Wee Toon Boon
Singapore
“Under the present provision, a medical officer is required to appear in Court for the purpose of giving evidence to prove that a particular mosquito or insect is, in fact, a disease-bearing insect.”
“The Bill provides, inter alia, for the appointment of a Licensing Officer and Assistant Licensing Officers, the manner of the application for the licence, the duration of the licence and the inspection of creche premises. In addition, it empowers the Minister to make regulations to carry out the purposes and provisions of the Act.”
“The time limit during which legal proceedings may be instituted in respect of offences has also been extended from the original 28 days to 56 days from the time of purchasing a sample of the article or food or appliance.”
“However exalted a soldier may consider his civilian occupation and standing, he is not outside the scope of military discipline once he is in uniform. The strong measures introduced in the Bill will deal appropriately with those predisposed to insolence, indifference and indiscipline which must not and cannot be tolerated.”
“Planning for the project will also take note of future development; that is to say, there will be one additional continuity studio for news service and one additional music and general purpose studio.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the fact is this. Everyone has agreed that we should develop and promote healthy culture so that our people and the younger generation can be properly brought up. In the past, because of our political struggle and other circumstances, the development of culture was neglected.”
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“To provide for more effective control of food handlers in food establishments and at food stalls, the Act requires amendment to permit ticketing of offenders. Inadequate capacity, inept operation, poor maintenance and consequent breakdown of air-conditioning plants in places frequented by the public such as hotels, cinemas, offices, shopping complexes and restaurants pose a public health problem. The Commissioner of Public Health should, therefore, be empowered to require owners, occupiers or licensees of such buildings to take necessary measures to ensure that the air-conditioning system is functioning properly. The definition of "public health auxiliary" requires amendment consequential to the redesignation of the post of Public Health Assistants which is now titled Assistant Public Health Inspectors. It is also proposed to delete repetitions of the definition of "public health officer" in several sections of the Act and to insert a single definition in section 2 of the Act which will apply throughout the Act. Sir, I beg to move. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Mr Wee Toon Boon]. Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. NEWSPAPER AND PRINTING PRESSES BILL Order for Second Reading read. 2.51 p.m.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." The Ministry of the Environment is now responsible for administering the Environmental Public Health Act (Cap. 155). Prior to the setting up of this Ministry, the Act was administered by the Ministry of Health, and the Commissioner of Public Health was responsible for its administration subject to the supervision of the Public Health Authority established under section 3 of the Act. The Public Health Authority comprises the Director of Medical Services and the Deputy Director of Medical Services of the Public Health Division, Ministry of Health. Both these offices are no longer directly concerned with the administration of the Act. It is, therefore, necessary to delete all references to "the Authority" in the Act and for the Commissioner of Public Health to be responsible for the administration of the Act subject to the directions of the Minister for the Environment. The opportunity is also taken to make other amendments to the Act which have become necessary. Our policy is to resite street hawkers into premises including eating establishments. The powers of the Commissioner should be extended to the control of hawkers within these establishments, i.e, hawkers and stalls in coffee shops including those in HDB estates will he licensed directly. Provision is also made for ticketing of unlicensed stallholders and seizure of stalls, appliances and goods belonging to unlicensed stall-holders in the eating establishments. The present definition of "premises" in the Act requires amendment to enable prosecution of unlicensed hawkers of any goods, including food and drinks, who operate in public places like parks and car parks.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in the last part of my answer, I have clearly stated that they are either resited temporarily on an alternative site or moved into another hawker centre if there is vacancy.”
“Under the present provision, a medical officer is required to appear in Court for the purpose of giving evidence to prove that a particular mosquito or insect is, in fact, a disease-bearing insect. In order to eliminate this time-consuming procedure, a provision is made in the Bill whereby reports signed by any Medical Officer of Health, Government Entomologist or Public Health Engineer concerning any matter or thing submitted for examination, analysis or report are admissible in Court as constituting prima facie evidence. The other minor amendments to the Bill serve to specify and define more explicitly the existing powers of the Act. Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. -[Mr Wee Toon Boon]. Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. SINGAPORE SPORTS COUNCIL BILL Order for Second Reading read. 5.26 p.m.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Sir, the Bill before the House is based on the existing Destruction of Disease-Bearing Insects Act (Chapter 152, 1970 Edition). Consequent to the difficulties and problems encountered in the application and administration of the Act during the last two years, the need has arisen to amplify the Act to ensure better control of disease-bearing insects through more effective enforcement action. One major problem encountered relates to difficulties in obtaining the names, addresses, proof of identity and other relevant particulars of occupiers and owners of premises. This defect has hindered the issue of orders and summonses considerably. Specific powers are now included in the Bill to facilitate officers to obtain such information of any offender or suspect and to arrest such person without warrant if he declines to supply the required particulars. A device of "ticketing" is to be introduced in respect of offences committed under the Act to empower officers to serve on offenders notices to attend at the Court described, at a specified date and time, so that the Court may take cognizance of the offences. The purpose of this provision is to enable more expeditious and effective enforcement of the Act. A presumption clause has now been introduced which will have the effect of fixing on the owner or occupier the responsibility for any premises conducive to the propagation of disease-bearing insects, unless the contrary is proved. The term "disease-bearing insect" is now re-defined to include every specie of mosquitoes and house flies. This enables many potential insect vectors to come under control and prevention.”
