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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“Sir, let me state at the outset that a great majority of our senior citizens, about 97%-98% of them are healthy. They are fit, they are able to live with their families and they do not require institutionalization. Only a very small minority, 2% or 3%, will require institutionalization either because they are destitute or they are the aged sick and their children cannot adequately look after them and have no expertise and knowledge at all in taking care of them. With that remark, Sir, my thinking is that our senior citizens should continue to work for as long as they can. In that regard, the Ministry of Labour will try to encourage employers to continue to employ these people even when they reach 55 or 60 years old. That, I believe, is the best safeguard to ensure that a person, even when he reaches 60 years old or 65 years old, will remain physically and mentally alert and active. Of course, when a person retires then we would not want him to idle at home and, as a result of inactivity, suffer an atrophy of the mind and physical disabilities and eventually become aged sick or senile. For these people who have retired, we would prefer them to continue to be active in the community, in performing social services for their own senior citizens or doing things for themselves and, at the same time, take part in physical exercises and in recreational activities which they find joy in. We would create an environment for these old people to participate in these activities and I am glad to say that there is already a senior citizens club in almost every community centre. If not, then in the next two or three years I am sure that all community centres will have senior citizens clubs.”
“Maybe it is due to the lack of information or lack of publicity but we will try to give it more publicity so that parents are aware of the availability of this service and we will encourage them to use it. Dr Vasoo: Sir, in view of the assurance from the Minister that child-care centres will be made affordable, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Sir, let me assure the Member for Bo Wen that the Government intends to continue to help operators establish child care centres and, where necessary and appropriate and when the demand is there, affordable child care centres will also be encouraged. I think by "affordable child care centre" the Member meant child care centres charging a fee of up to $190. Sir, with the announcement recently that the Government intends to encourage more women to have children and at the same time to work, the Government is subsidizing a flat rate of $100 for all women who place their children in child care centres, up to a maximum of three children. With this subsidy there are enough opportunities, I think, for women to place their children in the child care centre. There are now two approved centres charging a fee of $190 and I am glad to say that by the end of the next fiscal year there will be three or four more such centres and these centres have the flexibility of charging between $90 and $120 depending on the circumstances of the family. But the Government will subsidize $100 just as it did subsidize the child-care centres charging a fee of $250. The Member also showed concern for the latchkey children, that means children who after school do not know where to go. But I would like to inform the Member that at present there are already 48 child-care centres providing services for latchkey children, ie for children to go to the centre before they go to school or after they finish school. But, unfortunately, Sir, the utilization by parents of this particular service has not been very encouraging.”
“For the information of the Member, the Ministry has already implemented two programmes to educate parents on how to manage their children. One is the parent education programme and the other is the supervision programme. The parent education programme tries to educate parents on how to look after the children and how to manage the family relationship. The supervision programme is for children with difficult behaviour. Where necessary, all these reported cases of child abuse will be put under the supervision of the Ministry for a period of time. The ultimate objective is to bring the family together rather than to punish the parent severely causing a break-up in the family relationship. But let me assure the Member that when there is clear evidence of extreme cases of child abuse, we will bring them to book.”
“Sir, last year in reply to the question from the hon. Member, I said that there were sufficient provisions in the Children and Young Persons Act and the Penal Code to deal with offences of child abuse. Sir, the first thing we have to take into account when penalizing the parent or an adult for abusing the child is the welfare of the child. That is of primary importance. It is no use committing the parent to six months' imprisonment and then find that there is no one at home to look after the child. I think in that case the child will suffer even more. Sir, last year I said that the figures of child abuse had not increased substantially. When I look at the data again this year, there has been some increase between 1985 and 1986. But in analyzing the data I found that about a quarter of these cases of complaints of child abuse were without any basis. In other words, there is not much truth in the complaints. About 72% of the cases reported actually came from families with problems, in other words, there were already difficulties or problems among the different members of the family, ie, the husband, the wife and the children and so on. So the problems actually stem from the poor relationship among the family rather than behaviourial problems of the child. Of the few cases that we saw, about 3%, these were reported to the Police and the Police were investigating them. So it can therefore be seen that a large majority of the cases that were reported to us really concern families with family-related problems. But in the extreme case where there is clear evidence of a child being abused by the parents, then definitely we would urge the Police and the Courts to take a very extreme view in punishing the offender and that they should be brought to book.”
