Wong Kan Seng
Singapore
“We all want a better future for our children and the future generations. Amid the debates, let us not lose sight of what we are working for – we are working for the benefit and future of Singaporeans. Not for growth targets, not for foreigners, but for Singaporeans.”
“Mrs Mildred Tan also suggested doing a longitudinal study on the impact of new citizens on Singapore. I am told that there is a periodic study on the perception of integration and rootedness of Singaporeans and PRs. A study is now ongoing too.”
“All they need to do is simply declare that they meet the residential criteria. EASING IN US ECONOMY (Impact on Singapore) 9. Ms Sylvia Lim asked the Senior Minister what will be the expected impact on the Singapore economy arising from the US Federal Reserve's announcement on 3rd November 2010 of a "quantitative easing" of the US economy…”
“Well, from the data I have here, 553 registered to vote before the 2006 GE and this is the data I have but Ms Lim may be right. There may be 1,000-odd that Ms Lim had mentioned. From what I am told now, we have 1,325 Singaporean overseas who are eligible to register to vote have registered.”
“But, as I said, there are so many other possibilities that they could come in and there could also be many possibilities that we could have missed and they have entered or left Singapore. LAND SWAP AGREEMENT FOR KTM STATION AND RAILWAY LANDS 2.”
“They are also recruiting people by offering them scholarships. So, we hope more of our companies can do that. Hopefully they come here to work for a while and, if they like our place, they may want to settle down. This is a place which they can think about. POPULATION AND TALENT DIVISION 5. Assoc. Prof.”
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“You are asking for 160 sq ft. You will have 160 sq ft. My information is that the average size of an RC is about 80 sq metres, and 80 sq metres converted into square feet is about 800 sq ft roughly. But an RC should not and normally does not just confine its activities to the four brick walls of the RC centre. I know for a fact that most RCs actually conduct activities outside the RC centre. The RC centre really is just an administrative place, a place for the RC members to meet and to discuss the activities they want to organize. So I do not think it is really necessary to increase the area. But if Members can justify that they can increase their activities and they need to expand, and by the expansion of the RC centre they can do more for the residents, then I am prepared to go the Ministry of National Development to support his case. I am told that the HDB actually is prepared to provide additional space to the RC centre at a concessionary rate of $1.30 per sq metre per month. And now the 80 sq metre only cost $5, a very concessionary rate. In addition to the support given by the RC Group Secretariat, the Liaison Officers (they are now called the Community Development Officers) perform a variety of tasks for the RCs to relieve them of the administrative chores of putting up posters and getting banners and so on. These services will definitely continue to be provided, and RCs have over a period of time upgraded their facilities. Now, in addition to the standard fixtures such as ceramic flooring, wall fans, telephones, I am told that new RC centres have aluminium sliding doors and windows as well as residents' lounge fronting the centre.”
“Sir, our RCs perform a very important role in community development and therefore we ought to give them a lot of attention and a lot of resources to do their job. But in order to do so, we must also not forget that we want our community to be as self-reliant as possible. I was told that the RC is only 120 sq ft and the Member for Telok Blangah says it is 160 sq ft.”
“If they are appropriate, if they are practical, and they can be implemented, we will definitely pursue and implement those proposals. From my preliminary sighting of some of the recommendations, I think we can implement some of these recommendations.”
“But this idea of the neighbourhood social concern unit is worthy of consideration and we will try to encourage more of such units to be set up. On the same line as service centres for the families and children at risk, my Ministry is actually working out with the Council of Social Services to find a way to provide such services on a decentralized basis through the setting up of family service centres. When this scheme is formalized we will announce it. Right now, I know that there are already at least four social service organizations that provide such services to families in need. It is not practical or even economical to set up such centres in all the 79 constituencies but I believe a smattering of them over the different parts of Singapore can help to alleviate some of these problems that the families face. When I gave the Member for Radin Mas the figures on child abuse and I said that the number of child abuse cases is on the decline, I was not trying to make light of the problem. In fact, we recognize that there is a problem of child abuse except that it is not of the scale or the enormity that we imagine it to be. Like the Member for Telok Blangah as well as the Member for Radin Mas, there are also many concerned individuals in our society who pay close attention to this problem. A committee was actually formed last year to look into this problem of child abuse and this committee comprises representatives from my Ministry, from the Police, from the Department of Pathology,from the medical and other social work professions and they have just last month submitted a report to my Ministry. We are looking into the report as well as the recommendations and in due course we will decide what action to take in regard to their recommendations.”
“Sir, first of all, I would like to thank the Members for their comments on this subject on children and youth problems. I would also like to commend the Member for Telok Blangah for a new service that he provided in his constituency called the neighbourhood social concern unit and I also hope that more Members in this House can do the same and that will in a way help to solve one of the problems that the Member for Ulu Pandan mentioned about providing decentralized services in the respective constituencies. On the question of delinquent children, while there may be 292 delinquent children in the Ministry's programme, these are really children who have been referred to us by the courts or by the Police for investigations and so on. The number of children who loiter at void decks or in public places is not really that large by my reckoning. My estimate is that just about 3,000 of them belong to this category of so-called "detached youth", a term coined perhaps by the newspapers some two years back. Many of these children were between phases of either going to employment or going into national service and so on. But not all of them want to be organized into joining groups, into joining youth clubs, into joining boys clubs and other rganizations. If they want to be organized, it would be so simple as to set up a unit or to set up a service organization in the constituency to cater to such needs and herd them all into the place and I think it can be done. But when I visited one or two of these centres I was told that these detached youths just do not want to be organized. They prefer to be on their own to do their own things until they go for national service or they find a job.”
