Yong Nyuk Lin
Singapore
“Sir, it gives mc a chance to say again that the modified plan cannot be accepted at this stage. But it does give me the opportunity to answer another point which was raised by the Member for Ton Payoh and which I have missed in my answer, i.e, that the fringe area car parks would not be utilized at night.”
“I am sorry, Sir, for failing to answer all the questions raised by the Member for Sembawang. As regards the full implementation of the recommendations of the White Paper which was meant to be completed by the middle of 1973, I can only say that it was not a 100% implementation of all the recommendations.”
“He said that they threw the mail on the floor. Here again, unless a complaint is lodged, we can do little about it because all postmen and postwomen are being told how to behave and to extend courtesy, and what the correct procedure is and methods of delivery of mail.”
“" And if, God forbid, priority national needs should one day call for a limitation of circulation of automobiles or any other measure, no one would then regard it as an intolerable sacrifice. "For in a society where humanism regains fully its rights, the automobile should not constitute an end in itself," Mr Graber said.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, it is regrettably true that after many of the estimates for Paya Lebar Airport had been voted, revotes had to be asked for. The reason is that it has taken a long time to get all these development proposals started. They are development proposals really, Sir, and plans have got to be drawn and checked.”
“In these circumstances, I hope it will be appreciated that they are stretching themselves far and wide, and there is always a limit to what a human being can do I can assure him that we will continue to enforce the regulations as far as it is humanly possible before getting a complaint from the Member for Sembawang who says that our enfor…”
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“We have, therefore, a problem which we have inherited with the passage of time, so much so that it will, I am afraid, take quite some time before we are in a position to say that Singapore will be mosquito-free. An attempt has been made to improve the public health situation in various parts of Singapore. We are at present concentrating on the city area. I am afraid that, unless the nuisance is very bad in the rural areas, the concentration for the present and the near future would be in the city, and then later on it will be extended to the rural areas. Next comes the question of septic tanks. This, unfortunately, does not come within the province of the Ministry of Health. It comes within the Ministry of National Development under sewerage. We have taken up the matter with them and the reply given is that they will play their part by spraying anti-malarial oil on to these septic tanks. As for the rat colonies, I think this is really an index of refuse in the particular place. I think there are colonies of rats even in the best of cities. However, I do not wish to belittle this public health problem of what the Member for Bukit Panjang says, "rat colonies in Kandang Kerbau Market". There are rat colonies in almost every market. However, in view of his complaints, I shall get my department to try to do something more in Kandang Kerbau Market to exterminate the rat colonies as fast as we can and, at the same time, this problem if it is found to be of such a nature as to warrant further attacks in other markets.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I agree that the mosquito density in Singapore has been on the increase. This has been so not only recently but over a period of time. There are various explanations for this unfortunate situation. I think it can be said that while Singapore has been fortunate in that, although we are situated within a malarial region that extends for hundreds of miles around us, Singapore is supposed to be malaria free. We have been able to conquer the malarial scourge although we are in the heart of this area. We do occasionally have cases of malaria, about 100 to 200 cases per year, when they get hospitalised. But these are generally imported cases. They got the infection somewhere else, and then when they come here they have the fever. It is diagnosed as malaria and then they are treated. But all this while the department has been concentrating on what is known as anti-malarial work, leaving aside the other mosquitoes which can be just as troublesome, just calling them nuisance mosquitoes. This problem has been deteriorating for some time for various reasons, partly because of the rapid development of Singapore with housing estates where trees have been lopped off and the drainage is bad. In fact, in Singapore all that is needed is just a wee bit of water to be left for a week, and it is possible to breed mosquitoes. We have a situation where the drainage is bad. It is applicable almost everywhere in Singapore. There has also been a deterioration in the Public Cleansing Services. The situation is worsened by thousands of unlicensed hawkers, and sometimes even licensed hawkers, throwing refuse into the drains and clogging them up.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I do not think it is really time for a great expansion of the medical services. I think it is still necessary to consolidate. But whatever it is, we did make an attempt to increase our staff. We asked for another 46 doctors for next year, of whom 18 would be for the outpatient services. But I am sad to say that the Ministry of Finance threw the whole proposal out.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I myself have noted with concern the unnecessary exchange of views expressed by doctors and pharmacists during the last few months when I had already appointed a committee to investigate into this problem. This committee has already been in session since April of this year and it has had more than a dozen meetings. I believe it is already at the last stages of drawing up a report. It will, therefore, be invidious on my part to try to attempt to answer the questions posed by the Member for Joo Chiat. May I first say that in establishing the committee, I had taken the precaution to have adequate representation from the doctors. There are three representations from the medical profession, three from the pharmaceutical profession, and I tried to balance the two forces with another three who are complete outsiders and who had nothing to do either with medicine or with pharmacy. One of them is the Deputy Chairman of the Public Service Commission. And I also had two other individuals one of whom is the Director of the Singapore Institute of Management, so that the question of costs would be very much in the minds of the members of the committee, and, thirdly, a female member of the Bar to introduce a little of the female element into the discussion.”