“The Bill provides, inter alia, for the appointment of a Licensing Officer and Assistant Licensing Officers, the manner of the application for the licence, the duration of the licence and the inspection of creche premises. In addition, it empowers the Minister to make regulations to carry out the purposes and provisions of the Act. In view of the increasing number of creches being established or to he established and to protect the interests of the young children who will be sent to such creches, there is a pressing need to enact this legislation in order to license, control and supervise establishment of creches on the one hand, and to provide some guidelines for creche operators to follow by, on the other. Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move. Question proposed. 3.19 p.m.”
“It is also necessary to ensure that the public is not exploited by creche operators through the inadequacies or neglect on the part of the operators or through the collection of excessively high fees. On the other hand, laying down the standards and rules for establishment and operation of a creche will facilitate and help the private sector or any individual to plan and operate any proposed creche establishment. In view of these reasons, my Ministry has proposed the enactment of this legislation. The views of concerned Government Departments, including the Ministries of Health, Education and Labour, the Public Works Department and the Singapore Fire Brigade, have been sought and incorporated in the Bill. All the authorities concerned have supported the proposal to introduce this Creche Establishments Bill and have agreed to liaise on matters pertaining to their respective areas of work. Their suggestions and requirements have been given careful consideration and, as far as possible, included in the Bill. It is intended that the Department of Social Welfare be the administrative authority for this legislation and its rules and regulations. Members will note that under the Bill a "creche" is defined as: "any premises where children under the age of six years are received, whether for reward or not, to be looked after during the whole or part of the day or night but does not include nursing homes and maternity homes as defined in the Nursing Homes and Maternity Homes Registration Act and preschool institutions registered with the Ministry of Education". A main provision in the Bill is to make it an offence for any person to operate a creche without a licence, thus disallowing any sub-standard and improper creches to be established.”
“With the trend towards smaller family units living in compact high-rise flats where other members of their extended family are not so readily available to render them any assistance, those families in which both the husband and wife have to be away from their homes to work elsewhere in the day will have to rely more and more on child-care services from outside the home. It is therefore likely that there will be a proliferation of private creches being established, particularly in private housing estates, to meet the needs and convenience of working couples. Although there are concrete plans to establish more Government creches, the policy is to encourage and help the private sector, especially the industrial organisations, to set up creches in their premises so as to reduce the high turnover in their female labour force and to induce more married women to take up employment in their factories. In fact, one leading industrial firm has already approached the Social Welfare Department for advice and assistance to set up a creche in its premises for children of its female employees. In view of the expected increase in the number of private creches, there should be some means of controlling and supervising these creches. At present, there is no Government authority responsible for the licensing, control and supervision of private creches, nor is there any legislation on the matter. It is therefore essential that appropriate legislation be introduced as soon as possible, setting out appropriate standards for the establishment and operation of creches, to ensure that the interests of the children attending these creches are adequately safeguarded.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in answer to the point raised by the Member for River Valley, of course, all these analyses or tests will be referred to the Chemistry Department or the Bacteriology Department. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the the Bill. - [Mr Wee Toon Boon]. Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. CRECHE ESTABLISHMENTS BILL Order for Second Reading read. 3.11 p.m. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Social Affairs (Mr Chan Chee Seng) (for the Minister for Social Affairs): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." The Creche Establishments Bill was introduced in Parliament on 16th February, 1973. This Bill, now before the House, seeks to provide for the licensing, control and supervision of creches so as to ensure that the education, health, safety and welfare of young children who are sent to such creches are adequately taken care of. Recent enquiries made by the Social Welfare Department revealed that a number of private creches are operating in residential areas. A few of these creches offer day-care service for preschool children, and in addition some of them offer residential care for infants and young children. Some of these private creches are operated by untrained or unqualified staff. Most of these creches charge considerably high fees for their service. The demand for day-care facilities for children is expected to increase in view of: (a) greater job opportunities for women, arising from rapid industrialisation and economic expansion, and (b) the shortage of "baby amahs".”
