Teong Eng Siong
Singapore
“Sir, on a point of order. (In Mandarin) Sir, just now the Minister said that by suggesting the granting of citizenship to these people I would be inviting competition because they would then be allowed to apply for hawker licence and HDB flats. I did not say that.”
“Only two? Mr Chua Sian Chin: Two out of 35 from the Land Divisions and 18 from the Radio Division. I think that is sufficient. If the Member is not aware, may I say that we have asked the Management Services Department of the Ministry of Finance to make a recent study into the adequacy of patrol cars on patrol at any one time.”
“Very often on pay days they crowd into the post office and pack up all the space, and the small number of staff would be kept very busy. According to my understanding, the small post office there will soon be receiving payments for PUB bills for the benefit of the people there. Of course, this will be convenient to the residents there.”
“Sir,I have also noticed that roads built under the gotong royong scheme are much better than those built by the contractors. Even after several years of use, these roads are still good.”
“Sir, in view of the Parliamentary Secretary's satisfactory explanation. I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The sum of $159,839,000 for Head O ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. The sum of $1,213,685,000 for Head O ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. Head P -”
“Another problem concerns the many HDB flats in certain areas which have not been taken up after allotment and have been left vacant for a long time. There are many such vacant flats in my constituency, for instance. Marsiling (a part of the Woodlands New Town), and I believe the same is true of other housing estates. Why?”
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“Sir, the standard of our medical service has all along been maintained at a very high level. Our medical service has made a good contribution towards the health care of our people. In addition to the purchase of modern equipment and paraphernalia, the Government has also taken steps to increase and to train medical personnel to look after our sick. Today, our people are able to enjoy a healthy life and they must thank the authorities concerned for the services provided. The Ministries of Defence, Education and Health have the largest share of the budget expenditure, but it is well worth spending because it is related to the people's security, knowledge and health. However, I am perturbed by the suggestion to increase the outpatient medical charges, because it is the poor people who go to the Government clinics or hospitals for treatment. So it will have a very hard effect on the poor, because the additional charge of $2 or $3 will increase their burden. I would like to appeal to the Government not to increase the charges for outpatient treatment and Third Class Ward charges, so that the burden of the poor will not be aggravated. Sir, in the past the Community Security Force has played their role very well in the maintenance of security, peace and order in various areas, including Housing Board estates. They have contributed much to the efforts of the police and the security force. This security measure will not only train our younger people in the cultivation of a sense of security but it will also promote good relationship between the Community Security Force and the people. We hope that in future they will be able to provide a greater contribution to the security of the people.”
“In a fatal case, the compensation will be raised from $21,600 to $35,000 and in the case of a worker who is disabled permanently the compensation will be raised from $28,800 to $45,000. Sir, this is no doubt a very reasonable figure of compensation for the family of the victim. It is a clear indication of Government's concern for the welfare of the workers and their families. But what is more important is to safeguard the lives and welfare of the workers because they contribute to the progress of our national economy. In view of the increasing number of industrial accidents, the Labour Department will have to tighten its supervision over the safety of the workers and to request employers to abide by all safety regulations. The workers themselves should also be safety-conscious and play their part. With tripartite cooperation, we will then be able to reduce the number of industrial accidents to the minimum. On the Ministry of Culture, I would say that cultural and art activities are very important in the promotion of cultural development of our people. In the past year we have had quite an active programme of cultural and art activities. Considering the fact that tickets for cultural performances at the Victoria Theatre were usually sold out, we can judge the popularity of these performances, which included dramas, concerts and plays in the vernacular. All these speak well for the development of our cultural and art activities. With the concerted efforts of the Ministry of Culture, the people and the artistes concerned, we will be able to promote creative arts and cultural forms. In this way, I am confident that we will be able to instill in our people a better sense of culture and art.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the Motion of the Member for Kim Keat expressing our thanks to the President for his speech. At the close of yesterday's meeting I was speaking on Education and I would now hike to continue. In the contents of the education programme we should stress on the strengthening and inculcation of an ethical concept so as to enable our younger generation to be law-abiding. The teachers and the authorities concerned should revise the textbooks by doing away with unsuitable contents and replacing them with relevant contents which will add to the moral sense of the children. As the Addendum on the Ministry of Education deals with the publication of textbooks and other programmes, I hope my suggestion will be taken into consideration. Sir, it is pointed out in the Addendum on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that we need to cooperate with our neighbours. Our participation in ASEAN activities is beneficial to countries in this region because it contributes to the peace, prosperity and order of this region. This is in keeping with our foreign policy of making more friends and fewer enemies, and it also maintains our good relations with peoples throughout the world. In order to ensure our long term interests and survival, our people must learn to co-exist with our neighbours. In this respect, besides the official government contacts, we can also keep in touch with our neighbours through trade, commerce, culture and other exchanges in order to promote mutual interest. Sir, it is mentioned in the Addendum on the Ministry of Labour that a new Bill will be introduced to amend the Workmen's Compensation Act to increase the amount of compensation to the injured worker, and that payment will be made more speedily.”