“Sir, the Poisons Advisory Committee is a non-statutory administrative body set up to advise the Minister for Health and is without executive or legal powers. At present, the Poisons Advisory Committee has 15 members which include three medical doctors, namely, (1) the Director of Medical Services, who is ex-officio Chairman, (2) the Senior Consultant Physician of Outram Road General Hospital, and (3) the Professor of Clinical Medicine, University of Singapore. It would appear, therefore, that the medical view- point is being adequately represented. If the Singapore Medical Association is eager to offer its services to serve on the Poisons Advisory Committee, I shall be most happy to appoint two of their representatives to this Committee, making a total of 17, if such request is put to me, in writing, by the Singapore Medical Association. NON-CITIZENS WITH EMPLOYMENT PASSES (Number of, and Immigration Department policy) 19. Mr Bernard Rodrigues asked the Minister of Defence how many non-citizens wishing to enter Singapore to take up employment at a salary of less than one thousand two hundred dollars per month have been issued with Employment Passes by the Controller of Immigration and what is the policy of the Immigration Department in the issue of Employment Passes to such persons.”
“Consultant on haemorrhagic fever will be visiting the following countries in the Western Pacific Region, namely, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore, next month (October). The purpose of the consultant's visit will be to hold preliminary discussions with clinicians and scientists on (a) criteria for the establishment of common definitions for reporting cases of haemorrhagic fever, and (b) some technical aspects of haemorrhagic fever surveillance and control. POISONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE (Membership) 18. Dr Chew Chin Han asked the Minister for Health why the Poisons Advisory Committee includes representatives from the Ministry of Health, the Singapore Dental Association and the Malayan Pharmaceutical Association but none from the Singapore Medical Association; and, as the members of the Singapore Medical Association (which has a membership of more than 600) have much more direct dealings with drugs and poisons daily than, say, dentists and pharmacists, if he will consider representation of that Association on the Committee.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, present methods of anti-mosquito control are aimed primarily against the malaria mosquito (the type known as Anopheles maculatus and Anopheles sundaicus). (I am afraid I have not done my Latin; so the accent may not be quite right.) As the mosquitoes which transmit haemorrhagic fever are different, namely, Aedes species, other methods will have to be adopted. These methods are mainly against the larval stages of these mosquitoes. A one-year pilot project, which was carried out in the Geylang area bounded by Sims Avenue, Paya Lebar Road, Sungei Kallang and Sungei Geylang since September last year, demonstrated the effectiveness of simple measures by elimination of breeding places and public education through television, radio and pamphlets, and by personal contacts with the residents. The mosquito index fell within five weeks from an original 10 per cent to about 2 per cent. As complete eradication of the mosquito vectors may not be a practical possibility, what is aimed at is effective control, in order to bring the mosquito index down to insignificant numbers. For the present, D.D.T. appears to be effective against the local strains of mosquitoes, although resistance has already been reported in most parts of South East Asia. We are also making determined efforts to improve environmental sanitation in urban constituencies by clearing blocked drains, which are the cause for stagnant water and thus become excellent breeding grounds for mosquitoes. This involves many aspects of public health, especially licensing and control of hawkers (who are chief culprits for irresponsible dumping of refuse into drains), better drainage and unslabbing of roadside drains, as well. It may be of interest to the Member for Tampines to know that a W.H.O.”
“Sir, the number of known cases of haemorrhagic fever in Singapore since 1962 and its mortality rate are as follows : - Year Number Admitted Number Died 1962 185 2 1963 208 6 1964 375 7 1965 43 1 1966 659 24 It should be explained that haemorrhagic fever is not a notifiable disease, and the figures asked for by the Member for Tampines, going as far back as 1962, may not reflect the true situation according to the known available figures. However, with effect from 18th October last year, doctors working in Government hospitals and outpatient dispensaries were instructed to notify such cases to the Ministry of Health and the relatively high figure for 1966 may be partly due to this directive. In reply to the second part of his question, I am pleased to say that research on haemorrhagic fever has been going on since 1960 when it first appeared in Singapore. So far, 22 papers have been published in Singapore. A list* (* Appendix, cols. 243-6.) will be handed to the Speaker, and I have also handed a copy to the Member for Tampines. It covers the whole range of problems connected with the disease from basic research on the mosquito vector, the causative virus, and to the clinical features and treatment. Appendix to Oral Answer to Question No. 16, cols. 196-7 (Cols 0243-0246) [Copy of the List handed in to the Clerk.] ANTI-MOSQUITO CONTROL 17. Dr Chew Chin Han asked the Minister for Health whether the present methods used in anti-mosquito control are also effective in the extermination of the Aedes Aegypti mosquito which is responsible for the transmission of haemorrhagic fever and which is resistant to D.D.T.”