“The time limit during which legal proceedings may be instituted in respect of offences has also been extended from the original 28 days to 56 days from the time of purchasing a sample of the article or food or appliance. This is to provide sufficient time for a detailed analysis to be carried out, as the standard of food technology has now advanced to a stage which allows more complex methods of analysis to be performed. The other provisions are, in the main, similar to those in the existing Act. Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move. Question proposed.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." The Bill before the House is based on the existing Sale of Food and Drugs Act which was enacted in 1955. Major changes are, however, made in the new Bill to meet with changing circumstances and to provide for more effective control over the sale and preparation of food. The new Bill provides measures to ensure the quality and purity of food. It seeks to prohibit the sale or other disposition or the use of articles dangerous or injurious to health. It also seeks to prevent deception and fraud arising out of the sale of food. A complementary Bill, to be known as The Food Handlers' Regulations, is being drafted. Its main purpose is to exercise control over all persons involved in the sale or preparation of food. The Sale of Food Bill and The Food Handlers' Regulations will between them ensure that the required standards of health and hygiene are maintained. Control over advertisements relating to food and appliances connected with food has been extended to include printed or broadcast advertisements to prevent misleading of the public. There was no such provision in the existing Act, which controlled only labelling statements on packaged food. The Act also provides control over appliances connected with food. There have been instances in the past in which food appliances of an insanitary or dangerous nature have been sold or used, but as control of such appliances was not covered in the existing Act, the prohibition of their use or sale could not be enforced. A further inclusion in the new Act provides for the definition of "analysis" of food to include micro-biological assay. The previous definition permitted only chemical analysis.”
“Sir, with regard to the observations made by the Member for Jalan Kayu, procedures have, in fact, been laid down for any national serviceman to raise any grievances through the proper channels. All national servicemen have been acquainted with these procedures, and I believe that many of them are fully aware of them. However, special classes have been conducted for this purpose and, of course, if need be, arrangements can be made to publicise these procedures. However, the Member's suggestion will be looked into, and proper measures will be taken to implement them. With regard to the comments made by the Members for Bukit Panjang and Punggol who have expressed their support of the Bill, may I say that it is due to the deficiencies in the present law that it has become necessary to introduce this Bill in order that adequate punishment can be meted out to those who are disinclined to discipline. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committee to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill.-[Mr Wee Toon Boon]. Bill considered in Committee: reported without amendment: read a Third time and passed. NGEE ANN KONGSI (INCORPORATION) (AMENDMENT) BILL Order for Second Reading read. 4.55 p.m.”
“However exalted a soldier may consider his civilian occupation and standing, he is not outside the scope of military discipline once he is in uniform. The strong measures introduced in the Bill will deal appropriately with those predisposed to insolence, indifference and indiscipline which must not and cannot be tolerated. Discipline and order are sacrosanct in any army, and an army devoid of these qualities will not be able to serve the nation well and truly. Before I conclude, I must point out that through this Bill an amendment is also made to the Finance Act to provide for a new definition of "payroll". Hon. Members will see from what I have said so far that in concept and design the Bill is nothing more than an attempt to make good glaring deficiencies in the existing law and to encompass within the framework of one enactment the subject of military discipline in all its manifestations. Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, Question proposed. 4.37 p.m.”
“Indeed an employer can, if he so wishes, dismiss such reservist from his employment at any time prior to the completion of such additional reserve service. Hon. Members may look askance at these measures now introduced by the Bill as they are undoubtedly a departure from what may be considered to be accepted norms. But good and potent reasons exist to introduce these measures if our Army is not to degenerate into a rabble of indiscipline soldiers. There have been a number of incidents which do not credit the Singapore Armed Forces and which, if not curbed or deterred, can bring the Singapore Armed Forces into disrepute. One of a number of incidents that have taken place will convince hon. Members of the absolute necessity to adopt the strong measures proposed in the Bill. A number of reservist service officers were called up to attend a conversion course sometime in November last year. From the very start, these officers continuously carried out their training in an unwilling manner. Towards the end of the exercise, however, the reservists took it upon themselves to walk off from the exercise, without the permission of the instructors. They also hailed two lorries to transport them back to the Singapore Armed Forces Training Institute leaving their tools and equipment behind in the training area. Because of this, these officers had their training extended for one week, and this had a salutary effect as they showed that they were capable of carrying out their tasks as required of them. This particular incident is one which would call for the most severe form of punishment possible. Clearly, therefore, more stringent laws are necessary to deal with such situations.”
“This is necessary in a rapidly expanding force, many of whose units are commanded by young and inexperienced officers. Other important aspects of the Bill are the powers to set up Boards of Inquiry where there is a matter relating to the Singapore Armed Forces which would be desirable to investigate into; the emergency powers in clauses 191 and 192 which can be brought into operation only if the President so declares for securing the public safety or the defence of the Republic; reduction in rank for inefficiency of a member of the Singapore Armed Forces; and, last but not least, channels by which servicemen who are wronged in any matter may lodge complaints to seek a redress. The amendments to the Enlistment Act effected through the Singapore Armed Forces Bill would enable an employer to recover from Government any amount that he has paid as makeup pay to a reservist or a person who is mobilised, by deductions from pay-roll tax, if the reservist is self-employed, he can claim make-up pay from monies to be provided by Parliament. However, if a reservist is convicted of a specified offence involving a breach of discipline and the court is satisfied on the evidence that the reservist has shown himself to be not responsive to discipline, the court may punish him under clause 114 (14) of the Bill by requiring him to serve a further period of service not exceeding 12 months. The reservist, if working under a contract of employ-merit, would be entitled to receive make-up pay from his employer during the further period of service, but the employer cannot deduct this from payroll tax. An employer would not be obliged to reinstate such a reservist in his civilian employment.”