“In addition to this particular production sheltered workshop, there are also three or four organizations dealing with the disabled that are providing sheltered workshops for their respective members. So I think there should be no problem in that regard. I remember the Member for Pasir Panjang has asked a question and I will give more details in that answer. As regards the problem of single-parent families, Sir, this is a new phenomenon. Fortunately, despite the divorce statistics cited by the Member, it is not as serious or significant a problem as experienced in the West. But we are aware of this problem and we are doing all we can to help these single parents to cope with their families, and we provide assistance by way of counselling and advice as well as shelter and care when the need arises.”
“Sir, programme for the aged poor is already in place in the community. Just to cite some examples, in fact I listed them earlier on in my reply to the Member for Siglap. So I would not want to bore this House by repeating the same answers that I have just given to the Members. But in the case of the aged poor that requires assistance, I believe the residents' committees and the various grssroots organizations are aware of them, particularly if they know that these are on public assistance programmes. Every year they look them up at least to give them the ang pows or food provisions, and once in a while through the RC networks they look them up and see how they are getting on with their lives. But lest we be overly enthusiastic over the aged poor, let me also say that not all of them want official intervention. They prefer to be left alone. They do not want other people to interfere with their lives unless they see a need for it. But whenever there is a need, let me assure the Member that there is no problem in getting help or reaching out to them and providing them with assistance. As for the disabled, Sir, there are actually many programmes in place to assist the disabled, including the provision of sheltered workshops. In fact, not too long ago we have made available a Government building to house centralized job placement service together with a production sheltered workshop at the former Joo Chiat Environment Depot. This was let out to the Singapore Council of Social Service who assisted in this project at a very nominal rate of $12 a year. But in addition to just giving them the building, the Government has also provided the Central Job Placement Service with a one-time grant of about $38,000 as well as an annual grant of $44,500 for their operating expenditure.”
“In that case there must be a sense of priority among the recipients. We are not saying that public assistance recipients should live a very ascetic life and that they should not enjoy television programmes. But when it comes to services that need to be paid, whether licence fees or by actual consumption charges, then they ought to pay for them.”
“Sir, the question of free textbooks and remission of school fees is not a difficult one. I know that if you are a public assistance recipient, all you need do is to produce the pass or the card to the school authority. Maybe there are some formalities that the child needs to fulfil, like filling up a form. But I do not think the form is so difficult to fill, especially if they can get assistance from the MP or from the school teacher. Getting other free services, as I said earlier on, is definitely a road to perdition. There is no doubt in my mind that if you start to provide services free even though it is freely available over the air and all you need do is to plug in the socket, if the person does not pay for his licence, I think we will just encourage more of such cases. Because there is no way that you can monitor the situation.”
“But let me assure the Members here that families or individuals who need help actually should have no difficulty seeking help either from my Ministry or from the many social service, community and welfare organizations that are in our society. Sir, the largest single provider of help to the poor really is the Government through its public assistance schemes and through its various counselling and service programmes. In addition, our efforts are supplemented by the community organizations. The surest way of helping the poor really is to ensure that education and job opportunities are available to them. If they are prepared to work, if their children are able to study, I think they should have no problem making good in our society. The Member for Bo Wen also said that even though there are many social service programmes and organizations, not many of these poor people know how to find them or have access to them. I think it is useful for our social service organizations to find ways of reaching out to them. From what I know of the few cases that came to my attention, we know that there are social service organizations that are able to reach out to this group of people who need assistance. If Members have specific cases of hardship, I will have no hesitation in asking my Ministry officials to look at them and consider each case on its own merit. But to make a general statement or to make popular and populist statements like giving free PUB services or free television licences or whatever so long as the person is a public assistance recipient, I think is not quite responsible. It may be that the next suggestion is that a person who has just lost his job should also be exempted from paying road tax and petrol tax.”
“So out of the 10 cases that we investigated, we found that two required assistance and these two are the genuine hardship cases. And as the Minister for National Development said a few days ago, his Ministry and mine will be working out a way to help these people to resolve some of their problems. There are also other hardship cases or those with economic means who degenerated into hardship. Even these people have their kin groups. They have relatives and they have other means of support. These people are a problem to themselves as well as to their families. Their problem is not one of lack of income or money but one of poor budgetting, one of indulgence in alcohol, drugs or other habits and they live beyond their means. Sir, we want to help those people who want to help themselves and who want help from us. We just cannot go around searching for people to help. On the idea of setting up a task force, while it is good and appealing in principle, I think we must know what we want to do even with the task force. Not too long ago when we were debating the Agenda for Action in this House, the Member for Kebun Baru suggested setting up an advisory council for the poor. I think the reply from the First Deputy Prime Minister was that we must be certain what we want to do about the problems that we will identify. At the same time, we should not raise expectations unnecessarily among the people who, for one reason or another, by different yardsticks, consider themselves poor. I think we have to take care before coming to a decision on setting up such a task force.”