“I think not, Sir. HAEMORRHAGIC FEVER CASES IN SINGAPORE 16. Dr Chew Chin Han asked the Minister for Health (a) the number of cases of haemorrhagic fever in Singapore annually since 1962 and the mortality rate; and (b) whether any research on this disease has been carried out in Singapore particularly in the search for a better and more effective treatment, or has there merely been the exchange of views with African countries, Thailand and the Philippines.”
“In my reply to the Member for Anson, I have said that only one of the rejected cases has been subsequently re-employed by Government, but not in the Ministry of Health, which means that the other 233 have not been accepted at all.”
“I wish the Member for Anson had followed my answer. I have stated that because of the illegal strike, Government had decided that all those who did not turn up for work were considered to have sacked themselves. And then they were allowed, only if they wanted to work, to re-apply for employment. They put in their applications and they were not considered suitable; so they were rejected. Therefore, they do not get employment in the Ministry of Health, but they could apply for work anywhere else in Singapore if they wish.”
“On the basis of racial composition, the numbers who applied for re-employment are: Indians 1,177 or 52 per cent Malays 787 or 34 per cent Chinese and others 317 or 14 per cent ----- Total 2,281 ===== Of the rejected applicants, there were: Indians 104 which represents 44 per cent Malays 84 which represents 36 per cent Chinese and others 46 which represents 20 per cent --- Total 234 === If we group them according to their citizenship status, the total number who applied for re-employment is: Singapore citizens 1,626 or 71 per cent Non-citizens 655 or 29 per cent ----- Total 2,281 ===== Of the rejected applicants: Singapore citizens 184 or 79 per cent Non-citizens 50 or 21 per cent --- Total 234 ===”
“Sir, when the former Public Daily-Rated Cleansing Workers' Union decided to call an illegal strike on the 1st of February of this year as a protest against the Ministry of Health's decision to proceed with the long overdue reorganisation of the Public Cleansing Department, Government decided that all those, who went on strike had sacked themselves. However, as a large number of cleansing workers may have been prevented from presenting themselves for work as a result of the activities of instigators and pickets, and as the Ministry did not wish to penalise the honest hard-working workers, whether Singapore citizens or non-citizens, it was decided that those workers who desired reappointment could call personally and complete application forms at six centres. Out of a total of 2,281 such applications for re- employment, 2,047 were accepted for temporary re- employment subject to review after six months or 12 months. Of this, 234 were rejected. So far, only one rejected case has been subsequently re-employed by the Government but not in the Ministry of Health. As desired by the Member for Anson, the racial composition and citizenship status of those whose applications for re-employment have been rejected are given hereafter. But it is of interest to compare them with the total number who applied for registration.”
“It is the policy of the Hawkers Department not to issue hawker licences to non- citizens. If a non-citizen gets a hawker licence, therefore, something is wrong. If it is the work of an official who has issued the licence, then something serious has happened. The official has granted the licence against policy and, therefore, it is necessary to investigate fully into the matter - who is responsible for issuing that licence? And if, as the Member for Delta has said, the particular non-citizen hawker has been staying in Singapore for quite a considerable length of time, surely the Member of Parliament for that constituency should be in a position to ascertain that and to make recommendations which will receive our sympathetic consideration. DISMISSAL OF CLEANSING WORKERS AFFER STRIKE (Particulars) 15. Mr P. Govindaswamy asked the Minister for Health the number of workers dismissed during or immediately after the strike by cleansing workers early this year, giving figures by races and whether citizens or non-citizens; and whether the Government has re-instated any of the dismissed workers and the number re-instated.”
“As indicated in my reply, the cases of non-citizen hawkers holding licences are being investigated into, because it is the policy not to issue licences to non-citizens. So there is a possibility that non-citizens have obtained their hawkers' licences through corruption. We must, therefore, fully investigate the matter. I am prepared to consider their cases sympathetically provided the Members of Parliament of the respective constituencies are prepared to make their recommendations, and this is being done.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, it has been the policy of the Hawkers Department, as long ago as 1961, not to issue licences to non-Singapore citizens. During the recent reorganisation of the department, it has been discovered, however, that out of a total of 26,000 licences issued so far, 437 non-citizens, or 2 per cent of the hawkers, have been issued with such licences. The circumstances as to how these came to be issued are being investigated into. The department is, however, being seriously hampered in its work, because many important documents and files are not available and claimed to have been lost during a mysterious fire which gutted the office building of the Hawkers Department at Canning Rise in October 1964 - three years ago. So far, about 200 non-citizen hawkers seeking renewal of their licences have had their licences detained by the department, but they have been issued with authority slips to carry on business pending completion of investigation. Madam Chan Choy Siong (Delta)(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, to my knowledge, some non-citizen hawkers have been residing in this country for about ten years. They have not acquired citizenship because they have encountered difficulties in their applications for citizenship. Their licences were held up when they went to renew them recently. Will the Minister consider favourably their applications to renew their licences?”
