Tony Tan Keng Yam
Singapore
“One of the problems which they have in Britain is that, up to recently, they have no means to stop people coming into Britain and preaching in their mosques messages of hate, jihad and violence. Here, MUIS monitors our mosques very carefully, what is being preached at Friday prayers.”
“Sir, I am not going to enter into a debate about whether the war in Iraq is justified or not. That is another issue. But I would say, Sir, that with all the measures which have been taken over the last three years since 9/11, including the war in Afghanistan, the war in Iraq, the arrest of the Al Qaeda leaders, the detention of the JI lea…”
“Sir, we are extending the CCTV coverage in our bus stations, MRT stations and other places in Singapore where people congregate. It is a part of life now. For example, at our MRT stations, all our CCTV cameras are those where the films are recorded and we can analyse them. Surveillance is one of the effective ways of deterring terrorism.”
“The Muslim community in the UK has contributed to the healing process and has worked hard with the other communities to strengthen the moderate voice of Islam.”
“I would say again, Sir, that what we should do is when you see something which is suspicious, if you see a bag which is left unattended, report to some authority. We will look into it. We have to. And I am glad that we are getting more reports today, be vigilant.”
“It could reach here. We have to live with it. We support the war in Iraq. We believe that it is good for us to join the coalition led by the US against terror. The fight against terror is worldwide. We cannot opt out by not taking part. We are in it. We must continue whatever the difficulties.”
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Every one of 1,158 lines we hold for Tony Tan Keng Yam, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 24 of 24.
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Ministry of Education has been monitoring the demand for Tamil language classes at the secondary school level in Ang Mo Kio. As there is now a sufficient number of students, a Tamil language centre has been started at Teck Ghee Secondary School, which is one of the two secondary schools in Ang Mo Kio. Classes began on 19th February with a full-time Tamil teacher teaching altogether 136 students from the two secondary schools. CHANGI HOSPITAL (Expansion of facilities) 3. Mr Teo Chong Tee asked the Minister for Health whether his Ministry will consider setting up a Maternal and Child Health Unit at Changi Hospital to replace the Loyang Maternal and Child Health Clinic, which is not providing adequate services for residents in the Upper Changi area, besides being situated out of the way; and (b) whether his Ministry has plans to expand the general medical and surgical facilities at the Changi Hospital so as to upgrade it to a major general hospital, or build a new general hospital, to serve the fast-growing population in the eastern region of Singapore.”
“Sir, I would like to inform the hon. Member for Kampong Kembangan that the Ministry of Education does have such a policy, i.e. to see that the schools' surroundings are as safe as possible for school children. In the course of their school inspection, the Ministry's officers do take pains to see that the points which the Member for Kampong Kembangan has mentioned, for example, thorny plants, barbed wires, drains without hand rails, are corrected and that the schools' surroundings are kept in a state whereby school children will be able to conduct their activities in a safe manner.”
“Sir, the simple answer to the question raised by the Member for Punggol is yes. It is inevitable that when school fields are being repaired there will be some interruption to the ECA. However, the Ministry of Education takes pains to see that this disruption is kept to the minimum. Schools with fields which are under repair can use their halls, canteens, open areas, parade grounds for PE, minor games, indoor games and uniformed group activities. Activities involving societies, brass bands, and music can be carried on as usual. We also encourage schools to use public facilities and the facilities of neighbouring schools for major sports activities when their own fields are being repaired. However, there are certain constraints to the use of other school fields, one of them being the difficulty of transport. But within the limits of these constraints, schools are advised and encouraged to carry on as much of their ECA as possible while the fields are undergoing the necessary repairs.”
“Member for Punggol will see that there is a concrete aim to see that the education of the five-year olds is developed in a very careful way and that they will have a good preparation when they enter Primary 1. I hope that covers the points raised by the Member for Punggol.”