“Maybe the Member can take his time, go back and research documents and give them to me.”
“In the area of welfare, there are many community organizations, social service clubs and so on willing and able to give the dedicated manpower and the finances to support all these welfare activities. So the Government's role in this area will be to help them, facilitate them in finding buildings, in easing Government rules and regulations so that they can make use of these buildings. Therefore, there need to be this tripartite relationship between the Government, the people and the community organizations. The Ministry would welcome any suggestions from any Member with any ideas to help to improve these services for the people. I have taken note of the Member's comments that there is a lack of sponsors and the increasing pressure on the Government to provide more direct services. But knowing that we are going to have an increasingly aging population and an increasingly demanding population, we should really leave the people to decide what they want to do and make them more self-reliant and, in this sense, I do not think the Ministry should get too involved in providing direct services.”
“Sir, in response to the Member for Siglap, let me just state generally the philosophy of the Government with regard to community services and community development. The Government has a choice of providing everything that the people want. Of course, to do this then it needs to find the money. And to do this means it needs to increase taxes or to find some ways of getting the money from the people. Alternatively, the Government can leave the money in the people's hands and then let them decide as to how they want to spend the money, whether to promote sports, to support cultural activities or to help charities. Of course, there needs to be a balance in this. We do not want to completely leave the individuals to decide how they want to spend. On the other hand, neither do we want a situation where the Government provides for everything. We have to strike a balance. That is why, all in all, in the activities organized by the Ministry of Community Development, there need to be three parties involved - the Government, the community organizations and the people, be they the individual or the family. In the area of culture, it is the same thing. We need the corporate citizens, the companies, that are doing well to help support cultural activities because when they do so they will liven up the atmosphere, the environment and provide opportunities for people to express themselves culturally and if they are foreign companies it is also a good place for the expatriates to live and work in. Similarly, in the area of sports, the community organizations and companies can also do their part in helping to promote a robust and rugged society.”
“For example, senior citizens who continue to work after the age of 55 are given higher tax relief; they are given concessions in outpatient charges if they are over 65 when they attend polyclinics; they are given concession in bus fares if they travel during the off-peak periods; they enjoy two-thirds discount if they take courses run by the Extra-Mural Studies Department, and they enjoy discounts when they visit the Bird Park, Zoological Garden, the Singapore Garden and so on. Maybe the Member is right that these concessions have not been fully publicized. I will encourage all these organizations, which are currently giving concessions, to fully publicize them so that our senior citizens will know about these concessions and make full use of them.”
“Sir, the Member for Boon Lay's call for our senior citizens to be given the right, correct, and appropriate respect by the young is indeed what the Government is also doing. In fact, this is one of the things that the Ministry has been propagating all along. Since 1979, there has been this "Senior Citizens' Week" organized by the People's Association, by SAGE, and from this year onwards the Ministry will take the lead in organizing the "Senior Citizens' Week". I will certainly ask my officers to take into account the themes suggested by the Member that "Senior Citizens' First" as one of the main themes for this year's "Senior Citizens' Week". Sir, in the school curriculum, our young, our students have been encouraged to show respect for the elders, to show respect for authority, and at the same time not only just to show respect but also to take concrete steps where such care and concern can be shown. I know of many examples in many schools where children visit old folks homes and they also invite these senior citizens to their school functions whenever the occasion arises. So these students have, in very practical ways, learnt how to show respect for the elders. As regards the concession for senior citizens, the Member has mentioned a few concessions currently enjoyed by them. But I would like to just sound a bit of caution in the granting of concessions. If we give free access to cinemas, to parks, and so on, we may not realize that by the year 2030 a quarter of our population will enjoy free this and free that. But there are already quite a number of concessions being granted.”
