Yeoh Ghim Seng
Singapore
“Thus, without any prospect of monetary gain, I can say that this Bill is a sensible one. However, I am inclined to agree with the Member for Bras Basah that the proposed pension for Members of Parliament would appear to be rather inadequate, because by the time a Member of Parliament reaches the age of 50 -and I can see from a look at Mem…”
“I take it that when the Minister talked of this fundamental right of women, he was only confining his remarks to our citizens. Yet in clause 5 (8) of the Bill, our female citizens residing outside Singapore will not be entitled to this fundamental right to have an abortion.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I know that there are many advantages in having ships registered in Singapore. But what worries me is what will happen in case of accidents, say leakage of oil from a tanker registered in Singapore? Is the Government of Singapore responsible for such incidents?”
“May I know if it is the usual custom for other countries to have a clause similar to clause 6 of the Bill? Mr P. Selvadurai: Mr Speaker, Sir, while I would welcome this Bill, clause 6 is a bit difficult because it tends to expropriate property rights.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, with the exception of those people of the Muslim faith, what will happen to our citizens born out of wedlock and whose parents do not subsequently get married? Are they going to be labelled for the rest of their lives as bastards? Or will they be ordinary citizens of ours and not have the stigma of bastards?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the point I am getting at is, what will happen to our citizens whose parents were never married? Will they carry on for the rest of their lives as illegitimate citizens of this country in the eyes of the law, and what happens when they hold passports, and so on?”
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“Mr Speaker, Sir, it seems shameful that in this matter of rowdyism, destruction of public property and lawlessness, the only voice of protest loud enough to be heard in this island comes from Members of this House, What has happened to our community leaders and the rest of our good citizens? Are they going to stay silent and stay in the background in matters of such civic importance and let a handful of citizens speak for them? Do they not have as much right to this land of ours as the hon. Members of this House? Are our worthy citizens going to stand on the pavement and watch whenever such acts of public misbehaviour and violence are being carried out? Are they not worried that these acts of violence might easily jeopardise the future of our young Republic? We know, Mr Speaker, Sir, that almost a hundred per cent of our population disapprove of and condemn such acts of civic disruption, and I feel it is time that the leaders of our community came out and joined with this House in openly denouncing such acts against the public peace. I, therefore, congratulate the Hon. Minister for Law and National Development on getting the Criminal Procedure Code amended, as I feel every loyal citizen of Singapore will support it. 4.53 p.m.”
“Part-time and identical military training for the draftees for the first two years will thus allow them to complete their schooling or to go and find jobs for themselves. In this way, the Government will not be obliged to guarantee jobs to a small section of our national servicemen. My own feeling is that if we are going to introduce national service, we should go all out and put every one of our young men through a period of military training. I know we may not have enough facilities at the moment, but we should try to rectify this. Military instructors should be employed from the United Kingdom or elsewhere, and army camps should be constructed to meet the demands of the thousands of draftees per annum. There is no shortcut to perfection, and it is by toil, sweat and tears that we can develop a new generation of loyal citizens, a generation who will come to appreciate what is being done today by the Government. Mr Speaker, Sir, I am not suggesting that our national service should stop at a stage after two years of part-time military training. It should not be so. Once our young men have undergone military training, they should go on the reserve list and carry on with their national service, again on a part-time basis, in either the People's Defence Force, the Special Constabulary, or the Vigilante Corps, until they reach the age of 40. In conclusion, Sir, may I make a plea on behalf of the Vigilante Corps? I feel that the members of this Corps should be paid an allowance whenever they go on duty.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I am sure the question of the necessity of having national service is on the lips of a lot of parents and a source of malicious propaganda by the enemies within the Republic. We in Singapore are now enjoying a period of peace and relative prosperity, and it is the duty of our citizens to see to it that this state of well-being is ensured not only for themselves but also for their children. Must we, as a nation, depend on the protective shade given of by the defensive umbrella of a major power'? Are we going to be militarily weak or a submissive nation, or are we going to build our muscles? Every citizen must realise by now that Great Britain will not be able to look after our military needs forever. The introduction of national service is, therefore, a very wise and timely move, as it will stimulate our citizens to wake up and value this land of ours as their motherland. They should be proud that their teenage sons are going to spearhead a new generation of Singaporeans who will know how to protect and, if necessary, defend what is rightly theirs. However, I am not particularly happy to see the division of national service into four kinds, as I feel our young citizens should be given equal treatment. They should all undergo the same form of service, namely, military training - part-time for two years. There is nothing like a spell of military training and discipline to build up a new generation of tough, self-respecting and dedicated citizens. By putting all of them through the same mill will subject all the races to the same environment, so that there will be a togetherness not only in military training but also in the love of the nation, a better understanding of social obligation, and the development of civic-mindedness.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in view of the Minister's explanation, I wish to withdraw. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Mr Teong Eng Siong(In Mandarin): Sir, I move, That the total sum to be allocated for Head 30 be reduced by $100.* (* The same amendment also stood in the names of Inche Mohd. Ariff Bin Suradi and Madam Chan Choy Siong.) Sir, the vote under this Head is $1,894,070, mainly to set up a Static X'Ray Unit, the provision of furniture and equipment for the Nurses' Training School, and to expand the facilities and equipment for the Medical School. 4.15 p.m. We all know that our medical services can be considered as the best in the whole of South-East Asia. The annual vote for medical services has been increasing every year. We know that at present our Government has eleven different types of hospitals, 31 clinics and 5 mobile clinics which are mainly to serve the rural people. Because of the Government's efforts in this field, the health of the people has been well taken care of. This can be said to be the good fortune of our people. Under this head I would like to ask the Minister two questions. Firstly, when will the building of the Institute of Medical Specialities be started and when will it be completed? What type of service will it provide for our people? Secondly, about the training of nurses and the subjects to be taught. Will the subjects taught include courtesy? What will be the Government's plan on the subjects to be taught? I hope members of the public will be able to praise the nurses instead of accusing or criticising them for their bad attitude as in the past.”