“Changing the Education system to suit the child's ability is good as it provides him with an education that will suit his aptitude and so assures him of a better chance of getting a job after completing his primary school education.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the Motion by the Member for Kim Keat expressing our thanks to the President for his speech at the opening of this Parliament. In his speech and in the Addendum, the President has touched upon matters relating to Defence, Finance, Foreign Affairs, Education, Communications, Culture and others. He has indicated much in the Addendum to show that we want to build a more just and fair society. This policy speech forms the blueprint for our nation building. This speech is also what all citizens who are interested in our welfare and nation building should pay attention to. The Addendum on Finance touched upon the Government's decision to extend the five years' tax concession to pioneer industries to ten years in order to encourage more petrochemical industries and other industries in order to draw large sums of investment into Singapore, and also to encourage the education and training of skilled workers. Therefore, these various concessions are very good indeed. I hope this concessionary policy will be able to attract more international investments into Singapore so as to promote Singapore's economic development and bring about more employment opportunities for the people of Singapore. In the Addendum on Education, mention is made of the changes in the Education system. For instance, primary school education will be extended to seven years. Those students with good results could complete their primary education in six years, and the Primary School Leaving Examination will be a grading exercise and not a kind of examination to decide whether one has passed or not. This will be some sort of an encouragement to the primary school pupils and will arouse their interest in learning.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I wish to clarify one point. When I spoke just now, perhaps the Minister was not fast enough to grasp my point. He seemed to have misunderstood the essence of my speech, or perhaps he intentionally twisted what I said or distorted what I said. Mr Speaker, Sir, what I said was that the introduction of the new Bill would create an undesirable atmosphere in our society and would lower the standard of morals of our society. The people will take promiscuity lightly, and consequently our social and moral standards will be gradually lowered. The Minister also referred to higher figures of abortions in the European countries. It would appear that in his view it does not matter what happens to Singapore. I do not know whether it is his intention to make Singapore a second Denmark or a second Sweden. If that is the case, then it will be too bad for Singapore.”
“The Minister has pointed out that the old legislation was effective. If so, it is therefore not necessary to bring in this new Abortion Bill to this House. I would therefore like to express my opposition to the new Bill. 5.46 p.m.”
“Sir, the new Abortion Bill is a matter for grave concern, because it will lead to more serious social problems. In the past, people regarded abortion as a very serious matter and to be considered only as a last resort. The introduction of the present Abortion Bill will pave the way for more and more abortions, with the result that people will take to abortion easily. Consequently, there will be an undesirable social atmosphere and degradation of social morals. By that time unmarried women will not consider abortion as a cause for shame. Unmarried women will take to abortion as a very common matter and there will be promiscuity in our society. If we come to that stage, young girls will not take pregnancy very seriously. As the Minister has already pointed out, the concept of abortion in the minds of the people has become more enlightened. Perhaps parents will then tell their children, "Do not worry, go and get an abortion." What would become of our society then? What would become of human dignity then? Since it is our desire to build a healthy society of traditional values, we must maintain this dignity in our legislation by setting a high standard of social morals. We are a small country that is not able to accommodate any increases in population. But to control population we can have proper family planning programmes and thus promote our national economy. I am sure all hon. Members in this House will support me on this point. On the other hand, Sir, we should not liberalise abortion law in Singapore because it is harmful to our society. When the first Abortion Bill was introduced five years ago to accommodate those people who wanted abortions because of financial or health reasons, that was understandable.”
“In other words, outside these hours all vehicles can travel along bus lanes just like any other stretch of road. However, taxi drivers have been prosecuted for driving in bus lanes outside these restricted times. This shows that the police have unnecessarily interfered with the control of taxi drivers. Beyond these restricted times, taxi drivers should be allowed to use the bus lanes as well. This shows that certain officers are not familiar with the law. Another example of an abuse of the law concerns taxi drivers. We know that taxis have to be inspected every six months in order to ensure that they maintain their engines properly. However, at the headquarters of the Registry of Vehicles, we see policemen on the look-out for taxis. They invariably cause taxis to go into the ROV compound. This causes loss of earnings for the taxi drivers because they are asked to bring their taxis to the ROV for inspection before it is actually due. I would urge the Minister to look into this matter and to direct that department and the officers in that department to comply with the relevant laws and not to abuse their power. I hope the Minister would give special training to law enforcement officers and to see that they familiarise themselves with the laws before they carry out their duties. Mr Speaker, Sir, in principle, I support this Bill because it will result in a reduction of road accidents and road fatalities. But I hope that the law enforcement officers could be fair in their attitude towards the motorist, especially the professional drivers. 3.24 p.m.”