“Ministries and departments are adopting a positive attitude to the feedback provided by the Unit and, wherever possible, they exercise flexibility within the constraints of broad policy guidelines. We should give them full credit for their support and cooperation which have made the task of Feedback Unit easier. Besides acting on views and suggestions from the public, the Unit also solicits views and comments from members of the public on national issues such as the National Agenda, independent schools and town councils. This is done through the various forums, dialogue sessions and informal discussions organized by the Unit with participation from professionals, grassroots organizations and individual members of the public. This year, the Unit will also hold regular dialogues with professional bodies, trade associations, social clubs and other private organizations. And I would like to take this opportunity to openly invite all interested parties and individuals who may wish to have dialogue with the Unit to get in touch with the Unit either by phone or in writing. INVESTMENTS IN THE PEOPLE'S REPUBIC OF CHINA BY SINGAPORE-BASED COMPANIES 8. Mr Yeo Choo Kok asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) how many Singapore-based companies have invested in the People's Republic of China to date; (b) what is the level of investment committed; (c) what are the major problems faced by Singaporean investors in the PRC; and (d) whether there is an investment guarantee between the PRC and Singapore.”
“Sir, I am satisfied with the work of the Feedback Unit. Let me elaborate. As Members may recall, the Feedback Unit was set up in March 1985 to provide an additional channel of communication between the people and the Government and I am pleased to say that the public has actively made use of this channel. As at 28th February, the Unit received a total of 1,538 inputs from members of the public and 2,030 inputs from grassroots organizations as well as telephone calls and personal visits. The public is primarily concerned with issues on housing, welfare and health services, issues which touch on the daily life of Singaporeans. I had previously reported to this House that the members of the public were well aware that the Feedback Unit was not a complaints bureau and letters and inputs from them clearly indicated this understanding. Indeed, the private complaints and appeals which formed about 10-12% of the total inputs in March 1985 had dropped to 8% in December 1985 and only 2% in December 1986. The bulk of the inputs, that is about 50%, were suggestions and comments on national policies, while the remaining 48% were requests for information and clarification on policies. Suggestions and views from members of the public are channelled by the Unit to the various Ministries and departments for their consideration, and these Government Ministries and departments do take the feedback seriously. Changes and modifications have been made by the various Ministries and departments arising from the feedback given. Some examples are: giving longer grace period for late payment of fees in view of the recession and allowing owners and occupiers of acquired land to continue with their activities if there is no immediate plan for the development of the acquired land.”
“Point of order, Sir. I think we can easily ask the Parliamentary reporter to get those words out at the end of the day. And then we can ask the Member to repeat them, rather than spending so much time arguing about this now.”
“The first development plan was drawn up a few years ago and it was for a five-year period. After this five-year development plan has been completed and implemented, then the second five-year plan will be developed. We are now discussing with the Treasury officials to develop the second five-year plan. The Finance Ministry will be looking into the norms and the criteria for the building of branch libraries. So this is under review.”
“Sir, the National Library has no plan to build a branch library in Hougang New Town currently. The first National Library five-year development plan will end in FY 87. Between now and then, two new branch libraries will be built in Jurong East and Geylang East. The National Library will consider the need for a branch library in Hougang when it draws up its second development plan for 1988-1992.”
“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 1987/88, and ask leave to sit again tomorrow.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to report that the Committee of Supply has made progress on the Main and Development Estimates for the financial year 1987/88, and ask leave to sit again tomorrow.”
“Sir, the Commonwealth Institute was set up by an Act of the UK Parliament with the objective of fostering among the peoples of the Commonwealth a better understanding and greater knowledge of one another, and of the importance and worth of the Commonwealth Association. This objective is still relevant and valid today. And to this end, I believe the Commonwealth Institute has organized a number of activities to promote understanding of countries among one another. The first Singapore exhibits were done, I believe, in 1961 when we first became part of the Commonwealth Institute. Late last year, these exhibits were updated to show the changes in Singapore, its prosperity and dynamism that we have achieved so far. So let me assure the Member that the exhibits in the Commonwealth Institute today are updated. The permanent exhibits, I was told, attracted more than 100,000 visitors to the Institute per year. And these exhibits do give foreigners or tourists a good understanding of the things that are done in Singapore. As regards the Colombo Plan assistance, the Colombo Plan assistance on undergraduate scholarships is handled by the Public Service Commission. Post-graduate scholarships and training awards are handled by the Public Service Division of the Ministry of Finance. We do not know the full value of the awards given to Singapore because donor countries do not keep figures or they do not want to reveal the full value of the awards. But in terms of numbers, Singapore received 448 scholarships and training awards from the developed countries between 1981 and 1985. And during the same period, Singapore offered 607 awards to developing member countries of the Colombo Plan valued at $2.44 million. Just in 1986 alone, Singapore received 108 scholarships and training awards.”
