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 Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.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?”
The complete record
Every one of 1,282 lines we hold for Teong Eng Siong, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 16 of 26.
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 90 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 201. Sir, it is noted that the vote for this subhead amounts to $540,000. This is a new vote, and I would like to ask the Minister why there is a need for it and for what purpose it will be used. Moreover, in what way will the use of this vote by the Survey Department benefit our country? Mr E. W. Barker: Mr Speaker, Sir, national mapping is a Government responsibility and compatible with our independent status. It is essential that we have at our disposal facilities for such mapping work. Hitherto, Singapore maps were produced by the Surveyor-General, the Director of National Mapping, Malaysia, and, to a lesser extent, by the Assistant Director of Surveys of the United Kingdom Services, as we did not have these facilities. This arrangement was expedient so long as the Singapore Survey Department was pan-Malaysian and came under the Surveyor-General, Malaya, and as a Federal department when Singapore was a constituent state of Malaysia. On separation from Malaysia, the responsibility for the production of all Singapore maps fell on the Chief Surveyor, Singapore. However, since our Survey Department did not have the necessary facilities, both in respect of equipment and personnel, all Singapore maps have been printed by the Malaysian Directorate of Mapping on a commercial basis. This arrangement is clearly unsatisfactory.”
“I am not moving, Sir. The sum of $98,000 for Head 83 ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. Head 90 -”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Minister has explained the projects and also promised to improve the programmes. I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The following amendments stood in the name of Mr Ng Kah Ting - (2) That the sum to be allocated for Head 71 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 302. (3) That the total sum to be allocated for Head 71 be reduced by $100.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 71 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 301*. (* The same amendment also stood in the name of Mr Ng Kah Ting.) Sir, this vote involves a sum of $1,250,000 for "Works and Buildings" and "Furniture and Equipment" for the "New Radio Studios and Office Buildings". Can the Minister answer the following questions: (1) When will the construction of the buildings be completed? (2) What kind of facilities will be provided in these buildings? (3)Will there be any improvement in the broadcasting services after the completion of these buildings?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $51,033,100 for Head 61 ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. Head 62 - The following amendments stood in the name of Mr Ng Kah Ting (1) That the sum to be allocated for Head 62 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 101. (2) That the sum to be allocated for Head 62 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 302. (3) That the total sum to be allocated for Head 62 be reduced by $100.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 61 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 101. The provision for this subhead is about $51 million. This is for the expansion of our Armed Forces and Police. We are now strengthening our defence establishment in order to ensure our independence and security. This is very important. Can the Minister tell the House how this vote is to be spent? The Acting Minister for Culture (Mr Wee Toon Boon): Mr Speaker, Sir, in reply to the Member, I can briefly give an explanation of the proposed expenditure for this vote. (a) The construction of new camps, renovations and alterations to existing army camps, and British bases that will be made available to the Ministry of Interior and Defence, the cost of land acquisition and compensation to squatters. (b) The construction and renovation of police projects and land acquisition for station sites. (c) Purchase of weapons for the Singapore Armed Forces and the Police. (d) Purchase of ammunition and demolition materials for unit holding. (e) Purchase of heavy plant, engineering equipment and bridging equipment for the Singapore Armed Forces.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, since the Minister has explained that this will be a profitable project, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The following amendment stood in the name of Mr Ng Kah Ting - (2) That the sum to be allocated for Head 53 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 502.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 53 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 404. Sir, the provision of $10 million is for the setting up of a Satellite Earth Station, which is an important project because we are now entering the space age. And there is a need to set up a Satellite Earth Station in Singapore so as to keep Singapore in touch with other countries. In this connection, I would like to raise four questions. First, why are we so slow in establishing this station? Second, when will it be completed? Third, when it is completed, what benefits will it provide for Singapore? And, fourth, who is building it?”