“It is not quite correct to punish them heavily by suspending their driving licences if they are awarded 12 points, because a suspension of six months' driving will amount to depriving them of their livelihood for six months. How will their families live? Who is going to support them? And in the face of inflation and economic recession these days, the Government should see that the livelihood of these people is safeguarded. The Government should not increase the pool of unemployed or cause more hardship to the people. So we should adopt a different system of awarding points for the professional drivers. Apart from serious traffic offences, other punitive measures may be taken - for example, warnings, fines or suspension of driving licences for one week. For minor offences we should not suspend their licences for six months in order to deter them from committing further offences because we should not cause hardship to their families. This Bill also provides for a ticket system. Careful consideration should be given in its implementation to ensure that it is not abused. For example, the officers concerned should be fair in their attitude. They should not be allowed to abuse their rights by causing unnecessary trouble to drivers so as to avoid disputes. Sir, civil servants in certain departments do not carry out their duties correctly. Some of them are not even familiar with the relevant laws. For example, in the case of bus lanes, these are reserved for buses during the hours from 7.30 a.m, to 9.30 a.m, and from 4.30 p.m, to 6.30 p.m, on weekdays. On Saturdays, the hours of restriction are from 7.30 a.m, to 9.30 a.m, and from 11.30 a.m, to 2.30 p.m. Outside these periods, the restriction is not enforced.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the aim of this Bill is to introduce a Points Demerit System in order to deter motorists from driving dangerously or recklessly on the road. The number of road accidents is increasing every year and the number of fatalities is also increasing. The adoption of this System against reckless motorists is timely. In the Points Demerit System, because of the awarding of points - four, five or six points depending on the nature of the traffic offence - a motorist who is found guilty of offences for which 12 or more points are awarded, will be suspended from driving. So he must not commit more than three traffic offences. Otherwise his licence will be suspended for six months. I feel that such a penalty is too drastic, especially against bus drivers, taxi drivers and lorry drivers, who depend on driving as a means of earning a living. This system is a threat to their livelihood as it may break their rice bowl. These professional drivers spend at least eight hours of driving on the road. Take the case of a taxi driver. He is quite different from the ordinary motorist. He has to spend about eight to 12 hours of driving, and working two shifts in one day. I feel that we should have a different system of awarding points for these professional drivers. We should increase the maximum number of points four-fold for the penalty of suspending their driving licences. I am not advocating that taxi and lorry drivers should be allowed to commit traffic offences. What I am pointing out is that we should be sympathetic towards taxi drivers, bus drivers and lorry drivers.”
“However, I would like to know whether he will be someone well versed in the martial arts. I suppose he is expected to be conversant with all forms of martial arts. If not, he should at least be conversant with certain forms of martial arts, so that he will be capable of exercising judgment when reviewing applications. Secondly, with regard to the registration of private martial art organisations, or institutes as they call them, I understand some of these organisations are recruiting trainees in kung-fu or some kind of pugilistic art. I would like to ask whether these martial art institutes have to be registered under the Bill before they can carry out their enrolment exercise. 4.28 p.m.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise in support of this Bill. In recent years the various forms of martial arts, such as the Chinese pugilistic art, Western boxing, wrestling, taekwondo, judo and many others have been found to be very popular with the younger generation. More and more people are learning some form of martial art. The Bill introduced by the Minister, therefore, seeks to exercise certain control over the instruction and training of the various forms of martial art, so as to ensure their proper guidance and development. The Chinese pugilistic arts have a very long history, whereas the development of martial arts in Singapore has been very active only in recent years. I remember a few years ago after a Chinese martial art organisation was formed, much assistance was given to its various members. Its members have contributed to many items of activity for our National Day celebrations and other festivals. I refer to the Singapore Federation of Pugilistic Association. Their contributions include the lion dance, the dragon dance and other performances for our various celebrations, particularly on National Day. The Bill requires instructors and members of any martial art organisation to be registered and perhaps screened so that there can be proper control over them. This is very good indeed because those people who learn the martial arts comprise all kinds of people, including dubious elements. So if by legislation we can ensure that the members of these organisations are all disciplined and law-abiding people, then it is a law that will indeed do good for Singapore. I have several suggestions to make to the Minister. The Bill provides for the appointment of a Controller of Martial Arts who will have to exercise administrative control over martial arts.”
“Yes, Sir. Of course, I could not go to all the schools. But I have been to certain schools and I myself saw such incidents. I believe that the Member for Moulmein himself is not able to go round all the schools, and yet he believes that the flag raising ceremony conducted in all the schools is proper.”
“Sir, I would like to correct what the Member for Moulmein said just now.”