“Sir, I would first like to take the point on how the plan will be expanded in the next few years, assuming that things go well. The target is to have all the five-year olds entering pre-primary classes within five years, that is, by 1983. This will be done on the basis of having 25% of the five-year olds entering the pre-primary class by 1980, 50% by 1981, 75% by 1982 and 100% by 1983. The Member for Punggol has also raised the question that the teachers for the pre-primary classes should be carefully selected, thoroughly bilingual, and capable of teaching the children to the standard which is expected. I would like to assure the Member for Punggol that this is very much in the mind of the Ministry of Education. That is why the pre-primary programme has been launched with a great deal of care. The final point which the Member for Punggol has raised on the pre-primary programme is valid. He has not only touched on the pre-primary programme but he has also touched on how children should be educated during their initial years. In respect of the pre-primary programme itself, the activities are conducted in a relaxed and informal atmosphere, as it is not the intention to cram the minds of the five-year olds with a great deal of knowledge. In addition to learning languages, the children will be introduced to simple concrete activities which are related to numbers and the environment. Good social and health habits will also be inculcated into the children, while games, outdoor play, music, dance and movement, art and craft will ensure the all-round development of the five-year olds. The hon.”
“The Member for Punggol also raised the point as to whether there are the right type of teachers to handle the pre-primary classes. These teachers who are teaching the children now in the pre-primary classes have been carefully selected. They have taught the children for about 2 1/2 months now and the results of the whole pre-primary programme will be evaluated at the end of the year. I think we will then be in a better position to redefine the direction in which the pre-primary programme will take in the next few years.”
“Most of the registered kindergartens normally have a two-year programme and their curricula exposure time is perhaps 70%-30% in respect of the two languages, either English or Mandarin. In many cases, the length of the school day is only three hours. The aim of the pre-primary programme is to expose the children to learning two languages, English and Mandarin, from an early age through a bilingual curriculum of equal exposure time for the two languages. The expansion of this programme will depend upon the results which will be monitored by the Ministry of Education and it will also depend upon the direction in which the education system takes in the next few years in the light of the report which has just been released. The hon. Member for Punggol has also raised the question as to whether the Ministry is not tackling too many projects, that it has got too many eggs on its hands. I think this is to a large extent true. However, with the release of the Report on Education, I think we now have a coherent picture of how the shape of the education system in Singapore will take place over the next decade and this will give form and direction to the work of the Ministry. It will enable the Ministry to decide which are the essential programmes which must take place and which are the frills or the less necessary programmes which can be deferred. The Ministry will then be able to devote its efforts to essential programmes - programmes which are essential for the education of our children to achieve the basic objectives of bilingualism, attachment to the country, strong moral values. Therefore the number of eggs which the Ministry will have to handle in future years should be lessened.”
“Sir, the hon. Member for Punggol has raised a valid question which must be answered seriously. I would, first of all, like to put the problem in its perspective. The pre-primary programme was started this year and, as of January this year, there were 4,675 pupils enrolled in 195 pre-primary classes spread over 67 Chinese stream primary schools. This represents approximately 11% of the total number of five-year olds who could have attended these pre-primary classes. We have just received the first chapter of the Report on Education. This will mean fundamental changes in the education system in the next few years. The pre-primary programme will be considered as an integral part of the new education system. As I have remarked earlier, it is an experiment started this year. We will have to see how this experiment runs and whether the results achieved from it will match the aims with which it was launched. However, there are some fundamental differences between the pre-primary classes and the kindergartens which the Member for Punggol has mentioned. One fundamental difference is that the pre-primary classes are a part of the primary school programme. The pupils attending the pre-primary classes will proceed to Primary 1 and continue to Primary 3 in the same school. Therefore, they should be considered as part of the primary school programme except that they will form a preparatory stage to the Primary 1 stream. This is one of the differences between the pre-primary programme and the kindergartens. The pre-primary programme is a one-year programme. It gives equal exposure time to two languages, English and Mandarin, 50%-50%. The length of the school day is four hours and the pupils pay the same fees as for primary school children.”