Toh Chin Chye
Singapore
“--- And meet their friends. I do not know. How do we go about it? Supposing we have an impasse. We cannot find anyone who is willing to take on the job of the President. It is a lonely job, yes. I have no ambitions to be called "His Excellency".”
“28 also provides that if the Government is going to change the Constitution in order to modify the powers of the President, he must go and seek a mandate from the people twice (not once, but twice) - first,in a general election and win a two-thirds majority, come back to this House, change the Constitution, and then take the amendment bac…”
“The Minister has not made it quite clear what is tax avoidance, what are the examples of tax avoidance that he would like to close. The Comptroller of Income Tax no doubt has many cases on his hand. If the public, who are paying taxes, are given to know what is legitimate and what is illegitimate, then I think they would be more at ease.”
“It will be invidious for special legislation to be passed for companies that provide essential services so that Government control over them can be maintained.”
“For a whole family to lose their property just because of the act of one is unjust. It is similar to what happened during the days of the Emergency in Malaya when whole villages were resettled because a few were deemed to have collaborated with the Malayan Communist Party. It is exactly the same principle.”
“And, of course, on the HDB side, its accounts will show a deficit because it has to pay high interest, or vast amounts of money in terms of interest, back to the Government. Yesterday the Member for Rochore pointed out to this House the sum of $8.8 billion which was loaned by the Government to the HDB.”
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Every one of 563 lines we hold for Toh Chin Chye, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 12 of 12.
“What I was saying, Mr Speaker, Sir, is that the lesson, of course, is that in future, in joint organisations, we should ensure that we are not a junior partner where we hold only one-third of the shares. Because holding one-third of the shares would mean that we can be unceremoniously thrown out when the other partner so pleases. And there are many other organisations at the moment in which we are also a partner with Malaysia. But I do sincerely hope that the political separation of Singapore from Malaysia will not bring everything to its logical conclusion, and so make irreversible the separation which publicly, and to all intents and purposes, leaders of both sides of the Causeway so much regret. Finally, Mr Speaker, Sir, I would just comment on the absence of the Opposition. It is a pity indeed that they are not here. I suppose many of our Back-benchers miss the diatribes which the Opposition could have hurled at us. But certainly their absence has not in the least hindered the proceedings of this House. The Government Benchers have fulfilled their full quota of time during the debate on the Yang di-Pertuan Negara's Address. As you are aware, Mr Speaker, Sir, it is a rule in Standing Orders that each speaker is permitted so much time. I am fully convinced we have dutifully shouldered our share of responsibility. If there is any unfulfilled quota of time, then that responsibility must be borne by the Opposition. All I hope is that the Opposition will learn that second thoughts are best and that they will, at some future date, clearly enunciate their stand on the constitutional struggle for power. All that I want to say now.”
“It is a decision made at a meeting of Ministers who were present at the Alliance Council, and I have no doubt that this could be duly transmitted to the Government.”
“Who in the Commonwealth would believe that we are so anxious and concerned over the future of the Commonwealth, over the integrity and unity of the Commonwealth when problems which are much closer to us cannot be solved? Hans Crescent Hostel for students from all Commonwealth countries has made no decision to throw out students from any particular country. Therefore, it is very regrettable indeed that Malaysia Hall will now be empty of Singapore students. It is more particularly annoying, Mr Speaker, because the Singapore Government is paying one-third of the cost of running Malaysia Hall. And we are also contributing a quarter million dollars annually to the Students Unit in London. Be that as it may, it is a decision in which we have no say. We are the junior partner of Malaysia Hall, and it is a lesson to us.”
“Yes, Mr Speaker. Malaya Hall, as it was called when I was a student, had memories for me and my colleagues - the Minister of Defence, the Prime Minister and other Ministers. And it was in Malaya Hall that we first organised our student political body called "The Malayan Forum". It was in the Forum in Malaya Hall, that we first met those who today are Ministers in the Malaysian Government or are political leaders in Malaysia. Therefore, it is most unfortunate that a decision is being taken which reverses completely the process of bringing minds together. Perhaps I would say the beginnings of political thinking of independence for Malaya, and of reunification of Singapore with Malaya, also originated within the Malayan Forum, within Malaya Hall, in London. It is to our advantage, indeed - for the future generation at least, if not for us - that the students of today, students from Singapore and students from Malaysia, should have a common venue where they can meet and exchange views, study like students, and act and behave like students. After all, most of their activities at Malaysia Hall are not political. They are more social, and it will be very unfortunate indeed if a Singapore student has a girl friend from Malaya and she cannot take him to a dance in Malaysia Hall, because he would be thrown out by the jaga there who looks after Malaysia Hall. Sir, these are problems which really ought to have been taken into consideration by those who have arrived at this decision. I think it would be a better example to the rest of the Commonwealth if at least we make an effort to allow students from neighbouring Commonwealth territories to study and live together.”