“How many of the graduates have been employed? Fifth, since setting up of the Industrial Training Board, how many tutors have resigned, and why? Is it because their salary is lower than that offered in the private sector? If it is so, would the Minister consider adjusting their salaries so as to enable them to stay on? Sixth, I would like to ask the Minister whether he is aware that in various schools in the different language streams the flag raising ceremony, in which the students give their pledge, is not performed with solemnity so much so that when parents pass by such schools they feel very disappointed. Sir, in fact, this ceremony should be carried out in a serious atmosphere of solemnity and respect so that our students can be inculcated with a deep sense of loyalty and patriotism, while they are still young and impressionable. I think those are the only questions that I want to ask.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, as we all know, education is a very important link in nation building. The educational system is now being systematically and frequently changed and, as a result, the content of education is improving. This is important in our task of nation building. In recent years, the Ministry of Education has done a lot for education, such as increasing the teaching hours for technical training and consolidating the teaching of second language. All these are very good. I only like to raise a few questions about which all parents are very concerned and which they want the Minister to know. First, is the Minister aware that in the first few months after the opening of the new school year some primary school pupils were still short of textbooks? What is the reason? Is the Minister aware that these pupils who do not have textbooks would suffer a great setback in regard to their lessons? Is it not also a great loss to their parents and to education? Second, how many graduates from Nanyang University and the University of Singapore have joined the Institute of Education? And after graduation, how many will be sent to teach in middle schools? Third, has the Minister received complaints about textbooks and exercise books being too expensive? I myself have received complaints from parents that the prices of these books have increased 50 per cent or even more compared with those of last year, thus causing a greater burden to parents in the middle and lower income groups. Fourth, I would like to ask the Minister about the Industrial Training Board. Since its inception in April last year, how many students have completed their training? And after graduation have these students been recruited by the factories to do jobs for which they were trained? What was the treatment like?”
“Sir, I do not want to say anything more. I beg leave to withdraw. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Sir, I have a few more points to support a good case for an increase in the allowance, although I have already given him enough reasons for a good case. After training they have to send their uniforms to the laundry which will cost them $1.00. So this is another point to make out a good case. Is that not enough? There are some members of the Vigilante Corps who are still unemployed, and they have to get pocket allowance from their parents to attend the training. Is this still not another point for a good case?”
“Sir, I fully support the views expressed by the Member for Bukit Panjang. I also feel that the reasons given by the Minister were too simple. At the present moment, the minimum bus fare is 20 cents. There are also other factors to consider. So this allowance of 25 cents per hour is too little. I hope the Minister will reconsider this matter and give adequate allowance to the trainees so as to raise their morale in the present circumstances. The Minister may not have heard this very clearly just now. Sir, the allowance for the group leader in the Vigilante Volunteer Corps is also inadequate. The group leaders go on patrol duty in various areas to supervise the VC members. In discharging such patrol duty at specific times and at specific places, a lot of travelling in their own cars is involved. If they have to travel by taxi or by bus, it can even be more costly. If they are asked to walk, then unless they are marathon walkers it is impossible for them to do so. The present rate of allowance at 80 cents per hour for transport for these people is too little. I hope the Minister will give sympathetic consideration to this matter. It does not mean that because we must economise in the use of fuel we should overlook this matter. If they are to economise in the use of petrol, how are they going to discharge their duty? 7.00 p.m.”
“Even in certain Government departments, there are civil servants with long hair. Why is this so? I believe that apart from a minority of people with long hair who come from abroad, cinema shows also have some influence on our young people because the characters in films also sport long hair. If the heroes in these films keep long hair, our young are apt to copy them. They believe that in order to become heroes, they must imitate or copy their hair styles. Sir, in order to get rid of long hair styles vigilance should be kept up and action taken to deal with those who keep long hair. On the other hand, we should also ban those films showing long-haired heroes. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, lastly, I would like to talk about internal security and what the Ministry should do. There should be more Police Weeks to promote better relations between the Police and the public in order to achieve greater peace and order in the Republic. We should bear in mind that co-operation with the Police is part of our duty as citizens. If better relations exist between the Police and the public, there will be less opportunity for people to commit crimes.”