“The Military Court of Appeal established by this Bill is, therefore, an important innovation; it can hear and determine appeals against decisions made by the subordinate military courts. There is, however, no appeal from the Military Court of Appeal whose powers are analogous to those of the Court of Criminal Appeal. The President of the Court shall either be a Judge of the High Court or a person qualified to be such. There are four other members, two of whom are to be legally qualified persons of at least five years' standing. The other two members will be officers of the Singapore Armed Forces of or above the rank of Captain. The punishment which subordinate military courts can impose range from death to minor punishment. For non-military offences, a subordinate military court can impose the same punishment as a civil court. A new punishment, however, deserves mention. Subordinate military courts can, for certain offences, require a reservist to serve for a further period of service not exceeding 12 months. Provision is also made for the suspension of sentences and for the grant of a pardon by the President for an offender. Another salient feature of the Bill is the enlargement of the powers of search and investigation. Hitherto, under the Singapore Army Act, investigations have been done by officers appointed by the Commanding Officer and military policemen had powers to investigate only with the permission of the Commanding Officer. This Bill, however, removes the restrictions placed on the powers of investigation and search. There will be two categories of investigating officers: investigating officers authorised by a senior disciplinary officer or a superior commander to investigate specific offences and Military Policemen who may investigate all offences.”
“I shall now discuss the system of military courts, including the Military Court of Appeal, introduced by this Bill. Under the present set-up there are three types of courts-martial, namely, general courts-martial, district courts-martial and field-general courts-martial. Officers can only be tried by general courts-martial and field-general courts-martial while other personnel can be tried by all three types of courts-martial. Further, whilst general courts-martial and field-general courts-martial can award death or any lesser punishment, the most severe punishment that district courts-martial can award, however, is two years' imprisonment. There is, as hon. Members will appreciate, no reason to have three types of courts-martial when two can serve the purpose just as well. We can do away with district courts-martial and have, instead, one court, that is, the general courts-martial to deal with all personnel irrespective of rank. This Bill, therefore, simplifies the military court system. The subordinate military courts shall consist of two types of courts-martial, namely, general courts-martial and the field-general courts-martial, both of which can deal with all servicemen irrespective of rank. However, a field-general courts-martial will only be convened when a unit of the Singapore Armed Forces to which the offender belongs is on active service. Each of these courts shall consist of not less than three officers. The Bill establishes for the first time a Military Court of Appeal. No such court exists now and the only remedy that the aggrieved party has in such circumstances is to petition to the confirming authority against the findings and sentence.”
“Let us take a national serviceman NCO who is due to be released from national service in three days' time. He commits an offence which deserves something more than the punishment of a reprimand. Under the present law, detention of NCOs can only be awarded by a court-martial. The NCO in this case will have to be held back from release until a court-martial is held and he has served his punishment. Under the Bill, however, since detention can be given to NCOs by the Commanding Officers, such cases can be quickly dealt with by the Commanding Officer himself. Further, the increase in punishment will also allow more cases to be disposed of at unit level. It must not, however, be assumed that the offender has no safeguard. If in any case he feels that he is being wrongly punished and the punishment that the disciplinary officer is going to award is something more than a reprimand, he can elect to be tried by a subordinate military court. To ensure that errors by disciplinary officers in dealing with cases are corrected and that any abuse of powers is checked, the Armed Forces Council has been given the power of review to enable it to quash the findings and sentences 0 disciplinary officers and to substitute new findings and sentences. For the information of hon. Members, I must point out that there is no such system of review under the Singapore Army Act. However, the power of review under section 115 of the British Army Act has been made use of. It is of interest to note, however, that the Armed Forces Council in reviewing a case can only award a lesser form of punishment. It cannot enhance the punishment already awarded. An enhanced punishment can only be awarded by a Military Court of Appeal.”
“This Bill does away with all these restrictions and allows senior disciplinary officers to award detentions of 40 days even to NCOs. The Bill also allows the superior commander to award detention to warrant officers, which he could not do under the Singapore Army Act, the most severe punishment under which being just a forfeiture of seniority of rank. There are very good reasons for increasing the power of punishment of disciplinary officers. From what I have said above, hon. Members will see that extremely light punishments were meted out to NCOs, both regulars and national servicemen. This tended to give the impression that they were immune from serious punishments unless the case went up for a court-martial. There were some cases of indiscipline during the last few weeks before the national servicemen NCOs were due for release. These acts of indiscipline certainly warrant disciplinary action of a higher level than a reprimand at the unit level. Under this Bill, senior disciplinary officers will be able to award detention to NCOs, and superior commanders can award detention to warrant officers, measures which will certainly dispel any impression amongst the less responsible that they can get away lightly for their misdemeanours. Further, punishment for an offence which did not warrant a court-martial was inadequate. For instance, a soldier who absents himself without leave for 35 days could, as the law now stands, only be detained for a maximum of 28 days by his Commanding Officer. Clearly, this must be rectified and the Bill, therefore, now allows Commanding Officers to give up to 40 days' detention. A further reason is that the increase in punishment will allow cases to be dealt with more expeditiously. An example will illustrate this.”