“Now, it is regrettable indeed, and a big disappointment, that this also would be the fate of Singapore's students who live in Malaysia Hall.”
“It is necessary that we must not find ourselves in a situation where we keep on running on a tread mill which moves backwards, and in the end, we find that no progress has ever been made at all. I would like to make only one comment on students, and students in Singapore in particular. I believe that students all over the world have an important role to play, not just because they are part of the educational process, hut that they will in time come to man the Civil Service, man industries, and a few will become the ruling elite. In fact, my colleague the Minister for Foreign Affairs and I had the great advantage and opportunity to address students in London when we were there last October. I spoke to Singapore students and I found that they were a very keen and enthusiastic crowd. On my questioning them, they told me that they would he very happy indeed to be allowed to continue to be associated with students from Malaysia, to he allowed to use Malaysia Hall (it was Malaya Hall in the old days), and also to continue to use the services of the Students Unit in London. Some of our students were living in Malaysia Hall, some were living in Hans Crescent - a hostel - where students from all Commonwealth countries stay when they study in London. I wholeheartedly agree with them that although Singapore is now politically separated from Malaysia, at least we should not inflict upon the students, upon the younger generation, the failures of the older generation. Therefore, it is most regrettable indeed for me, Mr Speaker, to read in the Press this morning that advice will soon be given to the authorities who run Malaysia Hall to evict Singapore students too. We have suffered eviction from Malaysia.”
“I have no doubt my colleague the Minister of Defence will not only teach the volunteers or the militia the art of self-defence, but also teach them, more important than anything else, the art of how to be a citizen of Singapore. I do not believe that Singapore by just becoming independent can remain isolated from our neighbour, much less from the rest of the world. In fact, we must keep on remembering that the Causeway, which is like an umbilical cord, ties us to Malaya. It has been that way for a very long time. Singapore is still a big city in South-East Asia. Therefore, we can always expect a drift of population from the rural areas of Malaya to Singapore. This problem of urbanisation, of course, increases our problem of controlling population growth. If we were to believe in the estimates that annually about 10,000 people migrate to Singapore from Malaya, then over the course of years, in the last 10 years, we would have gained 100,000 people. All this is going to defeat the plans of the Minister for Health with his I.U.D. campaign. There are about 50,000 to 60,000 babies born in Singapore, but if all the time you are going to have such a substantial number of persons migrating to Singapore, then, of course, the Minister for Health's plans to limit the population increase by using this unique contraceptive device are going to get nowhere. Therefore, we are keeping a watchful eye on migration into Singapore. We hope at least to protect Singapore citizens by instituting measures, e.g, issuing work permits, so that Singapore citizens will not he flooded out in the process of looking for employment. This, of course, ties up with economic planning. Population control is just as important as our ability to plan for the future.”
“But in other countries which are seeking to survive too - I could mention a few, but perhaps in deference to my colleague the Minister for Foreign Affairs, I would rather not do so, because it may make his work more difficult - I would say that compulsory national service, compulsory militia service, probably would he more effective, not from the point of view perhaps of trying to teach recruits the art of handling sterling guns, tommy guns, bazookas or howitzers (I do not think that would be the primary purpose of a militia) but from another point of view, and that is this; a far more important function of such a militia would he to instill a sense of national consciousness into the recruits. It is absolutely necessary, because Singapore is an open port, an open city, to which people from all walks of life and from all races and cultures migrate, that these people must he assimilated and absorbed into a nation. That is the weakness which we find in our efforts to build a nation, and I think a compulsory militia would he an extremely effective instrument indeed on which to build our Singapore nation. We started the task in 1959 since the People's Action Party assumed power. We believe the schools are the real battleground for nation-building. But I do not think that is adequate and, in any case, the results will not be seen until after 10 to 15 years. Meanwhile, it is more urgent that able-bodied men and women too should possess a spirit of national consciousness and should he able to comprehend meaningfully the efforts of the Government in trying to build up Singapore as a viable nation and how we propose to do it. Nevertheless, it is a start in having even volunteers in the People's Defence Force.”