“They have done so for more than 10 years. At present, they are in charge of the volunteer corps in several constituencies. However, for carrying out their duties, they are paid only 80 cents per hour for their transport. This is not enough. The price of petrol has gone up. The price of premium petrol is now about $3.20, an increase of about 50 per cent over the past year. Sir, I would like the Minister to consider increasing the transport allowance for the group leaders in order to offset their loss. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, with regard to the recruitment of volunteers for the Vigilante Corps, the number of volunteers is only about 300-400. Sir, there has been a reduction in the programme of activities. In order to revive the full programme of activities, I would like the Minister to consider recruiting more members. I believe there are many dedicated citizens who would like to participate in such activities, and this is a useful means to train up our citizens to serve the society. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I have received some complaints from Vigilante Corps members that in the allocation of duties they are deployed to other constituencies. This is not good because it will increase their transport expenses and their duties will be made more difficult because they are not familiar with the environment in other constituencies. In posting these members, they should be posted to constituencies near their homes so that they can more effectively carry out their duties. Now, I would like to talk about long hair. I appreciate the efforts made by the Government to get rid of long hair. There is an Action Committee concerned with this anti-long hair movement. Although two years have passed, we can still see many people with long hair.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker. Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head NA be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead AA 1004. Sir, the Ministry of Home Affairs is a very important Ministry because it is charged with the responsibility of safeguarding our internal security, peace and the maintenance of law and order. Recently, a security corps was formed by the national servicemen to play the role of maintaining law and order. It goes without saying that the setting up of this corps is a right move. On the one hand, it helps the Police to keep law and order. On the other hand, it helps to enrich the experience of the Vigilante Corps members and to train them to be more competent in their role. However, the organisation of this Vigilante Corps is not big enough. There are only about 100 members doing patrol duty. It is not sufficient. More members should be deployed in the rural areas and the housing estates. That is why I would like the Minister to consider increasing the strength of this corps. I understand that national servicemen in the Vigilante Corps number 20,000. Sir, it is not difficult to recruit more national servicemen of the Vigilante Corps to do patrol duty. With regard to the allowance paid to members of the Vigilante Corps, I think the amount is too small. Members of this corps receive only about 25 cents per hour for their training. It is very small; 25 cents is not enough to pay for their bus fares. Sir, I would like the Minister to increase the allowance. With regard to the allowance to the group leader of the Vigilante Volunteer Corps, I would like to cite one example. In my constituency there are two group leaders. They are very dedicated to their duties as they utilise their leisure hours for this civic role.”
“Sir, I thank the Minister for his reply, and I hope that the results achieved would be excellent. I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The following amendments stood in the name of Mr Ho Kah Leong - (2) That the sum to be allocated for Head LK be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead CA 1111. (3) That the sum to be allocated for Head LK be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead EA 3001.”
“Sir, I thank the Minister for answering my questions. The officials in the Primary Production Department are working very hard. They are not sleeping. But before I withdraw my amendment, I would like the Minister to answer one more question with regard to the Fisheries Research Station in Changi. Is the Station still in the research stage? When will it be able to embark on production?”
“I would suggest to the Minister to set up a special unit in the Primary Production Department and vest it with special duties to develop foreign markets for orchids and other kinds of flowers. We may then give more attention to our small farmers who plant flowers, so that they may be cared for and not be exploited by the middlemen. Next, we must extensively develop the methods of orchid planting. Though we are short of agricultural land, we still have a certain number of farms available for the planting of orchids. This aspect of agriculture has many good points. (1) It does not lead to pollution of the air. (2) It has a beneficial contribution towards water. (3) We can earn much foreign exchange through the use of small capital investment on non-productive land and also utilising manpower to our benefit. So I hope the Minister will urge the Primary Production Department to develop this type of agriculture in order to get more foreign exchange for our country. 2.45 p.m.”
“At this time of inflation I feel that these schemes would contribute towards national savings and the development of new sources of income. We all know that orchid growing is a new industry which will also bring in a substantial income. In recent years we know that orchid cultivation is making great progress in rural areas. In our country, the history of orchid growing goes back to some 40 years. First, we must give credit to the authorities of the Botanic Gardens for their efforts on orchid growing and cultivation. Today many people have taken the cue and have since been growing orchids. Today we have many hybrids and varieties of quality orchids and we are well known for orchid cultivation. Even Hawaiian orchids are not comparable to ours now. Here the Primary Production Department has made great contributions. There is another aspect which we can be proud of. The Currency Board has chosen our orchids as the design for our currency notes. We also have a substantial amount of foreign exchange through the sale of orchids. If we can pay more attention to the development of orchid growing and a wider market, we will achieve even more. Therefore, I would like to suggest to the Minister concerned to set up an organisation to help the farmers in the marketing of orchids. According to a survey, Europeans and Americans are fond of orchids. For example, West Germany alone exports various kinds of flowers to various countries amounting to S$850 million per year. According to calculation, our total export of orchids is about US$6 to US$7 million, which is about 3 per cent of that of West Germany, which is our major market. In addition to this, there are other markets in West Europe. So we must intensively develop our export markets.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head LK be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead AA 1107*. (* The same amendment also stood in the name of Mr P. Govindaswamy.) Sir, it cannot be denied that in the past few years the Primary Production Department has made useful contributions towards the promotion of agriculture. For instance, the Department has introduced the immunisation of poultry, the introduction of fine breeds and also the teaching of modern and scientific methods of agriculture and poultry-keeping so as to benefit the farmers. However, we are faced with the basic problem, namely, the shortage of land for agriculture development. Therefore, we have to depend on import of vegetables, fish, and other foods for which we have to pay foreign exchange. Because of this, the yearly foreign exchange that we spend amounts to several hundreds of millions of dollars. Sir, in view of world-wide inflation and high prices I feel that the Primary Production Department should take up more responsibility in the provision of daily necessities so as to enable our people to buy goods at reasonable prices. In what fields can the Primary Production Department be of any service? I feel there are three aspects of work which it can do: (1) the extensive planting of certain vegetables, including potatoes and mushrooms, in some villages or in certain islands so as to lower the cost of agricultural products; (2) to develop fresh water fish breeding and deep-sea fishing so as to save some tens of million dollars on foreign exchange: and, (3) to develop a tropical fish market on a large scale in order to get a substantial amount of foreign exchange for our country.”