“Sir, since the Minister has fully answered my questions, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 51 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 302*. (* The same amendment also stood in the name of Mr Ng Kah Ting.) Sir, the provision of $3 million is for the redevelopment of the passenger terminal building, and I think this project is very necessary for the development of tourism, because the number of tourists coming to Singapore is increasing year by year. I have several questions to ask. Firstly, when will this project be completed? Secondly, what are the facilities that will be provided in this building? Thirdly, how many passengers can the building accommodate? Fourthly, what are the improved services that will be provided for the tourists?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, since there is no time left, I would like to withdraw. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn, The sum of $22,134,310 for Head 41 ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. 4.30 p.m. Head 51 -”
“I do not know whether the Technical Education Department has any plans to improve the standard of English of these teachers so that they will not be faced with difficulties when they give instruction to their students. Fourthly, inspectors from the Technical Education Department seldom visit these technical institutes. Therefore, if the teachers are faced with difficulties, they are not able to get proper help and guidance from them. Lastly, does the Minister intend to build a vocational or technical institute at Sembawang? This is because there is a naval base and a shipyard there. As the Government intends to build factories there, the building of a vocational or technical institute will facilitate the training of skilled workers to man these factories.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the total sum to be allocated for Head 41 be reduced by $100*. (* The same amendment also stood in the name of Mr Ng Kah Ting.). Mr Speaker, Sir, the provision for this Head exceeds $22 million. Some of this money will be used to build technical schools and buy equipment and machinery. Such a big provision is necessary because we are now in the midst of expanding our technical education so as to train more and more technical personnel. I would like to ask the Minister a few questions. Firstly, I have received complaints that the machinery in certain vocational institutes breaks down very often. This machinery is all very new but it breaks down after a short time and is left unattended to for a long period. This is a very grave defect. The Minister should see to it that his Ministry rectify the defect of not repairing machinery immediately it breaks down. I think it is not only a waste of public money, but it is also obstructing the studies of the students. Secondly, the teaching aids and other equipment in the vocational schools are always missing. It seems that the administration of these schools is not very satisfactory. Teachers are not able to take care of this expensive equipment. This is another example of waste of public money. Thirdly, as we have so many technical and vocational institutes, we must also have a sufficient number of teachers. The teachers in these institutes have to teach their subjects through the medium of English, as many of the terms are in English. Therefore, these teachers must have a high standard of English so that they are able to communicate to the students what they teach.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, if I do not raise this matter about silver coins not being accepted by the H.D.B. staff now, then I will not have the opportunity to do so, because in the Development Estimates there is no such item. As regards the H.D.B. officers refusing to accept silver coins from these tenants, I think there is no reason why they should not. Since silver coins are issued by the Government, why should they not be accepted by the H.D.B. staff? The only reason is that these officers are either discourteous or lazy. Secondly, the complaint is on cleanliness in H.D.B. flats. As far as I know, the Government receives $10 from each unit of flats as maintenance for its cleanliness. Very often I discover that the sweepers do not do their sweeping every day. I would ask the Minister concerned to see that the sweepers do their work conscientiously. Thirdly, I wish to know where the flats will be built with this loan.”
“It is subhead 003 "Loan to Housing and Development Board".”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in moving this amendment, I wish to raise three questions. Firstly, I have received complaints from some tenants of the Housing and Development Board flats that some of the staff of the Housing and Development Board are discourteous in that when the tenants (probably they are hawkers) pay their rents, they use silver coins - either ten cents or twenty cents coins - and these coins are not accepted.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 21 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 001+. (+ The same amendment also stood in the names of Mr Ho Kah Leong and Mr Lim Soo Peng.) Mr Speaker, Sir, I understand that $50 million has been provided to expand Jurong Town. I think this expenditure is important and can benefit our country. However, I wish to ask three questions. First, for what purpose is this large sum of money intended? Secondly how many acres of land have been used for building factories in Jurong Town? Thirdly, how many applications for factories have been deferred?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I thank the Minister for his answer. I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 11 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 101. It is noted that a sum of $300,000 has been provided in the two items under the above subhead for improvements to the National Museum (Works and Buildings - $200,000) (Furniture and Equipment - $100,000), and I wish to take this opportunity to praise and thank the Minister concerned for his keen interest shown in this respect. My suggestion made last year that the names of the various categories of exhibits in the National Museum be written in four languages has been accepted and implemented. This is confirmed by my visit to the museum recently. Now, I wish to ask the Minister the following four questions: (i) What improvements will be made to the National Museum? (ii) What type of equipment will be purchased for the museum, and what is the estimated cost? (iii) What was the sum incurred in the purchase of curios last year? (iv) During the past year, how many persons visited the museum and what was the percentage of visitors who were students? Mr Speaker, Sir, may know whether the National Museum arranged for students to visit museum, because I think this increase their cultural knowledge?”