“I am grateful, therefore, to the Member for River Valley for having brought up this matter so that I am able to impress upon the Public Health Inspectorate that they must do much better than what they have done in the past. We expect them to make more frequent visits, more than just once a month, and to maintain a much cleaner atmosphere not only in the lavatories of eating shops, coffee shops and restaurants, but even in the premises themselves. By next year, we should see less flies, less mosquitoes and breathe less smell. Mr Bernard Rodrigues: Mr Speaker, Sir, can I ask two questions for clarification?”
“We like them to be able to earn a livelihood, but the way in which they throw their refuse on to the roads and into the drains is a ridiculous state of affairs which has got to be stopped. When we go along the streets, we see people sweeping refuse into the drains as if the drains are dust-bins. We have to stop this nonsense. So with this new legislation, we will be able to bring home to our people the fact that they have to learn how to dispose of their refuse properly, by placing it in a dust-bin with a proper lid. Our workers will then be expected to perform a daily cleansing service, and if that does not come about, please give us a report and disciplinary action will be taken against the particular cleansing worker who fails to do his duty. We will therefore have, as a first stage, to get our workers in the Public Cleansing Department to do their work. I think we have reached that stage now. The second stage is to get the public to do their share of putting their refuse inside proper dust-bins, failing which we will have to be a little hard on theni if they cannot behave themselves. There is every possibility that within the next few months, things will be tightening up and that there will be more cleanliness around the city. In fact, it must be admitted that things are looking better than before. The city is certainly much cleaner now than before the February strike. As we begin to tighten up supervision of our work force - whether in public cleansing or even in the Public Health inspectorate who go round inspecting licensed premises - we should be able, with the co- operation of the public, to bring about a situation to which we are all looking forward, that is, our Singapore can be a garden city.”
“Geylang West is very well behaved, because it is the first constituency that has had its hawkers licensed and resited. Hawkers on the five-foot ways have been cleared. About 200 hawkers over a stretch of 100 yards outside a market in Lorong Taha dispersed of their own accord. They took down their unauthorised structures and got everything nicely reallocated in Lorongs 5 and 7. The drains were cleared; mosquitoes got less; there were less flies. Surely Geylang West is now a model constituency for any Member of Parliament to come along to see! There is one little correction which I have to make. The Member for River Valley has said that there will be a $5 fine for a householder who has no dustbin. I am afraid he has got it all wrong. The penalty will not be just $5 - it will be very punitive. What we say is this. We expect every householder, whether he stays in the kampongs of Sembawang or urban areas like Geylang West or Anson or Tanjong Pagar, to provide a dust-bin of his own. But should some householders be found without a dustbin, we will have to give them adequate notice saying, "Look here, we find that you have no dust-bin. Can you please provide a dust-bin within seven days, let us say, or else we will provide you with one and charge you for it? It might be $5, or it might be $10 for the dustbin." But we are going to amend our legislation so that there will be a very heavy penalty for people who just throw rubbish from their houses on to the roads and into the drains. The first offence will be $150, not $5 which is chicken feed. The second offence will be $500. The third one will be $1,000. The social habits of our people - mainly the hawkers - are bad because they are irresponsible, and that is what is happening today. Hawkers are only interested in making money.”
“But l am afraid that is not exactly what is happening, because people still do their business and make things worse. I would prefer that this question be tackled in a different way. It is no use just making a sweeping statement that everything is filthy and what can we do about it, and so on. Naturally, the answer will be, "Of course, we will try to do the best we can." But surely the problem can be tackled in this way. If a Member of Parliament or a member of the public knows of the filthy conditions of a particular shop, he can just give us a note to that effect, and we will be able to follow it up and rectify the situation. We will then be tackling specific instances, whether it is in the River Valley Constituency, Punggol Constituency or Jurong Constituency, and so on. An hon. Member: What about Geylang West?”
“For the first eight months of this year, as many as 12,738 visits have been made by the Public Health Inspectorate. Of this number, on 344 occasions - three per cent of their visits - they did find that the toilets of the 1,900 licensed premises were in a filthy condition. It is then the duty of the Public Health Inspector to tell the proprietor to do something about his toilet, to keep it in a clean state, flush it, and so on, and to return a few days later to see that the work is done. It has been found that in most cases the proprietors do comply. It has not been found necessary so far to cancel any licence for failure to clean the toilets. The Member for River Valley has indicated that there has been deliberate jamming of water connections in water closets. When this arises and if a specific report is made to us, we shall be able to follow it up and put matters right. But where the coffee shop or eating house is situated in a strategic place, like being close to a bus-stop, or near public places of entertainment, there is a tendency for gross over-use of the toilet facilities, because members of the public just walk into the shops concerned and relieve themselves but do nothing about it, and therefore mess up the place. So some shopkeepers have become so desperate that they have decided to lock up the water closets. When this was brought to our knowledge, we naturally had to tell the proprietor that he could not just lock up the public convenience and that he should open it. It is possible that in certain cases, the proprietors were so desperate about the over-use of their water closets that they thought that by closing the water connections the toilet would be so filthy that people would not make use of it.”