“In December last year, the Philippines National Economic Development Authority submitted a list of 14 projects for consideration. These projects included airport and port developments, animal vaccine technology, civil aviation, shipbuilding and repair training programmes. The TDB has made a preliminary study of these proposals and its officials were in Manila recently to discuss with the Filipinos the guidelines and technical issues connected with these projects. The relevant Philippines officials are now studying the matters raised and will communicate with us shortly. Upon receipt of their comments, TDB will place advertisements in the Singapore press to invite Singapore companies to indicate their interest to participate in this scheme.”
“Sir, the Member for Chong Boon is right that the reason why the ASEAN training award budget is reduced is because in the last few years, it has not been fully used up. For example, in the last three years' provision, only slightly less than 50% of them were taken up. One reason, I speculate, could be that there are other awards available to these other countries. But if there is a need for more than the $200,000 that is currently provided, we will ask Treasury for the money and I am sure they will be glad to oblige. As regards the technical assistance that we are offering to the Philipines government, this offer of $5 million was made by the Prime Minister when he visited Philippines last year between 30th June and 3rd July. This assistance is to spread over a period of three years, for the payment of services in those areas where Singapore has technical competence or expertise. And these services will be rendered by nominated companies, Singapore-owned companies, institutions and from professionals both private and the public sectors. Branches and subsidiaries of Singapore companies in the Philippines can also qualify for consideration by the Singapore Government. The Singapore Trade Development Board is appointed as the agency to implement this aid on behalf of the Government and the overall liaison is done by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In August last year, a comprehensive list of service projects that Singapore could finance under this technical assistance scheme was presented to the Philippines government. The areas covered were port planning and development, airport development and maintenance, housing and urban renewal and consultancy services in the development of industrial estates and primary production.”
“The Raffles Tower block that we are moving into is a separate building and it is not mixed up with the hotel block. We have separate access and separate lift lobby as well. There is no need to worry that you will walk into the wrong place.”
“Sir, the single post that Parliament has is not a junior post. It is a Division I officer post. So it is senior enough to attract suitable candidates to apply for this particular post. City Hall is going to be used as an extension of the Supreme Court. As a result, there would not be space for Parliament to move there. Besides, it does not have the same kind of high ceiling and high roof for it to look more like a Parliament. So I am afraid we cannot move to City Hall because there is already a prior claim to it and that this Parliament building, although it is old and historical, it is not an inconsequential building. It stands out as one of the landmarks of Singapore.”
“To enable the Sikh community to take over entirely the administration and management of the Central and Silat Road Sikh temples, section 3 of the 1981 Act is to be repealed and a new section enacted to provide for the Board to consist of such number of members who are elected at each biennial general meeting by persons who are on the membership register. To ensure that there is continuity in the management of the temples, the existing members of the Board will continue to hold office until a new Board is elected. The present Board will be given six months from the commencement of the Amendment Act to convene a general meeting of persons who are on the membership register so that they can elect new members to the Board. Section 11 of the Act relating to the removal of members from the Board is to be repealed and a new section enacted to provide for disqualifications for membership of the Board. Under the revised section, any person who has been elected or appointed to the Board will cease to hold office as a member of the Board if he is an undischarged bankrupt or suspends payment to, or makes any arrangement or composition with, his creditors. The member shall also cease to hold office if he has been sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than six months and has not received a free pardon or a resolution is passed at an extraordinary general meeting calling for his removal from office. Section 16 of the Act is to be amended to remove the requirement that the approval of the Minister must first be obtained for the Board to make rules. It is best left to the Board and its ordinary members to decide on the rules. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, this is a very straightforward Bill which is unanimously supported by the leaders of the Sikh community. I beg to move.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." The present Central Sikh Gurdwara Board Act was passed by Parliament on 2nd October 1981. It replaced the Silat Road Gurdwara Ordinance (Cap. 318) and the Queen Street Gurdwara Ordinance (Cap. 311). This was done at the request of the Sikh community so that they could set up a building fund to construct a Central Sikh temple. A new Sikh temple has now been built at the junction of Serangoon Road and Towner Road. The present Central Sikh Gurdwara Board Act, 1981, states that the first Board is to be made up of 25 members,all of whom shall be appointed by the Minister. Subsequent Boards, however, shall consist of 10 members to be appointed by the Minister and 15 members to be elected from among members whose names are on the membership register. The first Board was appointed on 2nd October 1981. When the Board was first appointed, its task was to draw up rules to establish and maintain a membership register, so that elections could be held to elect a new Board, made up of both appointed and elected members, to take over the management of the temples. The Board subsequently put up a set of rules for the Government's approval. But the proposed rules were found to have gone beyond the provisions in the Act and, hence, could not be approved. Following discussions with the Central Sikh Gurdwara Board, the Act will now be amended at the Board's request so that the administration and management of the temples are left entirely to the Sikh community. The Sikh Advisory Board was consulted and the members unanimously agreed with this move.”