“Sir, in view of the Minister's detailed reply, I beg leave to withdraw. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The following amendment stood in the name of Madam Chan Choy Siong: (2) That the total sum to be allocated for Head 1208 be reduced by $100.”
“Sir, before I withdraw my amendment, I have two supplementary questions to raise. First, the Minister has said just now that because there was no proper liaison between certain departments certain projects could not be properly co-ordinated. This has led to undesirable incidents. 5.30 p.m. According to my understanding, both the P.U.B. and the Public Works Department are under the portfolio of the Ministry of Law and National Development. Therefore, the Ministry should have long ago taken measures to co-ordinate these departments so that such incidents would not have happened. The Minister has said that no such incidents were repeated recently, but I tell him that the same things did happen. For instance, according to what I understand, the construction work along Mac-Pherson Road has been carried on for half a year. So far it has not been completed yet. I would like the Minister to investigate why work on it has been so slow. There is another point the Minister has not answered me, and that is whether he has received any reports about malpractices by certain contractors. If so, the number of cases reported last year.”
“Work on the central circus has been delayed for one or two years, because it has been changed about in the manner I have described. I do not know if the Minister is aware of this. There is also another point. When roads in the urban areas have to be repaired, I suggest that repair work be done at night. The reason is that traffic is normally very busy during the day, especially in the city area such as South Bridge Road and Robinson Road. If road excavations are necessary in order to lay underground cables, it will be better to carry them out in the night. If they are done in the day, they will cause traffic congestion because school children have to go to school and people to their shops or offices. This heavy traffic will also cause accidents. So I would ask the Minister whether he will consider instructing the Department concerned to carry out their road repair work at night instead of in the day. Another question that I would like to ask the Minister is whether or not he has received reports of malpractice by some contractors. In my constituency I find that certain roads have pot-holes or cave-ins about six months after they were made. This shows that the foundation is not well laid. Normally there should be a solid base before the road can be metalled. So if the base is not properly laid, the surface will, of course, cave in. I ask the Minister if he is aware of reports of malpractice by certain contractors. If there are, I would like him to take measures to deal with them.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 1208 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1001*. (* The same amendment also stood in the name of Mr. Seah Mui Kok.) Mr Speaker, Sir, the Public Works Department spends a large sum of money every year on public projects usually exceeding $10 million. These projects include the building of roads, bridges, canals and other construction work. We cannot deny that the Public Works Department has made a big contribution to the development of Singapore. However, there are certain shortcomings in this Department which call for remedy. I would like to advance the following three points. First, is there duplication of work when the P.W.D. is engaged in the construction of roads? For instance, in order to widen a road, the P.W.D. will do away with the pavements along that road. After several days, it will once more construct pavements along it. There may be a divider in the middle of a dual carriage-way. After some time, this divider will be removed. The road may be turned into a one-way traffic road. 5.15 p.m. But the strange thing is that after two or three weeks the divider is again put back in the centre of the road, and once more the road becomes a dual carriage-way. This laying and dismantling and again re-laying the divider is really surprising and incomprehensible. What does all this show? It shows that the Public Works Department normally does not plan its projects in advance, and traffic congestion is the result. In the end, public funds are wasted. I hope the Minister will supervise this Department and stop duplication of work. I would like to give another example of the same manner of work done by the P.W.D. at the junction of Rochore Canal Road.”