“It is very difficult indeed to get public health inspectors prowling around parks to catch people throwing litter, or prowling near water closets to make sure that the man who has gone in to do his business will go on to do the needful. I would say, Sir, that it may take some time to educate our population to behave themselves. Perhaps we will have to start off with our children in schools and teach them to have better health habits - habits of personal hygiene and good habits of not throwing litter around. Of course, we should have more litter bins, and this is going to be done very soon. We shall be placing at least 2,500 litter bins in bus shelters and in parks. That is the first lesson. We cannot provide 20,000 litter bins because the expenditure involved will be considerable. But we are making a start and it is very likely that very soon we will be able to maintain a campaign of higher standards of public health with poster competitions, with public health lessons being introduced into the schools curriculum and so on, so that ultimately we will have not only young children playing their part but they will be telling their elders who have filthy habits to behave themselves at home as well as in public. All this will take some time. But that is not an excuse. If the Ministry's officials should be failing in their duties to inspect licensed premises, as stated by the Member for River Valley - here again there are problems concerning the volume of work involved. There are in Singapore today close to 1,900 licensed eating houses, restaurants and coffee shops. We have a Public Health Inspectorate of under 100. They are, therefore, expected to inspect licensed premises once a month.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I am grateful to the Member for River Valley for raising this subject for debate and drawing attention to what he has called "the filthy conditions of toilet facilities" in licensed premises selling coffee, eating houses and restaurants besides public places. He has, however, been fair to indicate that it is acknowledged that we do have a fairly high standard of health in this country as compared with that of neighbouring territories - not that we should be satisfied and complacent with that statement, because we can always improve on present standards to bring them to a higher level. I must, however, indicate certain difficulties which are being encountered in the Ministry of Health. Perhaps much more can be done and a higher standard of cleanliness can be maintained in Singapore if the social habits of our people are of a high order. I think it is well known that, unfortunately, such a standard of social behaviour is certainly lacking amongst large sections of the public. Take, for example, public places like parks, the Esplanade and places where people congregate together. There is a very shocking lack of dustbins in such places. We do not even see a single dustbin around. Nowhere else in the world does such a situation exist. This means that the thousands who do go to these places for entertainment are liter ally being invited to throw their litter and rubbish on the ground and make it a filthy place. If it is an accepted form of behaviour just to throw litter around, then when they go to the water closet, especially if it is a public water closet, they just do their business anywhere and care nothing about it.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That Parliament do now adjourn. Question proposed. FILTHY CONDITION OF TOILET FACILITIES IN COFFEE SHOPS, EATING HOUSES, RESTAURANTS AND PUBLIC PLACES”
“I think the fact that the question has been raised in Parliament is sufficient publicity. But we shall give further publicity as requested by the Member for Aljunied.”
“Sir, nutritionally wheat flour has an edge over rice, as it contains more protein, calcium, iron, etc. The comparative analysis of the nutrient contents in 100 gm, of edible portion of the two grains is as follows: Highly Wheat milled flour, 70% rice extraction Water (gm) 13 12 Calories 360 365 Protein (gm) 6.8 8.9 Fat (gm) 0.7 1.3 Carbohydrate (gm) 78.9 77.3 Calcium (mg) 6 16 Iron (mg) 0.8 1.2 Vitamin A (I.U.) 0 0 Thiamine (mg) 0.12 0.12 Riboflavin (mg) 0.03 0.07 Niacin (mg) 1.5 1.7 Ascorbic Acid (mg) 0 0 Furthermore, there is the added advantage that the present cost of wheat flour is about half the cost of rice. Therefore, both from the nutritional and economic point of view, consumption of wheat flour is preferable to rice.”
“' That, Sir, is the study of an expert on the subject, and therefore I am inclined to accept the opinion of a man who has made a special study and compiled a thesis of the subject. FOOD VALUE OF WHEAT FLOUR The following Question stood in the name of Mr Ho See Beng - 18.To ask the Minister for Health if lie is satisfied that wheat flour definitely has more nourishing food value than rice, which contains less protein, and, if so, whether he will take steps to publicise this fact.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, accurate figures of the number of criminal abortions cannot be given, as women do not readily admit to interference with their pregnancy. An estimate, nevertheless, can be given. The number of patients admitted for abortions to the Kandang Kerbau Maternity Hospital over the years is as follows. These figures were reported by the Medical Superintendent of the Hospital at a seminar of the Family Planning and Population Board on the 15th of January this year. Total number of With abortions Sepsis Deaths 1962 4,279 425 1 1963 3,829 465 2 1964 4,295 450 5 1965 3,386 258 10 1966 3,432 265 5 The approximate average may be taken as around 4,000 cases admitted to the hospital per year. This represents nearly 8 per cent of the total number of births per year in Singapore. As it is estimated that abortions of all types occur at the rate of 10 per cent a year, it may be taken that there are about 5,500 abortions per year. Dr Lee Yong Kiat, who is a physician attached to the Medical III Unit of the General Hospital, when he was Medical Superintendent of the Kandang Kerbau Hospital, wrote an M.D. thesis on the subject of "Non-clinical aspects of induced abortions in Singapore", which was published in 1965. His study was over a period of seven months from 1st July, 1964, to 31st December, 1964, and it covered 1,676 cases. I should like at this stage, Sir, if I may, to quote page 102 of his conclusions: `The yearly incidence for Singapore would be 5,000 abortions. The total number of abortions is usually estimated to be 10 per cent of all pregnancies, which in Singapore would work out to be about 6,000 a year. It is my contention that, of this, 5,000 are criminally induced. 5,000 cases is 83 per cent of all abortions, or 8.3 per cent of all pregnancies.”