“I have already stated, Mr Speaker, Sir, that the amendment was purely consequential to the amendment to the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act. Prof. Jayakumar rose ---”
“Sir, the Member for Anson was told of the answer this morning. He was told of this in an answer to the same question that he raised on 22nd September when the amendment was made by the Minister. I suggest that he read the transcript to the Minister's speech when he moved the amendment on the 22nd September. The answers are there.”
“We do not have to change the Constitution. The amendment made was the amendment to the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act. There was no constitutional change, just changes to the powers and privileges of Parliament.”
“Do we not know the seriousness of an offence like this, of a taxi driver alone in his vehicle and has a female passenger in the vehicle all by herself, not being able to defend herself if she is offended or molested by the taxi driver? Surely we want to protect our public from such people. I think, when weighing the individual rights of a person with criminal records in seeking public appointments or in this kind of public service jobs, we need to take into account the wider interest of the public. We must protect the interest of the public. This person claims that he can only drive a bus or a taxi. But I am sure with a pair of hands, he can do many things as well in addition to just driving. So if he wants to work, I am sure he should have no difficulty in finding employment. There are also other categories of jobs which should not be open to people with convictions for serious offences, eg, in security agencies. Security agencies' staff are employed by their clients to look after property or sometimes even life. For a person who has been convicted of a serious offence, do we want to place the public's interest, the client's interest, in his hands if he has such a record? I think we must ask ourselves: whose interest should we protect? The wider interest of the public or one person's interest? 5.30 pm The Question having been proposed at Five o'clock pm and the Debate having continued for half an hour, Mr Deputy Speaker adjourned the House without Question put, pursuant to the Standing Order. Adjourned accordingly at Half-past Five o'clock pm to a date to be fixed. Annex - INVOLVEMENT OF SENIOR CITIZENS IN ACTIVITIES BY PERCENTAGE (Cols. 743 - 744)”
“No rooms, Sir, are allocated specially for senior citizens. They are part and parcel of the RC or the CCC activities. I am not sure about the Anson Constituency. But if the RCs or the CCC or the PA in Anson are prepared to have a senior citizens' club, I am sure they will do it. They will have it.”
“This will depend very much on the Residents' Committees themselves. If they are prepared to have the senior citizens gather in the RC facilities in the day-time and if the senior citizens are prepared to look after the place, I am sure the Residents' Committee will consider this.”
“I mentioned that there are senior citizens' clubs in the various constituencies organized by the Residents' Committees, the CCCs, the PA, and so on. There are altogether about 111 senior citizens' clubs. Senior citizens can join these clubs. There are now about 27,000 members in these clubs. In addition, there are also other facilities like the day care centres and health screening centres in a couple of the constituencies.”
“I mentioned that 65.7% are unemployed and of these unemployed only 3(r)% were looking for work.”
“He says he wants to see it. There is no reason for me to show him now. If I want to bring it here, if I want to show it to him, who does he want to show it to? To his foreign journalist friends who are trying to do us in? Is that what he wants to do?”
“This again is a rather tiresome thing. I have said that I have it.”
“So I suggest that he takes the Member for Whampoa's advice and take up a course in the NUS.”
“Sir, I am amazed at the level of comprehension of the Member for Potong Pasir. I do not intend to waste the time of this House on giving him a tutorial in English language. Mr Chiam See Tong: Let us have it.”
“--- as having engaged in Singapore's politics, we will make that analysis available.”