“In July or other periods of the year, pork and chicken are sold at lower prices, whereas the prices of feed-stuffs for pigs and chickens are relatively dearer so that in the end the farmers will be selling at a loss. This will force them to borrow money from other sources. I hope the Government can render some form of assistance to the farmers to tide them over their difficulties. I would like to ask the Government whether they are giving subsidies to the farmers. In many countries farmers are subsidized. Whenever the market price is low, the Government will subsidise the farmers, or they will buy the farm products from the farmers in order to maintain market stability. I wonder whether our Government can do the same. Thirdly, I would like to ask the Minister whether the Government can help the farmers to organise co-operatives. The main function of the Primary Production Department is to help the farmers. Therefore, the staff of the Primary Production Department should devote more time to help them. I have also heard that some of the staff of the Primary Production Department do not know how to make use of their free time. I would suggest that during their free time they should go to the farms and discuss with the farmers the formation of co-operative societies so that they will not be exploited by middlemen. In this way, farmers can buy what they need at a lower price, including animal feeding stuff, and sell their produce at higher prices.”
“Sir, under this subhead, I would also like to give my views. According to statistics, the farming population is 10 per cent of the total population. Most of them stay in the rural areas. As a Member of Parliament for a rural constituency, I would like to avail myself of this opportunity to praise the con tributions our farmers have made to our country. Because of their efforts and hard work, they are able to provide us with cheap agricultural produce to meet all our needs, so that we have no need to import from abroad such commodities as chickens, eggs, and pork. These items are daily necessities. Although land is limited, the farmers, because of their hard work, are able to raise $250 million worth of agricultural produce every year. This is not a small sum. Of course, I will not deny that in this respect the Primary Production Department has done a lot to help the farmers. For instance, this Department has taught them how to use scientific methods of production, how to produce better strains of livestock, how to prevent certain livestock diseases, and how to vaccinate their livestock. All these measures have helped the farmers in their agricultural produce and animal husbandry. 4.00 p.m. However, I have received complaints from farmers in my constituency that recently the Primary Production Department has stopped its services of free chicken vaccination. I feel that this free service should not be stopped. The expenditure involved is not very much. Therefore, I would urge the Minister to continue with this service for the farmers. Secondly, the Member for Jurong has mentioned the prices of farm produce. As far as I know, prices fluctuate all the time.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“There were some complaints that about half an hour would elapse before a fire engine could reach the fire site, and when it finally arrived the building had already been razed to the ground. I hope the Minister will supervise the Fire Department and keep it efficient so that a better fire-fighting service will be provided.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 1103 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1001*. (* The same amendment also stood in the names of Mr Hwang Soo Jin and Mr Lim Soo Peng) Sir, this item is in connection with the Chief Fire Officer. There were several fires lately, particularly during the Chinese New Year period. According to statistics, there were 1,300 cases of fire last year and the loss ran to hundreds of thousands of dollars. I would like to speak on the measures the Fire Brigade can take in order to prevent any occurrence of fires and to teach the people how to prevent fires. For instance, perhaps we can set up volunteer fire-fighting teams in various parts of Singapore. If a fire were to occur in a certain area, a fire-fighting team could deal with it at the initial stage without waiting for the arrival of the Fire Brigade. In the past, there were several fire-fighting teams in various parts of Singapore, and they provided a useful service. I do not know whether they are still in existence, and if they are, whether drills and exercises are conducted for them. Sir, our island is well developed. There are many, many blocks of flats. In the past, there were kampongs with attap and plank houses which caught fire. At present, we still have kampongs with attap and plank houses. Can the Fire Brigade teach kampong folks the art of fire-fighting and get them organised into fire-fighting teams? Sir, I have also received complaints about the delayed arrival of fire engines at the scene of a fire. In future, I hope that fire engines can arrive at a fire site as fast as possible. 6.45 p.m.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in view of the Minister's satisfactory reply, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The following amendments stood in the name of Madam Chan Choy Siong - (3) That the sum to be allocated for Head 1101 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1101. (4) That the sum to be allocated for Head 1101 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1121.”