“Sir, the answers to the queries by the Member for Aijunied are as follows. Firstly, it is not possible to list out all the complaints received from the public from time to time, as after investigation the decisions of officials are generally upheld. Secondly, the number of cases in which the Minister had personally to over-rule or rescind the decisions of officials is 12. Thirdly, no disciplinary action had been taken against the officials concerned except to advise them to the effect that they could have adopted a less bureaucratic attitude and approach, and that more than just health requirements should have been taken into account when arriving at decisions. It is admitted that the job of licensing premises is not an easy one, and the Minister has accordingly appointed a Public Health Licensing Board of five members to deal with this problem, of which only one member is an official. CRIMINAL ABORTIONS (Cases treated and mortality rate) 17. Mr Yeoh Ghim Seng asked the Minister for Health how many cases of complications arising from criminal abortions were treated in Government hospitals in 1966, and what was the mortality rate.”
“What is needed is more reorganisation within the department and closer supervision and reallocation of duties, so that the work can be more equitably distributed amongst workers. This is being undertaken, but it will take some time as it involves work schedules for thousands. LICENSING OF EATING-SHOPS (Complaints of unnecessary requirements) 16. Mr S. V. Lingam asked the Minister for Health (i) the number of complaints received by his Ministry alleging that his Ministry officials had insisted on unnecessary requirements for the licensing of eating-shops, etc.; (ii) the number of cases in which he has over-ruled or rescinded the actions of the officials; and (iii) what actions have been taken against the officers concerned.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I think the answer to the question posed by the Member for Changi would best be answered in two parts. Firstly, to his question as to what steps the Ministry of Health will take to provide more dust- bins in all the kampongs in Changi Constituency and other constituencies, the answer is none. We intend to bring home to all Singapore householders, whether living in kampongs or urban areas, that every householder is required to have his own dust-bin (not a dust-bin provided by Government) with a proper lid (not one without a lid) to contain his household refuse. It is then the duty of the Public Cleansing Department to clear it daily. This service is now being performed free of charge, but we intend to charge a nominal monthly fee of $1 per month from the 1st of January next year and this charge will be included in the householder's monthly Public Utilities bill. Should a householder fail to provide a dust-bin after due notice has already been served on him by the Public Cleansing Department, he will be provided with one by the department but he will be charged for it in his monthly Public Utilities bill too. Secondly, to the Member's suggestion that more labourers should be employed to clear off all refuse, the answer is that after reorganisation of the Public Cleansing Department in February this year (more than six months ago), it has been found that even with the reduced work force of 3,500 - made up of 2,000 from the Public Daily-Rated work force and 1,500 from the Emergency Cleansing Corps as compared with the work force existing prior to the strike - there are, generally speaking, more staff than the work that is required of them. There is, therefore, no question of employing more workers for public cleansing.”
“Lastly, at the same time, we intend to carry Out an intensive education campaign through Radio and T.V. with the co-operation of the Ministry of Culture, and also include Health Education as part of the proposed Civics syllabus for schools which is now being drawn up by the Ministry of Education. RICE AND SUGAR (Current trends in prices and adequacy of stocks) 8. Mr P. Govindaswamy asked the Minister for Finance if he will make a statement on current trends in the wholesale and retail prices of rice and sugar in Singapore and on the adequacy of stocks of these staple foods for the needs of the Republic.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, now that re-organisation of the Public Cleansing service has been in operation for more than three months, with a total work force of 3,500 working on a two-shift basis and the racket of high absenteeism during weekdays a thing of the past, we are ready to embark on the second stage of re-organisation, namely, that of educating the public that they also have a duty to keep the Republic clean. Steps are being taken to bring various pieces of legislation up to date so as to implement effectively such policy, namely: Firstly, any householder or shopkeeper who fails to provide a dustbin after due notice has been served on him, will be provided with an appropriate dustbin by the Public Cleansing Department, and the cost will be charged to his monthly Public Utilities Account for settlement. It is estimated that about one-half of the householders in Singapore are without dustbins at present. Secondly, as those responsible for litter on public streets, drains and vacant sites do not seem to be deterred by the present lenient penalties of a maximum fine of $100 and a further fine not exceeding $25 for every day during which it is continued after conviction under the Municipal Ordinance (Chapter 133) Conservancy Bylaws, 1941, we are amending the By-laws to introduce more punitive penalties, like $150 for the first offence, $500 for the second offence, and $1,000 for the third offence. Thirdly, we have also in mind replacing the present Destruction of Mosquito Ordinance (Chapter 139), passed nearly 50 years ago to control malaria, for something more comprehensive and up-to-date legislation to be known as the Destruction of Disease-bearing Insects Act, in the near future.”