“But in any society, Sir, whether it is a developed or a developing one, there is always a segment of the population who are, for whatever reasons, in need of assistance. These genuine hardship cases really deserve our attention, our compassion, our care and our concern. But before we get overboard with doing things for them, we must determine who really constitutes the poor people. Even if you take the cases mentioned by the Member for Bo Wen of people whose household incomes are less than $500 or of people living in 1- and 2-room flats who comprise 10% of the population or 12% or 13% of the HDB units, I know that not all of them require assistance. Many of them actually can get on quite well on their own, particularly with our Asian culture and Asian tradition, they do not want to stretch their hand out in a mendicant manner to beg for assistance. We always want to be self-reliant and to do things for themselves. We know that many of these households, maybe even those in 1- or 2-room units, can live within their means. They can pay their rent. They can pay their PUB charges. They can get on quite well with their standard of living. They do not need assistance. But we also know that there are people who need assistance. Just looking at the HDB's statistics of rental arrears of more than four months, I was told that there are about 482 such cases. Recently, the HDB randomly selected 29 cases of people who did not pay rent for us to investigate. Out of the first group of 10 cases that we examined, three of them promptly paid the rent. They did not want us to investigate any further. Of the others, they also did not want our interference and they did not need our assistance either.”
“Sir, this subject of the plight and problems of low-income families always touches our hearts whenever it is brought up for debate. I know that the Member for Radin Mas is a very compassionate person, from his references to child abuse cases, poor people and so on. I also know him to be a very rational person. I was not sure, when I heard him before the lunch break at 1 o'clock, whether he was using the additional time to filibuster so that I could give him a more complete reply later or whether he was serious in his proposals because what he proposed was certainly, for me when I first heard it, very appealing, very popular. But on further reflection, it is also very dangerous. The idea that he propounds reminds me very much of some of the intractable problems faced by some of the more developed countries which have created this welfare state mentality on its people to depend on the government for many of the things in life. Before I give Members the impression that this Government is not caring, is not compassionate, and does not bother about people's lives, particularly the low-income families, let me remind Members here, particularly the Member for Radin Mas because he came from such a humble home and so did I, that without this Government and its policies that were for the general welfare and wellbeing of the people, we would not be what we are today. The Government is concerned about the welfare of the people. That is why through many of its policies, programmes, whether in housing, in education, in health and in social policies, we always make sure that the majority of the people will benefit from these programmes.”
“While the Government provides all this support, we also need the support of the community organizations in providing these services to the aged. Some of the new programmes that we are looking at in conjunction with the voluntary organizations are the setting up of a multi-service centre. It is like the one-stop centres which the Member mentioned where the family members can send their aged to such centres for a short respite or for counselling, for advice and for day care and so on. We are also looking at how we can come out with programmes to help the confused elderly and those who suffer from senile dementia and we will also look at programmes that will assist the families cope with a dying member and the Government on its own has also through its hospital and through the Ministry of Health's geriatrics unit be sending doctors to look into the specialization of geriatrics.”
“But the aged of today will be very different from the aged of tomorrow. The aged of tomorrow are likely to live longer and be healthier and they are likely to be more literate, more financially secure, more socially active and probably remain in employment for longer periods of time and they live within the family. The future direction that we will take in regard to the aged is to continue to upgrade the services and expand the services that we are currently providing and to continue to depend also on the voluntary organizations so that we can encourage our elderly individuals to keep themselves physically fit, keep themselves mentally fit and active so that they can retain the normal living arrangement for as long as possible. We also want to encourage them to continue to remain in employment because this is the single most important factor or activity in keeping the body and mind in a sound manner and not lapsing into dementia. We also want to change society's attitude towards the aged or towards old age. While families may find difficulties coping with the aged, I think the family still remains the most important unit where the aged can find comfort, security, because the family is really the building block of society. The family is the emotional stability zone of the individual when he is in stress and in trouble and the family is the social insurance in times of need. We would like our senior citizens and our aged people to grow old gracefully in the family instead of in some other institutions. But I will ask the Ministry to look into the suggestion by the Member as to how we can help the care-givers and relieve some of the stress that they face when they have aged family members to look after.”