“So they fired thousands of arrows into these straw dummies. Chu Ker Liang was happy. He pulled out those arrows, was richer because of the ammunition he found and used the same arrows to shoot back at the enemy. I am not suggesting that the Minister of Defence should acquire his ammunition like Chu Ker Liang, but we feel safe and secure because our Minister of Defence is versed in the history of the Three Kingdoms. Only I disagree with him on his proposals to recruit only volunteers in the People's Defence Force. He admits that our regular army is a very small army - two battalions, 1,600 soldiers. In fact, when I went with my colleagues, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the State Minister for Education, to all the African countries and explained to them that we just had only 1,600 soldiers, they chuckled, "How could you be an independent country - no Army, no Navy and no Air Force?" They asked us what we were going to do. I said, "My Minister of Defence has a bright idea. He is going to recruit a militia." My disagreement with the Minister, of course, is that he is just going to recruit the militia on a voluntary basis.”
“I will only say, for our edification and education, that we in Singapore should try to read a little more of The Three Kingdoms and make sure that we are not one of the victims of absorption and conquest as the Three Kingdoms were. That is why we thought it extraordinarily important that Singapore should be a member of the United Nations Organisation. There was no such world body in the days of the Three Kingdoms. So when one territory was attacked by another territory, there was no recourse to an appeal or recourse to succour by a world body. But it is fortunate for many small countries today that there is such a body as the Security Council of the United Nations where a considerable amount of dirty linen can be washed in front of the world You have perhaps, to some extent, quite satisfactory measures which can he applied by the world body in the solution of disputes between smaller powers. It is our good fortune that we have been admitted into the United Nations organisation, because you never can tell when one of these days we may appear as a complainant before the United Nations Security Council, However, I hope that does not happen, because I believe that, like the able leaders and generals of one of the Three Kingdoms, people in Singapore will also have the resourcefulness to ensure their own survival. There is a very interesting story about a famous general in one of the Three Kingdoms. He was called Chu Ker Liang. General Chu Ker Liang was short of arrows and short of ammunition. They were using arrows in those days. He had only bows but very few arrows to shoot with. So what he did was he had dummies made of straw, put them on board some barges and sailed the barges down the river. The enemy thought Chu Ker Liang's army was attacking them.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I do not propose to go into the details of the Yang di-Pertuan Negara's Address, as my colleagues on the Government Benches have so ably brought them up during the course of this debate. I would rather try to present a general picture of the new situation in which Singapore has found itself since we separated from Malaysia. Sir, there are standard textbooks which military strategists, Ministers of Defence and aspiring political leaders read in order to improve themselves and widen their knowledge in the course of their having to administer the affairs of the country. One, of course, is the Western standard textbook by Clausewitz on The Art of War. But there is a much more interesting text-book which relates to the history of the Three Kingdoms in Chinese history. The Three Kingdoms are the Wei Kingdom, the Chu Kingdom and the Wu Kingdom. It is a history of three territories seeking to survive, each trying to preserve its integrity and sovereignty, how much political guile and strategy and resourcefulness were shown by their generals; but in the end, unfortunately, all three kingdoms disappeared. They were taken over by another power. Although I do not believe in the dictum that history repeats itself, because there are now institutions and devices which prevent history from recurring so often, I will only add that looking around us there are comparable situations in South-East Asia which are like that of the Three Kingdoms in ancient Chinese history. Mr Speaker, Sir, it is not my intention to spell out what the Three Kingdoms are in modern South-East Asian history.”
“On a point of clarification, Mr Speaker, Sir, I think the Minister mentioned in his speech just now the exchanges of diplomatic notes between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. He was referring to this exchange and the circumstances under which this protest was put forward. So I think it would he quite relevant if, in the process of explaining the events which took place after the 9th of August, matters which are relevant to the events are brought up in the speech. I would very much he obliged, Mr Speaker, if you could he a little generous in your interpretation of what should be debated on the Yang di-Pertuan Negara's Speech.”
“Mr Speaker, I beg to move, That, pursuant to Article 25 of the Constitution of the State of Singapore, the salary of the Speaker with effect from the 8th December, 1965, shall be $3,000 a month. I would like to inform the House that the Speaker has given up his legal practice and is now a full-time Speaker in the Parliament of the independent State of Singapore. We have previously indicated that when the Speaker assumes a full-time role in the House, he would be paid a full-time salary for the duties performed. I therefore accordingly move this motion. Question put, and agreed to. Resolved, That, pursuant to Article 25 of the Constitution of the State of Singapore, the salary of the Speaker with effect from the 8th December, 1965, shall be $3,000 a month. INCOME TAX ORDINANCE (Exemption)”