“GOVERNMENT PENSIONERS AND PENSIONS 4. Mr Yeoh Ghim Seng asked the Minister for Finance how many Government pensioners there are in Singapore and whether their pensions are assessed to be sufficient to see them through their daily needs.”
“It is admitted that there was no supervision of contract workmen last month (February 1967) who were responsible for the cleansing and desilting of the large anti-malarial drain which runs through Kampong Chia Heng off Thomson Road, near the junction with Newton Road. There were two main reasons for this lack of supervision. Firstly, there was an unfortunate delay of one month in the award of the tender to Poh Construction Co., which should have been made with effect from the 1st of January, 1967, but was not finalised till the 1st of February, 1967, thus resulting in the accumulation of silt, etc. for one month. Secondly, because of the three-day wild-cat strike by the Public Daily-Rated Cleansing Workers' Union on the 1st of February, 1967, the supervisory staff of the Public Cleansing Department had their hands full in pursuing with re-organisation of the Public Cleansing Service, and were therefore not in the position to supervise the contract workmen for this and other drains, but supervisory work commenced with effect from the 1st of March this year. The backlog of silt in the anti-malarial drain passing through Kampong Chia Heng has since been removed, and I can assure the Member for Moulmein that there are adequate provisions in the tender contracts to penalise contractors for unsatisfactory work. In clause 13 of the contract, the Ministry has the power to request the contractor to increase his work force within 24 hours and to deal with any complaint without extra claim on the Ministry, and if this is not rectified within seven days, the Ministry can deal with the matter and bill the contractor for the extra cost involved. And in clause 35, if work is still unsatisfactory, the Ministry has the power to make deductions against monthly dues.”
“Only when more staff are being trained in the different aspects of industrial health can a full-fledged industrial Health Service be brought into being, and every effort is being made to bring this about as soon as possible. SUPERVISION OF DRAIN CLEANING IN KAMPONG CHIA HENG 3. Mrs Devan Nair asked the Minister for Health if he is satisfied with the supervision exercised over the contract workmen who clean drains at Kampong Chia Heng as the drains there are choked with rubbish and the environmental conditions are not conducive to the health of the residents in that Kampong.”
“In keeping with our rapidly industrialising society, the Ministry of Health has already taken initial steps to establish an Industrial Health Service in Singapore. In April last year, a Health Officer, already holding a Diploma in Public Health, returned from the United Kingdom after successfully completing one year's training in Industrial Health and obtaining the postgraduate Diploma in industrial Health. At present, two officers with civil engineering qualifications are being trained in the United Kingdom in postgraduate Public Health Engineering course and, on their return later this year, will cover the engineering aspects of industrial health. Also the Chemistry Division of the Ministry has been granted a Fellowship in the United Kingdom this year under the Colombo Plan for a chemist to study air pollution, trade waste analysis and microbiological assays to complement the new industrial health service that is to be established. Liaison is also being maintained at present with the Factories Inspectorate of the Ministry of Labour through the Environmental Health Branch of the Ministry in making available the Health Officer with the Diploma in Industrial Health on a part-time basis to advise on medical aspects of factories inspection. Furthermore, two consultants, one from the World Health Organisation and the other from the international Labour Organisation, are due to arrive in Singapore this year to advise Government on the proposed pattern of development of industrial health; in particular, how the specialised aspects of industrial health should be organised and developed.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I understand that Professor Tinckler is on the passenger list of the "Benloyal" which is scheduled to sail from Singapore for Hongkong at 3 p.m., which is five minutes from now. And I hear that he is heading for Los Angeles by air from Hongkong. I do hope that this is not a case of a one-way passage and we look forward to Professor Tinckler coming back some time later to pursue his legal suits. SOAP FACTORIES OPERATING IN SINGAPORE (Particulars) 7. Mr P. Govindaswamy asked the Minister for Finance the number of soap factories operating in Singapore; whether the production of soap is sufficient to meet local needs and whether the prices of locally-produced soap have risen with the increase in prices, because of import duties, of imported soap.”