“If there is time, I will try to answer your clarification. The concern shown by the Member for Siglap on the aging society is also one that is shared by many of us, particularly my Ministry. We know that today in Singapore there are 8.2% of our Singaporeans who are 60 years and above and by the end of the century there will be 11.1% and many of us in this House will also belong to that category. This is due to the declining fertility rate as well as the increase in life expectancy and the improvements in the medical and health care provided by this Government. The majority of the aged today, Sir, are actually ambulant and they do not need assistance because they enjoy good health. We have already provided a number of facilities and support services to help these aged live with the community. I will just name a few because I have gone through the details of this in the previous sittings. There are now health and recreational services for the senior citizens. There are senior citizens' clubs. There are exercise programmes for the senior citizens. There are health screening and medical counselling for them. There are counselling advice services for them, financial services for the needy, meal delivery services for those who cannot leave the home or there is no one to take care of them in their food. There are luncheon clubs provided by voluntary organizations. There are day-care centres run by the many voluntary organizations. There are befriender services set up by the Ministry with the assistance of many befrienders and community workers. There are domiciliary nursing services provided by the Home Nursing Foundation. There are home-help services provided by volunteers and there are respite care services also provided by volunteers.”
“I have to reply to the Member for Siglap first.”
“Sir, before you cut me off, I had two more points to make and I thought that it is important that I mention this because these are significant points that I want to raise. When I mentioned that being Singaporeans does not just make us forget that we are Malays, Chinese, Indians, Eurasians, I wanted to quote an example of what one representor said to the Select Committee recently when he was asked by one Member whether he is aware that he is a Chinese and that gentleman said yes. He is Jimmy Tan. He said, "Yes, very much so every time I look at the mirror." So our ethnic differences will not just go away because we want to wish it away or we can wish it away or just because we blur the distinctions. What the Government can do and will do and continue to do is to strengthen the foundations of nation building (which I have just mentioned before the Member for Potong Pasir came in here) and to strengthen social cohesion and to build on what we have achieved. But the most important consideration, Sir, and that is the point I want to make, is the commitment each Singaporean has in making Singapore his home and making it a better one for his children, for his relatives and for his friends.”
“Consensus does not mean that agreement must be sought from the last Singaporean before a decision is made. We know that from the immense interest and participation of the Singaporeans in the National Agenda discussion, Singaporeans are committed to Singapore and her future. Singaporeans from all walks of life and from different backgrounds have come forward to express their commitment to the core values that make our plural society work. The Government has recently announced the formation of six Advisory Councils on Youth, Aged, Disabled, Culture and the Arts, Sports and Recreation, Family and Community Life, so that we may develop consensus on specific goals and strategies in these areas and the Advisory Councils will enable all Singaporeans to contribute their thoughts and their visions on what they want to achieve. Sir, as I said earlier, community spirit, social cohesion and patriotism are not easily manifest like mortars and bricks and houses and schools. Nor can you achieve results by decree or by policy announcements like reducing manpower by 10% over five years. You can see results when policy decisions of this nature are made. When you talk about social cohesiveness, pride, patriotism, these matters concern the emotion and the heart and psyche. They are subjective. You either feel that there is cohesion, there is loyalty, or there is not. These feelings are more strongly felt and expressed at certain times, for example, during our National Day celebrations or during a crisis, people will feel then that they are Singaporeans. But by being Singaporean does not just make us forget that we are Malays, Indians, Eurasians or Chinese.”
“Fourthly, Sir, we instil pride and love for our country among our students and national servicemen. We know that our schools and our national service system have played a critical role in instilling a sense of pride and love for the country in our young. Our students learn about Total Defence not just in the academic way but they actually see it in practice in our schools where we have a fair mix of different races. Therefore, they have an opportunity to interact, to mix and to develop friendship that cuts across ethnic, religious or cultural barriers. Through national service, our young men are not just trained to be good and tough soldiers, they also learn how to put national interest above sectional interest. Fifthly, Sir, the Government has this housing programme that managed to house more than 85% of the people in HDB estates. But physical structures alone do not make a living community. It is the people themselves who must develop this sense of community and in our multi-racial society our housing estates today do have a fair mix of ethnic groups. This enables the different ethnic groups to become neighbours and eventually friends. Although the Government provides the infrastructure we cannot decree neighbourliness. We cannot say that you must be friends with your neighbours. The various grassroots organizations like the Citizens' Consultative Committee, the Residents' Committee, the Civil Defence Committees and so on, play a critical role in helping to make our housing estates a living community so that our different ethnic groups can live as neighbours and be friends in trust and harmony. Sixthly, Sir, we do this by developing a sense of consensus among Singaporeans on the goals that they want for Singapore.”
“2) Bill so that the supreme legislative body, this Parliament, will continue to have a multi-racial character. You have seen the frank and open discussions that we have had over the past one year in discussing this matter. From the representations and from the telecasting of the Select Committee hearings, we have seen that Singaporeans are now more ready, more open, to discuss these issues. This shows that we have made some considerable headway in developing trust and respect among the different ethnic groups. Thirdly, we do this by organizing national campaigns and creating national symbols so that Singaporeans can identify with them. Despite the misgivings of some Members here about singing Singapore songs, I think it is a good practice. It is something that we should do in our spare time because it does brings out in us the feelings of being Singaporean. Of course, when you fry a fish, you do not want to overdo it. It is definitely up to the individuals, up to the communities, up to the groups themselves to decide when to stop. Reciting the national pledge and singing the National Anthem have been practised in our Singapore schools for a long time. While students may sing mechanically, but I think over a period of time it does sink into them that, when they pledge that they are citizens of Singapore, they want to build an equal and just society, regardless of race, language and religion, and so on. These words do sink into them when they become adults. To further develop this sense of community and foster greater understanding among our different ethnic groups, the Ministry of Community Development intends this year in June to organize a Community Week so that we can provide opportunities for a greater understanding of our different ethnic cultures.”