“Company Commanders can only deal with offences committed by Other Ranks of the rank of corporal and below, whilst Commanding Officers are allowed to deal only with temporary warrant officers and those below that rank. Officers with the rank of Second Lieutenant to Captain and substantive warrant officers are dealt with by the appropriate superior authority, whilst officers above the rank of Captain cannot be dealt with summarily but only by a court-martial. This Bill, on the other hand, allows junior and senior disciplinary officers, that is, Company and Battalion Commanders respectively, to deal with Other Ranks of the rank of temporary warrant officers and below; and superior commanders, that is, Brigade Commanders, to deal with substantive warrant officers and above up to the rank of Major. Persons of the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and above who could not previously be dealt with summarily can now be so dealt with by the Armed Forces Council. Further, the powers of punishment of disciplinary officers have been increased, the main aim being to dispose of more cases expeditiously at unit level. Under the Bill, a junior disciplinary officer can award up to 10 days' detention to privates and recruits, a form of punishment which he could not award under the Singapore Army Act, under which the most severe punishment which a Company Commander could award to NCOs of the rank of Corporal and below was a reprimand, and to soldiers the minor punishment or restriction of privileges up to a maximum of seven days. The most severe punishment that a Commanding Officer could award previously was 28 days' detention and that too only to privates and recruits, and the most severe punishment that he could award to a substantive NCO was nothing more than a severe reprimand.”
“I shall elaborate this further when I discuss the salient features of the Bill. First and foremost, the Bill envisages a concept appropriate in the context of a unified force comprising the army, maritime and air commands which are brought under the centralised control of an Armed Forces Council, which is the overall authority under clauses 7 and 197 of the Bill, for all matters connected with the Armed Forces, except for the authority vested in the President for the formal establishment of the Singapore Armed Forces, vide clause 6. The major portion of the Bill deals with all the various matters covering and connected with disciplinary measures including the mechanics of the administration thereof. Additional or revised military offences are introduced and some of the present military offences are extended, the prime purpose being to consolidate, streamline and telescope within one single enactment the usual military offences that are ordinarily found in military law enactments. A major change brought about by the Bill is in respect of summary trials. There is now introduced a system of trial by disciplinary officers to replace the system of trial by Company Commanders, commanding officers and appropriate superior authority under the Singapore Army Act, 1965, where the only person who can be the appropriate superior authority is a Brigadier. Under the new system introduced in the Bill, there will be three types of disciplinary officers, namely, junior disciplinary officers, senior disciplinary officers, and superior commanders, and it further allows the appointment of any person commanding a command, a formation or any other person as a superior commander. Under the Singapore Army Act.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." For many years now, the disciplinary provisions under the law have been found increasingly anomalous, unsatisfactory and unworkable,. The disciplinary laws had diverse origins being scattered, as it were, in a number of enactments including the Singapore Army Act, the British Army Act, Queen's Regulations, and the People's Defence Force Act, a situation which made administration cumbersome, tedious and frustrating. What was even more unsatisfactory was the fact that the provisions in these enactments were, mainly, relevant to an army based on regular professional soldiers or a volunteer part-time army. They are, apart from being partly irrelevant to a large national service army such as ours, inadequate and inappropriate in the context of a unified force consisting of army, maritime and air commands which severally and collectively constitute the Singapore Armed Forces. For instance, to a professional soldier in a standing army to be discharged with ignominy from the army would be a grave form of punishment. But this would not deter some of the less responsible national servicemen who would, on the contrary, be quite happy to be discharged regardless of ignominy. For to them ignominy would be the way of escape from their military obligations to the nation. A major difficulty experienced has been in regard to the punishment of Senior Non-Commissioned Officers and Officers who, under present conditions, can only be tried summarily by an Officer of the rank of Brigadier. There is no such officer in the Singapore Armed Forces today, so that Senor NCOs and Officers either had to be court-martialled or else let off scot-free.”
“Planning for the project will also take note of future development; that is to say, there will be one additional continuity studio for news service and one additional music and general purpose studio. The increase of operational efficiency and improvement of technical standards will no doubt assist the programme staff in producing better programmes.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Member for Sembawang wants to know when the construction of the buildings will be completed. It is planned that the project will take two years to complete. He has also asked what facilities will be provided. Provision is made for the construction of new radio studios and office buildings. The facilities that will be provided are those connected with radio studios. Therefore, they are factors involving special accoustic treatment required for broadcasting studios; that is, there will be sound-proof doors, accoustic treatment of walls and ceilings, cables, ducts and air-conditioning requirements and also broadcasting studio equipment of professional standard. Then there will be an auditorium, five continuity studios for the four language-channel service and a F.M. stereophonic service, three "talk studios" and four general purpose and music studios for the production of local programmes and also for the Master Control Room. The last project that will be required is the transfer of telephone lines and cables which are used to send programmes from Broadcasting House studios to the transmitting station in Jurong and the purchase of a diesel stand-power generating plant. The Member's last question is whether these new projects will increase efficiency. Mr Speaker, Sir, of course, the additional facilities will provide a bigger-sized auditorium which will seat 350 people for audience-participation shows and there is an increase in size for music studios. There will be technical improvements and the introduction of new systems designed to facilitate production work.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Department is continuously testing and auditioning new talents and news-readers. Unless they are of the standard required, we are unable to put on more new faces to appease the Member for Telok Blangah.”