“(In Mandarin): Sir, the Minister has not replied to my question.”
“(In Mandarin): Sir, trees have been planted along certain roads. For instance, in Robinson Road there is a reserved bus lane specially for the buses. And there is a sidewalk which is about five feet wide with circular holes. At first, I thought they were constructing a pedestrian walk for the safety of pedestrians which should be very good. But soon I found that trees were planted in the plots of earth that were encircled for the purpose of beautifying the place. Even at Bras Basah Road, trees have been planted along the roadside. I would like to ask the Minister how many pedestrians can appreciate these trees, when they are so busy trying to leave their offices for homes. Nobody has the pleasure or time to enjoy the scenery or the beauty of the trees. So I would like the Minister to investigate into the usefulness of the trees planted by the roadside because this would endanger the safety of the pedestrians. There is no more space for the pedestrians to walk as the trees have taken up much space and buses are running along the road. We should have proper places to plant trees. We do not plant trees in the kitchen!”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I thank the Minister for his reply. Now I would like to move on to another matter, not about gotong royong. I would like to speak on this digging and re-digging of roads. I suppose I can offer some help. Perhaps the departments concerned can form a co-ordinating committee. But if there is already such a co-ordinating committee, how is it that it has not been fully effective? Perhaps the co-ordinating committee can draw up a time-table for the several services to be done at one digging, so that re-digging is not necessary.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Minister seems to express some dissatisfaction over gotong royong projects. I can tell him that in the Sembawang constituency there are about 10 roads which have been repaired on the basis of gotong royong. We have a lot of people participating in this voluntary gotong royong project. These gotong royong roads are of a much higher standard than those undertaken by private contractors. They last longer. I believe that our rural MPs also took part in this gotong royong project. As this project was carried out during the school days, students from the University of Singapore, Nanyang University and the Singapore Polytechnic also took part in this gotong royong project, although they do not live in my constituency. So I hope the Minister will encourage more gotong royong projects to save at least half the cost.”
“Sir, I am certainly aware that the Member for Serangoon Gardens is living in my constituency. He should also appreciate that he lives in a private housing estate and roads in private housing estates, I think, are the responsibility of the house-owners themselves. Should there be any need for repairs, the house-owners should collectively be responsible for the cost of such repairs. He cannot expect the Government to pay out of public funds to repair a private road in a private housing estate, which is a luxurious one.”
“Sir, I agree fully with the Member for Jurong that construction work in the rural areas should be taken care of by the Government. More funds should be provided for construction work in the rural areas. I am pleased to note that there is an increase in the allocation of funds for road construction in the rural areas. Although the amount increased is not very substantial, it shows that the Government is looking after the interests of the people in the rural areas. With this meagre sum of money it is difficult to carry out work effectively. I would suggest to the Minister that more construction work should be carried out by the national service boys in the spirit of gotong royong, so that the local residents can also participate in it. As the cost of labour is rising and also the prices tendered by the contractors have gone up, we should encourage the local residents and the national servicemen to participate in construction work, in the gotong royong style, so that we can save labour costs.”
“Sir, the Minister for National Development said just now that he does not agree to the construction of flatted pig farms for renting purposes. He also said that the next thing I would ask is to get the Primary Production Department to rear pigs for the farmers. This is not my intention at all. But if it is the intention of the Minister to get the Primary Production Department to rear pigs, I think it will be most welcome. Although I appreciate that water pollution comes under the portfolio of the Ministry of the Environment, I think the present problem is a policy for the Government to implement. If we have modern flatted pig farms made available to small farmers on a renting basis, it will help a great deal in reducing water pollution. Irrespective of which Ministry is responsible for water pollution, the ultimate result is the same. With these flatted farms we can cut down water pollution, and that is the Government's intention. So this is a plan to be welcomed. In any case, I urge the Minister concerned to reconsider this matter. If it cannot be done at the present stage, perhaps he can consider it at the second or third stage so that when this plan is implemented we will be able to have flatted farms available for small farmers.”
