is a very enlightened move. I hope that the public will be given the opportunity to participate in the work of preserving our historical monuments. Civic-minded people should be involved in this work. In other words, they should be invited to sit on the Board. After another 150 years, our people will be able to know that these historical monuments have been preserved through the efforts of our Minister. They will praise him for his foresight in preserving our historical relics.”
“Regulations will be passed. What these regulations will be will depend really on the conditions of work in the quarries. I doubt whether the figures cited by one Member in respect of silicosis can be confined merely to granite quarries. He has mentioned the United Kingdom Mines and Quarries Act. But surely conditions in the United Kingdom are different. Working in coal mines underground is entirely different from working in granite quarries above the ground. Whether or not it should be made compulsory for granite quarry operators to provide their workers with respiratory masks will really depend on the conditions in the quarries. I am grateful to the Members for giving their support to this Bill and drawing my attention to certain aspects of it which might have to be improved and amendments passed in the future. I give the Members my assurance that if the facts back up an amendment, we will amend the Bill. If the matters complained of deserve the support which the two Members think they do, they will he looked into. As to the suggestion that the Licensing Officer should be one man and not two, I am afraid I cannot give that assurance here. This matter will have to be gone into and I will have to ascertain whether or not the Member is correct when he says that there should be one man.”