“Mr Speaker. Sir, I will be very brief in my reply, because I want to give the Member for Geylang Serai a chance to move the next amendment. Sir, part-time employees are required by the Department of Broadcasting whenever they are required, and also because of the inability of the Department to fill the vacancies. In certain cases, talents are required to put up a show. As far as part-time news-readers are concerned, they have to go through an audition before a committee which comprises members of the Public Service Commission and the Department. Artistes who are taken on a part-time basis also have to go through an audition. The Member for Telok Blangah also wants to know why these people are not frequently changed.”
“Sir, that is a good suggestion and I will give it active consideration.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the fact is this. Everyone has agreed that we should develop and promote healthy culture so that our people and the younger generation can be properly brought up. In the past, because of our political struggle and other circumstances, the development of culture was neglected. Chinese pop music from Hong Kong and Taiwan has a bad influence on our people here. If all Members in this House really want to develop a healthy culture, such as an appreciation of classical music and the like, I would urge them first to assist the Ministry of Culture in cutting down the influence of pop music. Eventually, the healthy type of culture will be on the way up and the yellow type of culture will dwindle day by day. 5.00 p.m.”
“Take the Member for Crawford, for instance. If he is really sincere in wanting to assist in the development of our culture, he could, in his capacity as adviser to his community centre, the Citizens' Consultative Committee and other committees, assist cultural development in a practical way. For instance, we have encouraged many local talents, such as Mr Lee Kum Sing, a well-known pianist, to put up shows and recitals. When Mr Lee Kum Sing is performing abroad, he is very well received. People have to pay exorbitantly to hear his recitals. However, when he comes back here and, with our encouragement, stages a recital at very cheap admission fees so that the people are given an opportunity to appreciate his music, the attendance, much to my disappointment, is very poor. This is where the Member for Crawford, as an advocate of the promotion of culture, can help, if he has any function in his community centre, either in commemoration of an anniversary or other ceremonies, I would suggest to him that, instead of wasting his time and money on organising dinners and variety shows, he could hold, say, exhibitions of paintings and stage serious music performances and the like. This would be a direct contribution to the development of our culture, because the fact is that - Mr Low Yong Nguan rose -”
“It is not surprising, therefore, that those who would otherwise be able to contribute to the enrichment of cultural activities find refuge in some other more remunerative employment. One way of overcoming this difficulty would be for those interested in different areas of culture to organise themselves into working groups or associations with the object of co-ordinating their activities and improving standards. The Ministry will, as far as possible, assist them in setting up such an association. Let us take the case of writers who unfortunately have not been able to come together because of factionalism and unprincipled vituperation. If they avoided this, they could create an atmosphere conducive to the development of literary work, and mass media like newspapers, television and radio could be utilised to publicise their vvorks. Ways and means can also be found to stimulate reading habits among our people. Wherever possible, educational institutions could be encouraged to use suitable works as reading material for students. Mr Speaker, Sir, all the assistance in the world will not help if the local people do not dedicate themselves to the development of cultural pursuits in different areas. If this is done, then Singapore could, with the co-operation of all concerned, enhance her cultural prestige. What I am trying to put across is not that we do not want to encourage culture. We want to encourage and build our own culture. Here I must say once again that this is not the job of the Government alone, but is the work of everyone, especially the artistes, the writers and those who are involved in cultural work. Apart from these people who are directly concerned with cultural work, others could also help in the development of culture.”
“On balance, therefore, I am of the opinion that there should firstly, be general encouragement from the public and organisations, and funds to improve the general standards and, secondly, when the standards have generally improved, appropriate schemes can be worked out. I would like to illustrate, by way of example, what happened when the National Library in 1968 organised on behalf of U.N.E.S.C.O. a national contest for award of a prize to the author of the best manuscript written in any of the four official languages in Singapore on a cultural, literary or popular science topic most suitable for new reading audiences and/or children and juveniles. A sum not exceeding $1,525, representing one prize, was to be awarded to the prize-winning author. The response to the contest was surprisingly poor. Only a total of 15 manuscripts were received - two Malay, five Chinese and eight English. As none of the entries was of sufficient merit, no award was received by any of the contestants. I appreciate that the object in raising this matter is probably that cultural awards would stimulate the growth of cultural pursuits. However, from the example of the U.N.E.S.C.O. competition, which I have just illustrated, it will be seen that we will be putting the cart before the horse if, at this juncture, we decide to give cultural awards before standards are improved. The immediate problem, as I see it, is one of generating the necessary stimuli to our cultural efforts. There are, however, certain drawbacks. For example, a person may have a flair for writing or composing music, but he is precluded by economic realities from pursuing his preference.”