“Each one of us in our own roles as students, as MPs, as workers, as corporate citizens or private individuals, must indeed do our part in building this Singapore nation where our people have a sense of pride, loyalty, achievement, patriotism and so on. What can the Government do in bringing this about? I think the Government has done a lot. Of course, more needs to be done. The Government has laid the foundation for this community development and nation building. We have achieved this by, firstly, continuing with the practice of the principle of equality for all. This means that every individual citizen regardless of his race, his language, his religion or his background has equal opportunities to develop his potential to the best of his ability. The Government's philosophy is to ensure that race, creed, and wealth does not determine how successful he would be in life. It is through this principle of equality that many in this House and indeed many in Singapore, rose in the social ladder through their own efforts with the opportunities provided by society. Secondly, the Government did this by being sensitive to and safeguarding the interests of our minority communities. In a plural society like ours, we just cannot afford to be totally oblivious to the sensitivities, the interests of our minority communities. They will not feel part of the nation if they feel threatened or alienated. We have the Presidential Council for Minority Rights, for example, to ensure that all legislations passed by this House have taken care of their interests. And to further ensure that their interests are safeguarded and protected, we have recently introduced two Bills, the Parliamentary Elections (Amendment) Bill and the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment No.”
“Sir, the Member for Siglap has brought up a very important subject which I am sure all of us also share in some of his sentiments in measuring and finding out how cohesive, how loyal and how much pride each Singaporean feels for his country. But these matters are not matters that you can see for yourself. They are matters that affect the mind, the soul, the psyche, the emotion. They are not like HDB where you spend enough money, resources, you have enough bricks and mortar, and you see buildings. They are not like schools, where if you have enough school buildings, classrooms, and you have students, you have dedicated teachers, you are going to see the results of the students in their examinations. In fact, they are not like many other activities performed by the Government. So it is not easy for us to say whether we have achieved more cohesiveness or that our people have felt a greater pride in their country or that they have a greater love for their country or not. We can only see these feelings expressed at critical moments, at the right time. But we know that all these feelings, like a sense of community, cohesiveness, pride in the country, are the basic ingredients for nation building. Our goal, of course, is to build a Singapore nation out of our multi-racial and multi-religious, and multi-cultural society. In our short history of 23 years, we have achieved some headway. But I think we still have a long way to go before we can actually call ourselves one nation, one people. The whole of the public sector alone cannot achieve this, by itself. It requires the commitment, the active participation of all Singaporeans in bringing this about.”
“And, thirdly, mental retardation, including language and learning disorders, which accounted for 14% of the cases. My Ministry plans to extend the child psychiatric services to some of the polyclinics over the next 2-3 years. This will make the service more readily accessible to the community.”
“Sir, the conversion of the St Joseph's Institution building into a Fine Arts Museum is one of the projects under the Tourism Product Development Plan approved by the Government in principle. A preliminary concept plan has already been drawn up by the Public Works Department and they are now making the cost estimates. Next month, we will be sending a study team overseas to visit museums in France and Germany where they have converted old buildings into museums and we will learn from their experiences. If everything goes according to plan, then we will be able to see the museum in four years' time. Similarly, with the Tao Nan School. The plan to convert the Tao Nan School building into a Children's Museum is also part of the Tourism Product Development Plan. A concept plan has also been completed. And we will be sending a study team to America and Canada to learn from their experience in how to run a Children's Museum and what are in a Children's Museum. According to plan again and if everything goes well, we will see the museum also in four years' time. CHILD PSYCHIATRIC SERVICE (Particulars) 8. Dr S. Vasoo asked the Acting Minister for Health if he will indicate (i) the number and the main problems of children who were seen at the Child Psychiatric Clinic in 1985, 1986, 1987 and (ii) some future plans for further improvements to the child psychiatric service. The Acting Minister for Health (Mr Yeo Cheow Tong): Sir, the Child Psychiatric Clinic attended to 1,327 patients in 1985, 1,478 patients in 1986, and 1,605 patients in 1987. The three main groups of problems dealt with were, firstly, emotional and behavioural disorders. These accounted for 61% of the cases. Secondly, psychotic illnesses, accounting for 16% of the cases.”