“Why should you have it? I have said, Mr Speaker, Sir, that when we decide to declare a publication --- Mr Jeyaretnam rose ---”
“The problem with the Member for Anson is that when he hears, he does not listen, when he looks, he does not see. Even if he sees and listens, he does not understand. If he does, he does not want to accept. When I said on 22nd January that we did an analysis, we did an analysis.”
“Sir, the question on the Prime Minister is best to have it asked of the Prime Minister. But even if the Prime Minister were to have all those publications available to him, does it mean that Singaporeans do not? They have. As I said, these publications are available. Not a single foreign Western press is banned unless it is on communist, moral or ideological grounds. So Singaporeans will continue to have access to these publications. Whether we would release the analysis, there is a Chinese saying too: da cao jing she, which means, if you are looking for a snake in the bush, do not go around beating the bush. When the time is due, when we decide to declare the publication as having been involved or engaged in our politics, we will make known the whole analysis; no doubt about that.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, this Bill is not to ban a foreign publication. This Bill is to allow the foreign publication that has meddled with Singapore's politics to even continue to circulate here. And when that publication is declared to have interfered or engaged in our domestic politics, it would still be allowed to be circulated and it will be available in our public libraries. So there is no question whatsoever of shutting our Singaporeans out from any information that is available in the world.”
“SBC asked her whether she felt that in international reporting the development goals of countries have to be respected in the reportage. That was SBC's question and Mrs Graham said: 'Absolutely yes. I think that the northern press when it goes into the lesser developed countries or the middle income countries such as Singapore of course you have to respect the host country and you have to be sensitive to the issues there as you do everywhere.' Then she went on to say: 'I would say that there is a parallel in our own country when we are covering poor urban areas or black issues or even woman issues. At first I think the press has to be especially sensitive to whoever you are covering and to observe the regulations in the host country. It is absolutely right.' If the Member for Potong Pasir has not learned it, this is for his benefit. Mr Chiam See Tong: What is the point in trying to bring this up?”
“The Member for Potong Pasir opposed the Bill. So roundly, he said. I cannot blame him. We have Mary and the little lamb or a little calf who is easily led by the nose by his friend. I cannot expect anything else from him. He does not listen very well too and I also cannot blame him. But as a lawyer who can read simple English, he cannot understand the proposed section 18A(4) of the amendment Bill. He says that under section 18A(4) we will be able to black out the whole paragraph, the whole page, the whole article. That is not what it says. Read it carefully. Maybe he should follow the Member for Whampoa's advice to take a proficiency course in English in the University. His idea of press freedom is, he says, "Why should we have a different standard of press freedom?" Of course, we must, because our standard of development, our progress, our economy, our culture, our society, they are all very different from the West. So when you have two different sets of circumstances, two different sets of values, you cannot have the same yardstick to measure them. Can you? The Member for Potong Pasir also mentioned his meeting with the Chairman and publisher of Newsweek and Washington Post; that both the Oppostion Members met her. I do not know what his point was. Maybe to inflate his own ego that he has met this publisher. But since he has met her, I presume that she must have given him her view of how an international press should operate and I hope that he has learned something from it. If he has not, maybe I would try to give an example of what is meant by an international press and how it should help the societies of the developing world. Kathryn Graham was here in the early part of February. On the 3rd February she was interviewed by SBC.”
“Lack of caring society, social engineering and the Secretary-General of NTUC and the Second Deputy Prime Minister is the same person. It is like asking me: Are snake bites poisonous? Will I get rabies if I were bitten by this dog? I do not know, unless you tell me what sort of snake it is; unless you tell me whether it is a mad dog. I cannot tell you without enough facts.”