“Further, it cannot be done on instructions or orders or policy directives from the Government. Everyone in the country has to co-operate, to work and to dedicate himself to the cause. Therefore it takes time. Both the Members for Crawford and Sembawang raised the question of cultural awards. I consider this a very good idea. Although Singapore is an independent country, there is a relative dearth of creative cultural works in music, dance and literature. Before we can consider any plans to award prizes, we should endeavour earnestly to stimulate the growth of cultural works in various areas. Members will appreciate that there are difficulties in the immediate implementation of a system of cultural awards. For instance, there may be a few outstanding persons in some of the fields, and it would appear that they would merit awards, when, in point of fact, they have very little or no competition to face. When more individuals come forward with high standards, then the outstanding ones will be forced to improve their standard, and this will make for a raising of standards as a whole. Then there will be competition and any awards will be meaningful. Then again, in some fields, the standard, as the persons themselves, I think, will readily admit, has much room for improvement. Members will appreciate that to give an award to the best candidate among many mediocre entries will not be a very appropriate token. Thirdly, such awards must be properly organised and the inherent difficulties of the scheme must be carefully worked out. For instance, it must be clearly defined what standards ought to be set for each area of culture, who may qualify for such awards, distinguishing the professionals from the amateurs, and the extent, the value and The status of such awards.”
“Mr Speaker, I really do not know how much time I have, but I shall attempt to answer all the queries raised by Members. As far as criticisms on the Broadcasting Department are concerned, I have given the general policy of the Department on the proposed reconstruction and organisation of the programmes. I shall reserve the other details later if I have the time. 4.45 p.m. Mr Speaker, Sir, the Member for Crawford seems not to understand what the Ministry of Culture has done for the past ten years to promote culture. He must appreciate that we became an independent country only a few years ago. Prior to that, we had self-government status, and did not have absolute political power. If you want to promote culture, you have to achieve political freedom first. Without political freedom you will not be able to develop your culture. That is why in the past we often accused the colonial power of suppressing our culture during our struggle for political freedom. I think this fact will refute the Member for Crawford's allegation that for the past ten years we have been too absorbed in the political struggle and have neglected the cutural development of our nation. Now that we have acquired our political power, that is, we are a people of our own, we can promote our own culture. In this respect, Mr Speaker, Sir, may I say that we are a migrant society. Therefore, we have first to create a sense of belonging among those of our people who are citizens of this country. Then we have to try to promote and develop a culture of our own. So I fail to understand the allegation from the Member for Crawford that in the past ten years we have not achieved anything in this respect. Culture is not something which you can develop overnight. It takes years.”
“I will take some time to finish my reply, although I have dealt with the subject of broad-casting.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, as I have said in my reply, the film distributors will import only films that have a demand in Singapore. Therefore, it is not a question of whether Government wants to stipulate the kind of films to be imported. If there is a great demand for films depicting violence and sword fights, as can be seen nowadays, the film producers will produce more of such films. So it all depends on the taste of the film-going public. ABORTION BILL (As reported from Select Committee) Order read for resumption of debate on Question [23rd December, 1969], "That the Bill be now read a Third time." - [Mr Chua Sian Chin]. Question again proposed. 3.22 p.m.”
“26 of 1967)", presented for the Minister for Finance by Mr Tang See Chim; read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. 3.30 p.m. Committee of supply. Later --- 3.50 p.m. INCOME TAX (AMENDMENT) BILL "to amend the Income Tax Ordinance (Chapter 166 of the Revised Edition)", recommendation of President signified (Mr Barker); presented for the Minister for Finance by Mr Tang See Chim; read the first time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. LIGHT DUES BILL "to establish a corporation to be known as the Singapore Light Dues Board and to repeal and re-enact with amendments the Light Dues Ordinance, 1957 (No. 6 of 1957)", presented by the Minister for Communications (Mr Yong Nyuk Lin); read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. CRIMINAL LAW (TEMPORARY PROVISIONS) (AMENDMENT) BILL First Reading”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I cannot give the exact amount, but in the case of the travel agency, since it began business in November 1968, it has earned up to 30th June, 1969, a commission of $15,612 from airlines. BILLS INTRODUCED 3.25 p.m. CUSTOMS (DUMPING AND SUBSIDIES) (AMENDMENT) BILL "to amend the Customs (Dumping and Subsidies) Ordinance, 1962 (No. 3 of 1962)", presented for the Minister for Finance by his Parliamentary Secretary (Mr Tang See Chim); read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND BILL "to enable effect to be given to certain amendments of the Articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund, and for purposes connected therewith", recommendation of President signified (Mr Barker); presented for the Minister for Finance by Mr Tang See Chim; read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. JUDGES' REMUNERATION (AMENDMENT) BILL "to amend the Judges' Remuneration Act, 1963, of Malaysia (No. 36 of 1963)", presented for the Minister for Finance by Mr Tang See Chim; read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. FINANCE COMPANIES (AMENDMENT) BILL "to amend the Finance Companies Act, 1967 (No. 43 of 1967)", presented for the Minister for Finance by Mr Tang See Chim; read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. RUBBER ASSOCIATION OF SINGAPORE (INCORPORATION) (AMENDMENT) BILL "to amend the Rubber Association of Singapore (Incorporation) Act, 1967 (No.