“The number of reported cases of child abuse for the years 1985, 1986, and 1987 are 224, 279 and 209 respectively. The number of cases referred to the police for further investigations are 14, 13 and 11 for the 3 years I mentioned, and the number of cases of prosecutions for the years 1985, 1986 and 1987 are just 3, 2 and 1. These are in the tables (Cols. 1223 - 1224) that I have asked the Clerk to circulate and which are on Members' seats. From the tables, it can be seen that the number of reported cases and prosecutions are on the decrease. tables - OUTCOME OF INVESTIGATION CONDUCTED BY MCD ON REPORTED CASES OF CHILD ABUSE, OUTCOME OF POLICE INVESTIGATION ON CASES REFERRED BY MCD (Cols. 1223 - 1224) The small number of prosecutions is because in the majority of cases the abuse is not serious enough to warrant a prosecution and on an average about 84% of the complaint of abuses are first-time abuses. Such families actually require assistance to cope with child management and other family-related problems and they have been placed on my Ministry's supervision programme. In other cases, there was no evidence or no conclusive evidence or the statements given by the abused child were inconsistent. In referring a case for prosecution, we have to be mindful of the harmful effect this will have on the child and the family. Many cases were not referred to the police because there was no evidence of abuse and the families actually need assistance. In managing a case, the main and the long-term objective really is to reconcile the child with the parents and this is made more difficult when court proceedings are involved.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to report that the Committee of Supply has made further progress on the Main and Development Estimates for the financial year 1988/89, and ask leave to sit again tomorrow.”
“Sir, I do not have the details of how many were first-time beggars and vagabonds and repeat offenders like this. But if the Member is interested, I will try to dig them out for him. For those, as I said, with a habitual place of abode or relatives or with families, after social inquiries, that means after investigation into their background and if they are able to be returned to their families, we will make an effort to return them. 1987 ECONOMIC SURVEY OF SINGPORE (Copyright) 8. Mr Chng Hee Kok asked the Minister for Trade and Industry why the 1987 Economic Survey of Singapore is accorded copyright protection which effectively discourages the wider dissemination of the information contained in the report.”
“Yes, there are some of these whom we call "seasonal beggars". They come here at a time when we have a festive occasion and they go off after the festive occasion. There are such people and if we find them in places of worship or hawker centres and so on, we work with the Immigration Department to send them back.”
“I think the Member has spoken too fast. He may have to repeat what he has said on Monday. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to report that the Committee of Supply has made further progress on the Main and Development Estimates for the financial year 1988/89, and ask leave to sit again on Monday, 21st March, 1988.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That Parliament do now adjourn. Question proposed. UNITED STATES WITHDRAWAL OF GSP STATUS FOR SINGAPORE 5.24 pm”
“With regard to whether there is adequate manpower to man the polyclinics, I wish to assure Members that the polyclinics are adequately staffed except during outbreaks of influenza. When such occasions ar ise, manpower will be deployed from other institutions and hospitals of the Ministry to help out.”
“Sir, there is no need for the letter to be in four languages because before a marriage is registered the person has already received a form and that form clearly is in four languages. If you were to write letters in four languages, I think what it will mean is that you will have to write all official correspondence in four languages. REORGANIZATION OF POLYCLINICS (Progress report) 11. Dr S. Vasoo asked the Acting Minister for Health (a) if he will give a progress report on the reorganisation of polyclinics; and (b) whether there is adequate manpower to man the heavily utilized polyclinics. The Acting Minister for Health (Mr Yeo Cheow Tong): Mr Speaker, Sir, the Ministry of Health currently provides primary health care services through a network of polyclinics, outpatient dispensaries (OPD) and maternal and child health (MCH) clinics. My Ministry plans to consolidate the present 35 clinics into 16 polyclinics by retaining six existing polyclinics and building 10 new ones in the HDB new towns. This will enable my Ministry to achieve a better utilization of manpower and facilities and will make primary health care services more easily accessible to the people. The existing polyclinics to be retained are Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Bukit Merah, Clementi, Kelantan and Queenstown. Two new polyclinics will be completed each year. The new Toa Payoh Polyclinic was opened on 1st February 1988. The Jurong Polyclinic will open later this year. Tampines and Hougang Polyclinics are scheduled for completion in 1989, followed by Yishun and Bukit Batok in 1990, Central and Geylang in 1991 and Woodlands and Chua Chu Kang in 1992.”
“This set of form in Annex B is given to anyone who wants to register his marriage. So it cannot be the case where a person wanting to register his marriage went to the Registrar of Marriages and was not told of the conditions. The form is in four languages and even after signing it, the Registry staff would explain to the applicant as to the implication of his application. So if he can refer to me a particular case of a person who has not understood the condition, I will have it investigated.”
“If a Singaporean wants to register a marriage with a foreigner, the right thing to do before he goes overseas to find a foreign bride is to check with the Registry of Marriages, or to check with the Immigration Department, if he or she intends to bring her or him back to Singapore.”
“We always work together in all these issues. I think the point is whether the question that was asked by the Member for Telok Blangah has solicited the right answer. He has. I have given the answer. If he were to ask a different question, like residence, that is a totally different question. Another question can be raised and it will be answered.”
“Clearly I cannot speak on behalf of my colleague. This is a matter under the Home Affairs Ministry. Does the Member really expect me to answer his question?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, under our marriage laws, the Registrar of Marriages will register any marriage. We cannot stop any person from wanting to register the marriage here. But whether a foreigner who marries a Singaporean is allowed to remain here or not is a totally different thing altogether. That is a question of residence which is clearly under the purview of the Home Affairs Ministry which, as I have just said, is a question which I would prefer my colleague to answer. I think that privilege should be reserved to him.”