“Fourthly, the Member for Jurong said that in drafting such a project, the Primary Production Department seems to look after the interests of the big farmers because they are able to put in $1 million or $2 million capital, but for the small farmers even $10,000 is quite beyond their means. Sir, letting out such pig farms to the small farmers will get rid of the monopoly of the big farmers so that more and more pig farmers can take part in pig farming. Mr Speaker, Sir, if the Minister could accept such suggestions, namely, that the Primary Production Department builds pig farms and then sell or rent them out to farmers, I believe the small farmers in the rural areas will be grateful.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I agree with the Members for Bukit Panjang and Jurong when they said that the Primary Production Department should build small pig farms for letting out to small scale farmers so as to enable them to carry out pig farming. There are reasons for such a move. Firstly, this will help small farmers to alleviate their economic difficulties. At present, pig farmers in the rural areas, for example, Sembawang and Jurong, Bukit Panjang, and Nee Soon, are faced with the same difficulties. In order to comply with the regulations of the Ministry of the Environment, in other words they should not pollute the water resources, they must construct a drain round the pig farms to ensure that there is proper drainage of the filthy water. But it costs a few thousand dollars to build such a sewage system. This is quite beyond the means of the small farmers. Secondly, the building of pig farms will increase pig production. We know that because of the high cost of animal feed, small farmers were not able to carry on with pig farming, and hence there was a shortage in the supply of pigs. The result was that pig prices went up by 300 per cent from $50 to $220 per picul. This will increase the burden on the consumers. So long as the Primary Production Department could let out the pig farms at low rentals to the small farmers, and buy animal feed in bulk and sell it to the farmers there will be a reduction in prices of animal feed. Thus, there will be a balance between the supply and demand of pigs to bring down prices of pork. Thirdly, to prevent pollution in the farming areas where there are modern pig farms and facilities, the pig farmers can be grouped together in a collective farm so that the problem of pollution will not arise.”
“Sir, I would like to talk on something about creches. I agree with the Member for Jurong that in industrial estates there should be more creches to cater for the needs of the working mothers so as to encourage them to work in factories. I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the Ministry of Social Affairs for the wonderful scheme in setting up creches in Singapore. On the 16th of this month I was invited to the opening ceremony of a new creche in Kallang Bahru. I found that the place was very spacious, occupying about 10,000 sq, ft. The facilities were very good and the staff were polite. They are bound to look after the children very well. Therefore, parents can be rest assured when they entrust their children to such staff. My point is that more creches should be built in the various areas, for example, in Sembawang. Very soon, Sembawang will be developed into an industrial area and I hope the Minister will remember to build a creche there. There should at least be a provision to build a creche in Sembawang.”
“Sir, I thank the Minister and the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for their replies, and I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head KB be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead AA 1107*. (* The same amendment also stood in the names of Haji Mohd. Ariff and Mr P. Govindaswamy.) Sir, it cannot be denied that the Social Welfare Department has done a great deal in looking after the under-privileged and the unfortunate people in Singapore. The Social Welfare Department has given care and comfort to the poor and the sick in Singapore. It has always been the policy of the Singapore Government to look after the poor people. But at the moment because of the rising cost of living resulting from spiralling inflation, many people are suffering in Singapore because of the high cost of daily necessities such as rice, food, sugar and other items. In addition, the costs of other items such as rent, water and electricity have also gone up. So, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, judging from the present situation, I am afraid that the present public assistance granted to the poor people is inadequate. The meagre sum granted under the public assistance scheme is too little for the livelihood of the poor family. May I therefore request the Minister to reconsider revising the rates of public assistance so that the poor people on public assistance can be better looked after, in the face of the rising cost of living? Secondly, I would like to ask the Minister to answer this question: how much has been granted by way of public assistance to the needy people in Singapore? Thirdly, I would like to ask the Minister whether there is any plan or scheme to set up a home for the handicapped children?”
“Sir, I would like the Minister for Culture to tell us whether his consumer co-operative is registered or not.”