“In order to do so, we should send our players to countries like Malaysia and Indonesia and take part in international meets. At present the badminton standard of Malaysia and Indonesia is higher than that of Singapore. If we can have badminton matches with them, we can perhaps learn something from them and in this manner raise our badminton standard. May I ask the Minister whether he has any plans in this connection? Finally, can he tell us when the National Sports Stadium will be completed and what are the facilities that will be provided? I believe that this stadium with all its facilities will go a long way towards promoting sports in our country.”
“Of course, we do have coaches for basket-ball, football and volley-ball, but they are mostly amateur coaches whose knowledge and methods are too limited to be really effective. I would like to ask whether the Ministry is prepared to engage full-time national coaches for athletics and other sports, for example, badminton, volley-ball, and table-tennis, in order to raise the standard of the participants. We have achieved a high standard in swimming. Our swimmers have won awards in international competitions. I hope they will continue to maintain this record. I would like to ask the Minister whether he has any plans to develop further our potential in swimming. Also, can the Minister inform the House whether there are any plans to inculcate a sense of patriotism in our athletes and sportsmen? It is not enough for sportsmen to excel in sports. They should have a sense of patriotism so that they are prepared to work hard to attain the highest possible standard and win honour for our country. If they lack a sense of patriotism, then they will tend to take things easy. They will think that winning or losing in competition means nothing. This will nullify our efforts to raise the standard of sports. That is why I wish to know whether the Minister has any plans to inculcate a sense of patriotism and civic consciousness in our sportsmen. We should send more teams abroad to take part in tournaments. Only in this way can we hope to raise our standards. For instance, in the case of badminton, there is only one open championship tournament in Singapore a year. There are only a few occasions when our badminton players go abroad to take part in international tournaments. Thus we find it difficult to raise our badminton standard.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 1101 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1051* (*The same amendment also stood in the name of Madam Chan Choy Siong). Sir, in recent years, our sports and athletic activities have been carried out with the encouragement of our Government. And with the joint efforts of sports organisations, they have been lively. In this respect, the Sports Division under the Ministry of Social Affairs has made a good contribution. Undoubtedly, the Government has tried its best to promote sports activities. For instance, every year the Government has been holding sports festivals in order to raise the standard of our sports. What is more laudable is that the Government has allocated a large sum of money to set up a grand National Stadium at Kallang. The foundation stone was laid in January this year by the Minister for Finance. On this occasion, the Minister said that the Government had laid down its policies on defence, sports and other activities. As regards sports, the Government's policy is to encourage more and more people to take part in it. The second objective is to raise the standard of sports and athletics in order to win more international awards and prizes. When the National Stadium is completed, we will be able to organise international and regional competitions to promote sports and athletics. 5.45 p.m. Now let me talk about how to raise the standard of sports. First of all. I would like to ask whether the Sports Promotion Division is able to engage national coaches. We must engage them if we are to raise the standard of sports.”
“Sir, since the Minister has given a detailed reply, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The following amendments were not moved:”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the acting Minister for Culture has not answered my question whether the Government intends to hold a cultural festival every year so that artistes from the various races can perform at this festival.”
“What I said was completely different from what the Member has said. If he wants to give his own explanation, it is his business.”
“When I made my speech just now, did I say something about the T.V. programmes? I think the Member for Crawford was feeling a bit sleepy when I was talking.”
“Other than these, we do not have very many programmes. I am afraid the present programmes are rather empty in cultural values. I hope the Minister will be able to do something in this direction and give an opportunity to our local artistes to develop their talent.”
“They can also concentrate on their own fields, such as how to promote the standard of culture and how to give the people of Singapore a more colourful and richer cultural life. Another point is this. Very often these days, the programmes we see on T.V. are, in fact, part of our cultural activities. These programmes have not been properly organised, and the cultural workers have not been given an opportunity to develop and to create talent. They become the tools and are at the beck and call of businessmen who organise the shows. If they are not wanted, they are chucked into the rubbish bin. I am afraid these people cannot survive on stage for very long. The other point I would like to express is that many of our talented people have not been properly trained. The Ministry of Culture very often makes use of artistes and singers from abroad for their programmes, and they have been elevated to the height of heaven. Very often these foreign artistes are the main attraction of the shows, and the local people are only supporting stars. I cannot understand the logic of this. We are not doing our best to help local artistes express and develop their talents. This is contrary to what we should do to develop fully our local talent. I have suggested just now that the Ministry of Culture should set up an institute for our artistes so that they can fully develop their ability. Our T.V. producers can then make use of their high standard of ability. In this way our T.V. viewers will receive proper educational and cultural values from these programmes. Otherwise we will only hear foreign stars singing such songs as "I am not going home today," which is a popular Chinese song. Very often we see the two comedians, the fat one and the thin one, on T.V.”