“He gave the man who runs the shop the impression he was from the government, and the man produced the bills, which I had paid myself. That was absolutely unforgivable.' 'The problem is that the process feeds on itself. The Washington Post would run a story outlining new and anonymous innuendos directed against me and the network news directors would all feel driven by competitive pressure to try to get a response. The remedy is self-restraint.' For those who are interested in an investigative press I would commend them to read this article. What is the Member for Anson's idea of a responsible press? We have the Asian Wall Street Journal, for example, whose circulation is one out of seven copies in Singapore. Over the last few days, since our debate in Parliament over the Commission of Inquiry, not a word has been printed in the Asian Wall Street Journal about this subject. Maybe they will do so later. Let me comment on the three questions that the Member for Anson asked me whether if the foreign press write about caring society ---”
“I quote: 'They are rude and accusatory, cynical and almost unpatriotic. They twist facts to suit their not-so-hidden liberal agenda. They meddle in politics, harass business, invade people's privacy, and then walk off without regard to the pain and chaos they leave behind. They are arrogant and self-righteous, brushing aside most criticism as the uninformed carping of cranks and ideologues. To top it off, they claim that their behavior is sanctioned, indeed sanctified, by the U.S. Constitution.' The same article also carried the opinions of eight individuals who have in a way been the subject of an investigative press with the headline, "Your Story, but My Life". Let me just quote one of the interviews. This is on Richard Allen. I am sorry to bring this up, but I think Mr Richard Allen is well known. He was President Reagan's National Security Adviser in January 1982. He resigned from the job following allegations that he had improperly accepted gifts from Japanese journalists and businessmen. He was cleared of wrongdoing. This is what he said: 'We were held captive in our house by the media from roughly mid-November to early January. This was all day, every day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, wedding anniversary, birthdays. They would begin to come at about 5.30 in the morning. I would be forced to respond at 6.30 am upon leaving the house. When I had nothing to say, they tried other ways to get a story. A CBS reporter tried to question my six-year-old daughter Kimberley, on her way to kindergarten: "Is your daddy home?" My kids were afraid to go out. Another CBS correspondent tried to find out whether Japanese businessmen were paying my bill at my favorite sushi shop.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, before we adjourned for lunch, I was talking about the local press and the tirade of the Member for Anson against our press. I said they are capable of defending themselves. But one point mentioned by the Member is that we are only fed with one view and this is the English press. We have actually more than one newspaper. We have the Chinese papers. We have the Tamil papers. We have the Malay papers. We also have many other foreign publications which are freely available here and the Government also has not stopped the Workers Party or the SDP from hawking its Hammer or Demokrat. So how could we just be fed with one view unless again he is trying to hoodwink us. He asked that our press should be a bit more investigative. We have seen an example of investigative press - the sorry saga of Mr Lim Poh Huat. But I think when newspapers get into investigative reporting, something may happen and, of course, that thing would be that the private lives of individuals will be completely exposed to the public view and sometimes through no fault of theirs, they will not be able to lead a normal life. If the press were to take up the suggestion of the Member to be investigative, maybe they can find out who Mr Percy Seneviratne is, what he has written about us. I think then people will know what this so-called man with integrity and respected by the Member for Anson has said about Singapore. Investigative press, Sir, is not new in America, the model of press freedom, so often championed and quoted by the Member. I just need to quote one paragraph from an article in the Time magazine of 12th December 1983, with the headline "Journalism Under Fire". This is the view of the people who wrote this article about press freedom and investigative press in America.”
“I do not have to defend the press when the Member yesterday made a tirade of the press. They are very capable of defending themselves. But sometimes I too feel that the press has given him ---”
“Sir, I quoted the Member correctly because I took down those words that he mentioned. Anyway that is another matter. Sir, yesterday we saw the same old behaviour of the Member for Anson. We saw it today. We heard the same old tune yesterday, we heard part of it this morning, and he delivered it in the same old way, which we are all so familiar. It is like a taperecorder, playing the same stuff over and over again. That waffle was nothing new. From the froth I cannot find a strand of information, a strand of argument that really supports his rejection of this Bill. I cannot find it. The only point that he made was "we are shutting Singaporeans out". But how can we shut Singaporeans out when we even allow copies to come in? We allow journalists to come and stay, and live and work. How can we do that? That is, again, another distortion in his mind. Of course, it is not surprising because I do not expect ivory to come from canine mouth. That is a Chinese saying. I am just translating it. gou ju zhang bu chu xiang ya . I am no expert in Chinese quotations but I just learn a few words here and there. Remember there are 3,700 foreign publications and I have mentioned that. I think many of us also tune in to foreign broadcasting stations. There are quite a number of them around. There are foreign television stations. There are quite a number of them around too. With exposure to these foreign stations and foreign television, can we really shut ourselves out? There is no truth, therefore, that Singapore or the Government would deny Singaporeans of access to information. No foreign publication has been banned, except on moral grounds, except when it incites or it is against our religion or when it is of a communist nature.”
“Sir, can you please ask the Member to sit down? An hon. Member: No, Singapore was not.”