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, RTS, that is the Broadcasting Division, normally performs the duties of the Broadcasting Department. RTS Enterprises (Private) Ltd., which is a corporate body but one fully owned by Government, enters into the production of records, promotion of shows and also acts as a travel agency for the Government.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in his question the Member for Katong is presumably referring to RTS Enterprises (Private) Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of RTS. RTS itself has not become a travel agency. RTS Enterprises (Private) Ltd. has a travel department which serves as a travel agency to Government and statutory bodies. The Member for Katong will appreciate that Government and statutory bodies have to incur a substantial amount for travel for their officers on duty overseas. If the passages for such travel were purchased by Government directly, the full price of the passage has to be paid. As all airlines give a commission to travel agents, the establishment of a travel department within RTS Enterprises (Private) Ltd, has enabled the Company to earn the commission payable to travel agents.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the answer to the Member for Katong is "Yes". Indeed, Radio and T.V. Singapore is extremely keen to have such a survey. It is only on the basis of reliable findings from such a survey that programme planning and commercial policy can be founded. In this year's Estimates, a sum of $30,000 has been provided for such a survey. RTS, in planning for such a survey, has liaised closely with the Economic Research Centre of the University of Singapore and the Statistics Department of the Government. A paper has been prepared setting out proposals on the methods to be used in such a survey. This paper has been submitted to the Commission of Inquiry on Statistical Activities, and it is hoped that the findings of this Commission will support Broadcasting Division's appeal for adequate funds for such a survey.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, unless we have a bigger navy, we cannot do anything more than we have done at present for our fishermen.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, we are only responsible for the security of our territorial waters. So if any incident takes place beyond our territorial waters, I think our Marine Police is unable to assist.”
“As I said, Mr Speaker, Sir, if the Member will refer this incident to the police, probably they will look into the matter.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, first of all, I do not think we are aware of such an occurrence. if the Member will bring this matter to the attention of the police, it will he looked into.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Ministry is aware that Singapore fishermen have been subject to robbery and kidnap by pirates. Of the 24 reported incidents between 1966 and 1968, 21 occurred outside Singapore waters. When Singapore fishermen leave territorial waters, they assume risks for which the Singapore Marine Police cannot be held responsible. Our fishermen are known to extend, their operations into international waters, as far away as the Philippines, and the Marine Police cannot be expected to afford protection to these vessels. The strength of our Marine Police patrols is sufficient for present purposes. It is intended to increase the Marine Police fleet by a further 20 launches this year.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the point only arises because of the reply to a question of the Member who wants to know whether the rate of accidents is higher on this stretch of the road than on any other road. PROTECTION FOR SINGAPORE FISHERMEN FROM PIRATES 4. Mr Ho Kah Leong asked the Minister of Defence whether he is aware that Singapore fishermen have often been robbed, if not kidnapped, by pirates, and whether he will consider strengthening the Marine Police Force to protect the fishermen.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, more than 60 per cent of the accidents which occur on this stretch of highway were due to persons who either were drunk or who were "late birds" visiting the city, because at that time the mobile traffic cops are not on duty. So they are the ones, probably after a bout of drinks, who exceeded the speed limit and got into trouble.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the accident rate on this highway may he higher than that on other highways. But the point is that it is the fault of the motorists who usually go beyond the speed limit.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, there are a total of 12 registered political Parties of which nine are active. The active political Parties consist of the People's Action Party, the Barisan Sosialis, Partai Rakyat Singapore State Division, the Singapore Chinese Party (formerly M.C.A. Singapore Branch), the Malaysian Indian Congress, the Alliance Party Singapura, the Pertubohan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura (formerly U.M.N.O.), the Angkatan Islam (formerly P.M.I.P. Singapore), and the Persatuan Melayu Semananjong (Peninsular Malays Union). The three inactive political Parties are the United People's Party, the Workers' Party, and the United Democratic Party (Partai Kesatuan Ra'ayat). Mr Speaker: Members who have *Questions Nos. 21 to 23, 24 to 27, and Question No. 29 have indicated their desire to have these questions be stood over to Thursday, 2nd November, 1967. That concludes the Questions. (These Questions appear respectively as Questions Nos. 5 to 7 (in cols. 314-7), Nos. 9 to 12 and 13 (in cols. 319-26).) Dr Toh, a Ministerial Statement. REPORT OF ELECTORAL BOUNDARIES DELINEATION COMMITTEE (White Paper) Statement by the Deputy Prime Minister”
“The answer is very simple. It may have been due to their ignorance that they have been exploited by the Communists. For that reason, they have been given a chance to study the course. POLITICAL PARTIES (Number registered and number active) 20. Mr P. Govindaswamy asked the Minister of Defence what is the number of registered political parties and whether he has any knowledge as to how many of them are active.”