“These relate to what the Ministry of Culture should do. I feel that it has for a very long time not done much. Singapore is not a cultural desert. Quite a large number of people are engaged in cultural activities and what they produce is of a high standard. But the Ministry has not established a close and proper relationship with cultural workers in improving our culture that is more in keeping with the policy of our Government. The Ministry should set up something like an Academy of Arts so that the people can engage in cultural activities. Another point is this: other than the artistes and actors who have gone abroad, many of our local talent have not been able to go abroad to further their artistic pursuits because of their financial limitations. They have to rely on self-study. I think this type of people - actors, artistes, and so on, who are quite large in numbers - can at present have an opportunity to express their talent only in a limited way in the field of culture. They do not have much scope for expression, much less achieve the complete fruition of their talents. As a result, we have lost a great number of these talented people. Take, for example, those amateurs who are engaged in the activities staged at the National Theatre. Very often they collect a few dollars' transport allowance whenever there is a rehearsal., If there is no rehearsal, they do not get any allowance for transport. They are only amateurs. Most of them have their own jobs. Their working hours are long, and they do not have an opportunity to engage in these cultural activities properly. I think the Ministry of Culture should set up something like a national institute for our artistes, so that those people engaged in cultural activities can become professionals.”
“In the hands of such people, the policy implemented is different from what is envisaged. 3.30 p.m. This is a very serious deviation. This goes to show that when certain officers implement Government policy, they do so not in the interests of the country or to meet the requirement of the age, but according to their personal whims and fancies. They totally disregard the policy of our Government. Sir, from this we can see that the Minister in charge should seriously reconsider how best to promote our cultural policy. In fact, I should say that in the Adjournment debate in this House on 5th December, 1966, I made ten proposals on the matter of promoting culture in nation building. If the Minister has the time, he can refer to my speech to see whether any use can be made of these ten suggestions. I have two suggestions to make here. First, we should organise a large-scale cultural festival every year to enable our youths to perform cultural activities for mutual emulation and study by the different races. Second, a certain professor has recently suggested the establishment of a scholarship for cultural pursuits. I think this is a very good suggestion. I wonder what the Minister thinks of it. If we can introduce this award for national cultural pursuits, then we will be able to help cultural activists to create more artistry in their songs, novels, dramas, and other fields of cultural activity. Thus they will be able to enrich the spiritual life of our people and make Singapore very much advanced in culture. I hope the Minister will consider my suggestions seriously. Madam Chan Choy Siong(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, the Member for Sembawang has raised a number of points on cultural policy. I would like to raise a few points too.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, it comes to the same thing. It is the Sin Chew Jit Poh and the date of publication is 7th December, 1966. I am quoting from page 8. I made the following points then. Ours is a multi-racial society. We must develop the traditional cultures of the various races. We do not mean to do away with Western culture or to impose the culture of one race upon the other races. Another paragraph deals with imported cultures. We should stop the import of poisonous cultures. As a newly independent Republic we should create our own culture and try to enrich it. Our culture should aim at enriching the life of our people. We should participate in and enjoy cultural activities which will help us achieve our objective of nation building. I will stop quoting here. We should pursue a healthy cultural policy to help us in nation building. The People's Action Party's policy is to promote a healthy culture. But the question is whether the officials in the Ministry of Culture, or even the Minister himself and his Parliamentary Secretary, have carried out this policy. I would like to quote from the magazine, the Singapore Monthly, published on 15th March, wherein you will find some criticism of our culture. It says that the Government has put the onus on public officers to execute the policy of promoting a healthy culture to achieve its purpose of nation building. However, public officers do not understand the full significance of our policy. What with the administrative machinery and their poor understanding of the political situation, public officers do not understand the purpose of this policy and cannot implement it. They are, therefore, behind time. How can we expect anything good out of them?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, since you have already made a ruling, I hope the Member will not make any unnecessary remarks.”