“We cannot disguise the fact that Singapore will require many more hospitals than what we now have and the University Medical Centre will represent not only a tremendous step forward in meeting the public's demand for more beds and more specialists, but also a step forward in our medical progress.”
“This University Medical Centre can incorporate into its structure not only the various disciplines required for the training of future medical practitioners, but also all the medical specialities envisaged by the organisers of the Medical Progress Fund. Once this centre is established, then the city will have more hospital beds to look after the sick and help to relieve the congestion in the General and Kandang Kerbau Hospitals. Mr Speaker, Sir, although Singapore is one of the smallest nations in the world, we have a lot of very intelligent and able young undergraduates and graduates of medicine, and we should use every available means to encourage our young men and women in medicine to bloom and blossom so that one day we may number among our graduates at least one Nobel Prize winner for medicine. If the authorities accept my suggestion and go all out for a Medical Centre, then our young graduates should be encouraged now to take up the necessary branches of specialisation so that once the centre is ready, there will not be any lack of medical men to fill the necessary appointments. Mr Speaker, Sir, our country with a population of nearly two million has a singular lack of general and maternity hospitals. The result of this lack is reflected in the very small number of trained specialists of one type or another. I realise, Sir, that the Medical Departments of both the University and of the Ministry of Health have received complimentary remarks from various visitors who are experts in their fields. Surely, Sir, no matter how sincere these remarks might have been, we cannot afford to be complacent and bury our heads in the sand.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 30 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 101. Sir, I have given this idea of an Institute of Medical Specialities a great deal of thought and I must say that I cannot reconcile myself to the impression that the medical progress in this country can be assured only if the number of super-duper specialities is developed. Perhaps one could consider it progress if there were enough trained and experienced specialists to take over the running and supervision of such medical specialities. Alas, Mr Speaker, Sir, I have looked around our 200 square miles, and I am not convinced at all, at the moment, that there are such specialists available, with the exception of specialists in radiotherapy. Therefore, Mr Speaker, Sir, I have no objection to the building of a Radiotherapy Isotope Centre, as there is no doubt at all that this country is in dire need of such a centre and we have the specialists who can man this centre efficiently and who can render valuable services to the patients in need of such therapy. I want it to be understood, Mr Speaker, Sir, that I am not against the Medical Progress Fund, as I have a lot of praise for the good people of Singapore who responded so generously to the appeal launched by the Chairman and members of the Progress Fund Committee. In fact, they have already collected $3 million and I suggest that this Committee should continue with the good work and appeal for more donations so that, instead of building an Institute of Medical Specialities, the authorities could use the $3 million as a start towards the development of a University Medical Centre, that is, a University Teaching Hospital.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I should like to congratulate the Hon. Minister for Finance on a realistic and sound Budget Speech. There is practically nothing in it that one can criticise. "The economy continues to move forward" were the very words of the Hon. Minister and these words must have acted like a shot in the arm to the public. The Hon. Minister said that it was his good fortune as Finance Minister for two successful years not to have had to raise revenue by increases in the rates of taxation. I am sure the taxpayers in this country must have sighed with relief to know that we have a Finance Minister who knows his business. However, the Minister has stated that the only change is one of increasing the motor vehicle tax and this would bring in a small increase of $5½ million in revenue, an increase which we do not really need, as this increase is incidental to the introduction of sound principles of taxation. If this is really so, Mr Speaker, Sir, I would have expected the Hon. Minister to spread the benefit of $5½ million among the lower income group so that these citizens would have to pay less income tax for the year 1967. Perhaps our very understanding Minister will consider what I have just said and be the first Finance Minister in South-East Asia to start a good example by lowering income taxes for the lower income group. 6.29 p.m.”
“I understand there are a number of aliens in this country, Sir, with forged new identity cards. Is the Minister aware of that?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in view of the tremendous mosquito menace, may I know how many cases of malaria have been reported last year?”