“That is a question of permanent residence or residing in Singapore, which is clearly under the purview of the Immigration Department. I would reserve the privilege of answering this question to my colleague, the Minister for Home Affairs.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I have made no such suggestion. The question simply asks whether a foreigner who marries or intends to marry a Singaporean, when registering with the Registrar of Marriages, is clearly told that the approval of marriage does not automatically confer on him the right to remain permanently in Singapore. That is all I said. I have made no such suggestion.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, before a foreigner contracts marriage with a Singapore citizen or permanent resident, it is made very clear to him or her by the staff of the Registry of Marriages that marriage does not automatically confer on the foreigner the right to remain permanently in Singapore. The documents which I have asked the Clerk to circulate are brought to the attention of the foreigners. There are two categories of foreigners. Work permit holders require the approval of the Commissioner for Employment to marry a Singapore citizen or permanent resident. In the approval letter he is informed by the Commissioner that marriage to a Singaporean does not automatically confer on the foreign spouse the right to remain or reside permanently in Singapore. If you look at paragraph 3 of Annex A (Cols. 603 - 604) you can see that paragraph quite clearly stated. paragraph 3 of Annex A (Cols. 603 - 604) For a non-Work Permit holder an Immigration Notice, ie in Annex B (Cols. 605 - 608), informing that marriage does not confer automatic residency is given to the foreigner. Annex B (Cols. 605 - 608) In a letter to the marriage applicants calling for their attendance, the Registrar of Marriages also makes the same point. That is in paragraph 3 also of Annex C (Cols. 609 - 610). paragraph 3 also of Annex C (Cols. 609 - 610) From the documents and notices issued, there can be no doubt that foreigners who are affected are fully aware of their position before they contract marriage with Singapore citizens or permanent residents.”
“Sir, however fast we try to expedite, I think time is needed for planning, for building, construction, inspection and, finally, ensuring that it is fit for use. In any case, I will bear in mind the Member's request and I will ask the authorities to try and expedite. YISHUN NEW TOWN (Second void-deck/shophouse community centre) 10. Dr Koh Lip Lin asked the Minister for Community Development whether and when a second void-deck/shophouse community centre will be set up in Yishun New Town.”
“A sports centre comprising a Sports Complex (Track and Field) and an Indoor Stadium has been planned for Yishun Neighbourhood VIII. Tenders for the Sports Complex and Indoor Stadium are expected to be called soon. The facilities are expected to be ready by mid-1990.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, in order to have a full debate and airing on this subject, may I seek your consent and the general assent of Members present to move that Members be permitted to speak for more than half an hour to the Question now before the House. With the consent of Mr Deputy Speaker and the general assent of Members present, Question put, and agreed to. Resolved, That, notwithstanding the Standing Orders, Members be permitted to speak for more than half an hour to the Question on the Motion moved by the Minister for Home Affairs and Second Minister for Law. - [Mr Wong Kan Seng].”
“But he must know that a school normally takes in about 1,000 students or 800 students per session and therefore the building is pretty large if it is to cater for only 40 children as a child care centre. The Member for Ulu Pandan suggested that regulations be imposed on ventilation, space allocation, lighting, etc. I believe this is also part of our minimum standards. As to her suggestion about the future, she says that if we can afford it, we should extend child care to pre-school and after-school periods for children who are still at school.Let me say that the current regulations and the Act do not prohit any child care prohibit any child care centre from receiving children for pre-and after-school care. In fact, right now, there are 14 centres receiving pre- and after-school children. It is entirely up to them. As for the Member for Bo Wen's suggestion about accreditation committee for child care centres, I think it is not necessary. The staff of my Ministry are competent enough to assess the suitability of centres, with the assistance of other Government departments like the Fire Safety Bureau, the Environment Ministry and so on. As to his suggestion about studying the psychological effects of putting children in child care, I believe that is a useful idea which we have also thought about. But I think psychologists or sociologists in the University can also play their part by doing the research themselves and giving us their input. 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 Wong Kan Seng]. Bill considreed in Committee. [Mr Deputy Speaker in the Chair] Clause 1 -”
“It is not likely to do so. It does not have any. But the clause is there, just in case we need to. But even if Government runs child care centres, let me assure Members that they will also meet the minimum standards that we set. If Members would like to take a look at the child care centre set up by the Ministry of Community Development Club they can see an example of how a child care centre is run. It is not run by the Ministry but it is run by the club itself. You can see an example of how the club runs the child care centre. The Member for Radin Mas asked whether the fees have been prescribed for the licence. They have not been prescribed but it is not a big problem. It is not so prohibitive as to close all the centres. That is not the intention. The Member also asked why there is no appeal to the judiciary. I feel that it is not necessary so long as we are able to work closely with the child care operators. Right now we have no difficulty at all in working with the child care operators. They have generally been able to satisfy all the conditions we laid down. If it is really necessary for them to resort to appeal to the Minister, we can be as sympathetic as possible provided they are reasonable. The Member for Toa Payoh mentioned that child care centres in the void decks may not be ideal places. There may be such instances but let me assure him that from the various centres that I have visited in the Housing Board estates' void decks, I think they are of a reasonable quality, of reasonable standard. I do not think he need worry too much about that. As to his suggestion about getting disused or old school buildings, we will consider. In fact, we will consider any building that is suitable for child care, not just old school buildings.”