“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*. (* The same amendment also stood in the name of Madam Chan Choy Siong.) Mr Speaker, Sir, there have been a lot of cultural activities in Singapore in the past few years. More and more people have come to understand the importance of cultural activities in nation building. As I am very interested in cultural activities, I am pleased to see marked progress in this direction. I have spoken on cultural activities during the Adjournment debate in this House on two occasions. This was as long ago as 1966. I gave my views then on how to promote healthy cultural activities and foster a cultural consciousness among our people in order to help build our nation. Let me quote what I said on 5th December, 1966. It is in Hansard, Vol. 25, No. 7, col. 515. I said then that a healthy culture could imbue fine thinking in our people. On the other hand, yellow or degenerating culture could demoralise a people.”
“Sir, in view of the detailed reply given by the Minister, I beg leave to withdraw. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The time allotted for Head 0901 having expired, the following amendments were not proceeded with:”
“This shortage of technical personnel is hampering our efforts to develop our economy. If we can build up our defence forces on the lines suggested, we can perhaps reduce the sum provided for defence expenditure. In the past, in order to meet the situation brought about by the accelerated British military withdrawal, national service was implemented as a matter of course. But we have reached a saturation point in this respect. Perhaps we should introduce some changes in our national service regulations. I would like to bring another matter to the attention of the Minister for Defence. Under the present national service regulations, every citizen on reaching 21 years of age will have to report to the Kallang Manpower Base for registration. May I ask the Minister whether or not it is true that a certain number of rich men's sons have been exempted from national service? I have heard some people say that the sons of poor people have to undergo national service and that the sons of rich people can escape it. We should treat all people alike. We should perhaps make a public announcement that that is not true. Another point concerns the Immigration Department. If Mr Speaker thinks that the topic on immigration can be postponed until we come to debate it, then I will wait. But I am afraid that when the time comes, there will not be enough time to discuss it. When we were talking on education, I had many points to raise, but I had gone through only half of my questions when the Moment of interruption came.”
“However, as the Member for Sembawang has mentioned just now, as a result of national service, there is a shortage of skilled manpower and this is having an effect on our nation building. Will the Minister, therefore, introduce some changes in the regulations governing national service? National service can be introduced in the schools. The youths of Singapore should undergo national service earlier, preferably when they are still in the Primary schools. They should begin their national service training in Primary V or VI. They can receive military training and acquire knowledge of military affairs at this stage, and when they go to the Secondary schools they can then receive regular military training, including training in the handling of weapons. In this way, they will have undergone some military training and have acquired a knowledge of how to use military equipment by the time they leave school. The Member for Sembawang has also said just now that both males and females should undergo national service. If we can introduce some changes in our national service regulations according to what has been suggested, then both males and females will undergo national service at the same time. At present, there are many uniformed groups in the schools, e.g., the School Cadet Corps. These groups have done some military training and gained some knowledge of the use of military equipment. In view of this, it is not impossible to introduce some changes in our national service regulations on the lines suggested. At the same time, we can also solve the problem of the shortage of highly skilled manpower and technical personnel which has arisen as a result of national service. A great number of technical personnel have been called up for national service.”