“Sir, I agree with the Member for Jurong that the Registry of Co-operative Societies should not concern itself only with the registration of co-operatives and administrative procedures. It should launch campaigns to inculcate in the people the importance of having a co-operative movement to counter the rampant inflation. I would like the Minister to launch a campaign on consumer co-operatives in conjunction with the community centres. I believe that the consumer co-operative society in Queenstown has done splendidly. I have on one occasion been to this co-operative society. I saw people queuing up to buy the daily necessities, and I believe this co-operative society has made a lot of money. This money should be refunded to the members of the co-operative society.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in view of the factor, I beg leave to withdraw amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Of course, we cannot blame the People's Association. The actual crux of the problem lies in the shortage of funds. Even a very skilful housewife cannot cook without rice. There are several kinds of classes, such as sewing and cooking, run by the community centre. These are very beneficial to rural womenfolk. These classes provide them with the necessary skills. However, in recent years, the number of these classes has dwindled. Some have closed down. Why is this so? It is not because instructors cannot be recruited. It is because the allowances for the instructors are too small, and they have resigned to seek better jobs. In these circumstances, we must adopt some measures to improve the situation. I hope the Minister in charge will give more funds to rural community centres so that the rural folks can get more benefit out of rural community services. I would also like to raise a question about cultural recreation in my constituency. Recently there was a cultural show full of rich items, and it appreciated by the people. On this, I would like to congratulate the Minister for having done much towards the motion of a healthy cultural recreation. But there is also a shortage of funds to stage such cultural shows. Therefore, I hope the Minister will pay attention to this matter and will not stop promoting such meaningful activities because of the shortage of funds. 3.45 p.m.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head JA be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead AA 3002. Sir, this vote is for the use of rural community centres. The amount to be allocated amounts to $40,000. It is really an insignificant sum compared with $130,000 for the previous year. There is a decrease of 225 per cent. I doubt this meagre $40,000 can meet the expenditure required for the 50-odd rural community centres. I am afraid it is not enough to buy one table-tennis table for each community centre. The idea of community centres is to create activity for the benefit of the community in the respective localities. We should therefore provide them with more funds so as to be able to give the people more guidance and activities such as conducting more educational classes to satisfy their needs. As we all know, the level of income of the people in the rural areas is generally low. So we cannot expect much from them by way of giving financial help to the running of rural community centres. Therefore, if these community centres cannot carry out more activities, then the Minister for Finance should consider giving more financial aid to assist them. I believe the community centre in the Minister's constituency is a suburban one. So he should agree with what I am saying here. In actual fact, the facilities in the rural community centres are dilapidated. For instance, the sewing machines are a decade old, and when in use the machines can be heard to grind and vibrate. The basket-ball courts are full of pot-holes and the ground is so uneven that the players can easily hurt themselves. In my constituency, the community centre has applied for financial assistance for the last three years. No reply has been given, and therefore no actual aid can be expected.”
“Sir, the reply given by the Minister for Culture is exactly the same as that given last year. He is harping on the same tune.”
“The people in this business know what sort of films are good box office draws, and therefore they know what to bring to make good money. As to forcing film producers to change their policy, I do not think that is possible. The Member for Sembawang said that our potential audience of two million people would be sufficient to make film-producing a very profitable venture. I do not think that it is that profitable because film companies, especially those in Hollywood, will not make films just for two million people in Singapore. They will make films to suit a world-wide audience. So we either have them or not at all. That is about the true picture of film production.”
“We must encourage a more healthy type of films to be screened in Singapore to give our people a better form of entertainment. The Minister may say that as a lot of films are imported from overseas, it is beyond our control, and that if a more stringent standard is applied on such importation, then we would have no film shows at all. I beg to differ on this count because it is the business of film producers to make money. If film producers overseas can understand our policy, then they will be encouraged to change their policy so that they will produce the kind of films that we want. Our film-viewing population consists of two million people and this is a highly profitable market which should be an attraction to overseas film producers. Mr Jek Yeun Thong: Sir, I fully agree with the Member for Sembawang that films, such as films on violence, have a very strong influence on the young people. The Government has, therefore, always taken a serious view of screening films on violence and we have always been very strict in censoring such films. In fact, films that glorify violence or brutality are not allowed for exhibition in the Republic and those that contain violent and brutal scenes are appropriately censored before they are passed for public exhibition. We will not hestitate to tighten our censorship on films on violence. In fact, in 1973 we had to ban about 70 such films which glorify violence and gangsterism, and most of them were imported from Hong Kong or Taiwan. As to the other category of films, I do not think we can accept the Member for Sembawang's suggestion because if we were to allow only a certain type of films to be shown and not others, then I do not think we will have any films to show in our cinemas. In any case I do not run a cinema.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head JA be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead FA 1111. Sir, it cannot be denied that film shows have become an indispensable form of entertainment for the people of Singapore. The cinema halls are always packed to capacity. This is an indication that our people like to see film shows. Therefore, the content of film shows do have a great impact and influence on our people. Over the past few years the films screened in our cinema halls were of questionable character. We all know that most of the films screened in the cinema halls are shows of violence, sex and of low taste. Good film shows are few and far between. The content of the shows is more or less the same. We take, for example, the films on violence. There is violent action from beginning to end, until all the characters are dead. It is a story of killing, and that has no educational value at all. On the other hand, we have the farcical shows which we cannot make head or tail of them. In the case of film on sex, there is nothing but sex. These films have undesirable effects on the young people of Singapore, especially when we are desirous of building a rugged and healthy society. It cannot be doubted that we all need good and educational films. The content of such films must be able to inspire people into good thinking. It must be able to encourage people to love labour and to improve themselves. Such films must be able to inculcate the feeling of patriotism, national consciousness, and how to conduct oneself as a man. These are the kinds of film shows that we want to have in Singapore. Sir, I would like to urge the Minister to apply a more stringent standard on film censorship.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in view of the fact that the Minister is absent and I have something to discuss with him, I do not know what to do. Perhaps when he comes in, I may raise my question. But for now, I want to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”