“He also asked whether the drop-in centres operated by charities also come within this definition. Again, I do not think so. But if he has any idea where these centres are I shall ask my officers to look at them to see whether they fit into the definition. If they do fall within that definition and if they are unable to meet the minimum standards, we shall try to assist them as much as possible to meet the minimum standards. If they cannot meet these standards, then of course they will have to close down. As regards "sufficient qualifications", we have three kinds of courses. With the assistance of the Institute of Education, we have designed three kinds of courses: the basic course which is about 120 hours, the intermediate course, 150 hours, and the advanced course, 200 hours. These courses are for different grades or different levels of child care staff. The basic course is for child care assistants, the intermediate course is for the child care teachers, and the advanced course is for the child care centre supervisor. These are what we mean by the"sufficient qualifications." Of course, there are also other institutions like the NTUC that conduct courses for their staff. We also look at these courses to see whether they provide the necessary training and whether the curriculum is adequate or not, and so on. I know that child care operators have no concern about qualifications because they know that generally they can meet them. But if they cannot, they can always send their staff to the Institute of Education or the NTUC for training. The Member for Siglap and several others also asked the question about why Government-controlled child care centres need to be exempted? As I said, there is no intention of Government to run any child care centre.”
“Sir, I thank all the Members for their contribution and I shall try to be as brief as possible in addressing all the points raised by the Members. The Member for Siglap is concerned about costs. If we have this Bill, would it increase the cost of child care for the parents? Let me assure him that this is not likely because what the Bill sets out to do is to provide for minimum standards in child care centres. Right now we know that most, if not all, of our child care centres have met these minimum standards and they are charging fees ranging from $190 to $350; and with a subsidy of $100 from the Government up to the third child, parents only pay between $90 and $250. I think this trend is likely to continue. We will also continue to encourage and assist voluntary organizations the NTUC, the PA, to set up centres in all our major housing estates so that it can be accessible to the parents who need them. So let me assure him that the parents do not need be too concerned about the increase in the cost. But, of course, if parents want more than what is provided for in the minimum, then I think they deserve to pay more because if they are willing to pay and there is a market for it, and if there are child care operators willing to provide for them, then I think we should let the market forces decide on the fee for such child care centres. As to whether mothers should stay at home to look after their children or to work and get the additional income, I think, again, we will leave that to the parents to decide. They should weigh the pros and cons of the returns for the job with staying at home to look after their children. The Member also asked whether the definition here includes children's corners in departmental stores. I do not think so.”
“The Regulations to carry out the purposes of the Act may cover, among others, matters pertaining to: (i) the operation, management and supervision of child care centres; (ii) the duties and responsibilities of persons licensed, and the complement, qualifications and training of the staff; (iii) the health, safety, nutrition and management of children; and (iv) the adequacy or suitability of premises, equipment, programmes and physical facilities. One important factor that influences the quality of care is the staff competency in child care. The regulations will ensure that operators comply with the training requirements of staff and that staff are properly trained to undertake their work. The Ministry will work together with the appropriate training institutions, eg, the Institute of Education, to ensure that child care centre staff are adequately trained. My Ministry has also set up an Accreditation Committee to look into the accreditation of child care courses not conducted by the Institute of Education. This will ensure that staff who are trained overseas or by other accredited organizations have the necessary training to carry out their duties. Sir, the introduction of this legislation will not pose any hardship to existing operators of child care centres because since 1981, my Ministry has introduced a set of guidelines for the development and operation of child care centres. Child care centres have closely followed these guidelines. Where existing child care operators fall short, the Ministry will give them a grace period of up to two years to enable them to comply with the requirements. Sir, I beg to move, Question proposed.”
“Among the aspects the parents look for are such things as health, nutrition, safety, programme quality, staffing, facilities and so on. Parents therefore need to be assured that there must be minimum standards for child care centres. This Bill therefore recommends that minimum standards be set to ensure that the welfare and interests of the children are catered for in the child care centres. This will enhance the parents' confidence in the child care centres. The Creche Establishment Act passed in 1973 is outdated and therefore needs to be repealed. This Child Care Centres Bill will take its place. I need not go into the detailed clauses of the Bill as the sub-titles of the clauses are self-explanatory. I will touch on the main features of the Bill. Under this Bill, a "child care centre" is defined as: 'any premises at which 5 or more children who are under the age of 7 years are habitually received for the purposes of care and supervision during part of the day or for longer periods;' The Bill which will be administered by the Director of Social Welfare: (i) requires all child care centres to be licensed and to operate in accordance with the terms and conditions laid down by the Director; (ii) specifies the grounds under which the Director may refuse to issue or renew a licence, or may suspend or revoke a licence; (iii) empowers the Director or any officer authorized by him to inspect child care centres and the records therein; and (iv) empowers the Minister to make regulations to carry out the purposes of the Act and to exempt any centre from any or all of the provisions of the regulations.”