“Madam Chan Choy Siong(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, the Member for Sembawang was very kind when he said that women should do national service and so play their part. His logic is this: if the women should survive, then the men would have no place to go to. Everybody is concerned with the question of defence. When the British Government announced its accelerated withdrawal by the end of 1971, i.e., all the British armed forces stationed in Singapore will be fully withdrawn by the end of 1971, our Government started to carry out effective schemes in advance to prepare for such a situation. 7.00 p.m. Every young man in our country will then become patriotic. He will be concerned about the welfare of the people. Our youths will have a sense of patriotism and take up military training. Within a short time we have managed to build up a strong defence force, consisting of brave and strong soldiers who will defend our country. I would like to ask the Minister whether we have plans to replace all the military personnel as well as all the military equipment which are being withdrawn by the British. In other words, can we take over the role played by the British? Our original defence planning was based on the assumption that the British armed forces would be withdrawn in 1971 or 1972. Our defence forces might be able to replace the British armed forces by that date. But as they are to be withdrawn earlier than anticipated, do we have enough trained men to fill the vacuum left by them? Can the Minister say whether we can replace the British armed forces with our own forces when they finally withdraw? Needless to say, the Government has been quite successful in its efforts to build up our armed forces.”
“Second, it is necessary for us to ensure that, in the utilisation of our resources, we will not meet with a lop-sided situation, that is, concentrating on one aspect and neglecting the other. Our female citizens should do their part in national service. All our youths have to do national service, and therefore they are hampered or restricted. Some of them cannot go for further studies. If we allow this situation to carry on, we will find that our youths, as compared to our girls, will suffer. Our women will be graduates, scholars or doctors of philosophy, and the majority of our men will be just ordinary citizens and soldiers and not distinguished professionals. Our society will be lopsided in favour of the women, and there will be no equality of the sexes. I think all Members of Parliament will not like this to happen, because if it did, then perhaps there would be more lady Members than male Members of Parliament. The purpose of nation building is to have a society where both sexes are equal. We do not like to see a reversal of the situation where they are not equal. So we should deal with this question very carefully. I think the girls will support the idea of drafting them for national service. There are many countries in the world which have done this. For example, Israel has already inducted women into national service. And we can learn from them how to induct our girls into national service. The last point that I would like to raise is this. Not very long ago we amended our immigration laws to help us deal with the question of illegal immigrants. Since then, have we had better control over illegal immigrants?”
“I realise that it is the duty of a citizen to undergo national service, but when we suffer from a severe shortage of engineers who are needed for the development of our economy and industry, we should make good use of the talent of our graduates in this field, so that they can play a greater part in contributing towards the building of our country. I think the Minister will agree with me that it is equally important to develop our industries and our economy. If we can do so without affecting national service, I would like to ask him if he will give special consideration to these engineering graduates who are called up for national service. For example, perhaps we can devise some arrangement whereby we could put them on part-time national service. I do not know what the Minister thinks about this suggestion. The second point is in regard to national service by our women. I remember during the debate on the last Budget, I asked the Minister whether the Government was considering drafting our women into national service. The Minister's reply then was that this was a very good suggestion, but because we did not have enough instructors, the plan was temporarily postponed and he would reconsider it at a later stage. But now after a lapse of about two years, I think we have a greater number of instructors. Therefore, the time has come for us to consider the implementation of national service for our women. Sir, the reasons for putting forward this suggestion are twofold. First, we believe in equality of the sexes, and, therefore, our women should also shoulder their responsibility of protecting our country. Duty and responsibility come together.”
“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 Madam Chan Choy Siong) The Defence Estimates for this year take the greatest part of our expenditure, totalling $320 million. We know that the Government provides this large sum because of practical needs. I would like to raise three questions. First, whether national service has affected highly qualified technical personnel. Second, whether the Minister is considering national service for women. Third, whether we have adequate measures to counter the entry of illegal immigrants. On the first question we know that national service has been very successful since its introduction. As a young country we have managed to achieve a great deal in respect of our defence within a short period of time. This is commendable. We know that in order to build up our defence forces, we have to adopt a strict policy on the implementation of national service. For the good of the country, this policy is beyond reproach. But as a result of the strict implementation of national service, a number of problems have arisen. For example, certain engineering students in the University have been called up for national service. This has caused a shortage of engineers in Government and statutory boards, such as the Economic Development Board, and also in some factories. Let me quote an example. There were two mechanical engineering graduates from New Zealand, one a Malaysian citizen, and the other a Singapore citizen. The Malaysian citizen was very quickly appointed by the Government. On the other hand, the Singapore citizen, who is also a mechanical engineer, was called up for national service. Is this not a show of favouritism?”