“I hope Professor Tinckler will for his part press his legal actions to an early hearing so that the matter can be aired and cleared. It is in everybody's interests and those of the University and my Ministry that the truth should be known. It would be most unfortunate if the Professor were to leave Singapore without having his case beard and judged. And let it be remembered that our judicial processes are open to review by the Privy Council who can see that justice is done and seen to be done to all in Singapore, without fear or favour.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I do not propose to give an account of the circumstances and reasons for withdrawing the surgical facilities of not only the Outram Road General Hospital hut also all facilities in Government hospitals of Singapore from Professor Tinckler with effect from 17th January, 1967. This is because Professor Tinckler on 21st December, 1966, instituted legal suits in the High Court against the University and its officers, and on 6th January, 1967, against my Director of Medical Services, Dr Ho Guan Lim. It would, therefore, be improper were I to state the Government's case against the Professor in a place where he is in no position to defend himself. All I would like to say at the moment is that I have had disturbing reports about Professor Tinckler from the Ministry's officials in charge of Outram Road General Hospital which satisfied me that, in the interests of our Hospital and of the patients who are our citizens, he should not be allowed to carry on as Head of Surgical Unit `A' of our Hospital. Professor Tinckler has alleged that he has been unfairly reported upon. I am, therefore, most anxious that the question as to whether Professor Tinckler's allegations are correct or my Ministry's action justified be impartially judged by a court of law. I understand that on 28th January, 1967, Professor Tinckler sent in his letter of resignation to the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Singapore. In view of this, I hope there will be an early hearing of the legal suits instituted by Professor Tinckler, so that the truth as to whether the Ministry of Health acted properly in the public interests or that he was unfairly maligned can be properly established in a court of law.”
“Applications from families staying in the Covent Gardens area will be given special consideration for re-housing in new units that are being constructed in the Urban Renewal Scheme, Precinct S.1, which is just across Havelock Road. For those families who prefer yet lower rental accommodation, suitable one-room units can be made available at Redhill and Tiong Bahru. WITHDRAWAL OF GOVERNMENT HOSPITAL FACILITIES FROM PROFESSOR TINCKLER 6. Mr Tang See Chim asked the Minister for Health if he will make a statement as to why the surgical facilities of the General Hospital were withdrawn from Professor Tinckler.”
“As drains are generally earth drains, with refuse being dumped indiscriminately into drains and on to footpaths, the maintenance of public cleansing was almost an impossible task with only one public daily-rated worker being assigned to perform the task of refuse clearance of this area, which includes a small private market as well. Mosquito breeding is extensive because of water-collecting junk lying everywhere and with stagnant water in drains and pools. The situation has been prevented from worsening through weekly oiling by the Anti-Mosquito Department. Although Covent Gardens can be made to look cleaner soon - as with the recent re-organisation of the public cleansing service which started early this month in spite of the wildcat strike by the Public Daily-Rated Cleansing Workers' Union, it has been possible to post six Emergency Cleansing Corps workers to look after Covent Gardens, where formerly there was only one public daily-rated worker allotted for this task - the long-term solution, however, is one of total slum clearance of Covent Gardens itself. Although what I have to say further is strictly not within my portfolio hut that of my colleague, the Minister for National Development, I am, however, pleased to inform the Member for Delta that the Chairman of the Housing and Development Board has given me the assurance that every effort will be made to give priority to any family within this Covent Gardens area who would like to be housed in Housing and Development Board flats with a view to enabling the Board to obtain clearance of this area at the earliest possible date.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, Covent Gardens is a very depressed slum area composed largely of attap houses and a few old brick and tile shophouses situated at the junction of Kim Seng Road with Havelock Road and part of the Singapore River. The area is low lying with a tidal creek running through the area, so that it is subject to periodic flooding when heavy rain coincides with the tides. In these circumstances, the environmental health of Covent Gardens, as in other kampongs similarly situated elsewhere in Singapore, is bad. It is, however, not of recent origin but has been so for many years. I understand Covent Gardens was placed very high on the priority list for immediate re-development by the Housing and Development Board as compared with adjacent Bukit Ho Swee. But when the fire catastrophe occurred at the latter site in May 1961, redevelopment of Bukit Ho Swee was proceeded with apace, and Covent Gardens unfortunately remains what it is today. A recent survey of Covent Gardens, which by the way has no Street sign at all to indicate its existence whether access is from Kim Seng Road or Havelock Road, revealed that there are about 2,500 persons living in a little over 100 houses of attap or zinc construction. Of these, 33 houses are built on stilts over the tidal creek or fore-shore of the river. As only half of the houses have latrines, and only 23 use the bucket system, the majority, therefore, have to resort to the primitive method of easing themselves over the tidal creek or the river with consequent pollution. Poultry and pigs are even being reared in about one-half of these houses.”
“I would like to inform the Member for Sembawang that it is time we disabused the minds of people that they can get anything free. Free services are likely to gradually whittled down because we have to pay our way. We have to pay our workers. We have to pay for the buildings that are built and the equipment to be supplied. We are thinking of instituting a system of charges. At the moment, I think it is a very negligible sum of 25 cents for those who go to the Outram Road General Hospital for dental treatment. This is likely to be raised shortly. We do not want to make it a very punitive charge, but I think we should try to make it slightly more realistic. You will notice that my colleague, the Minister for Finance, is pushing me on to make it as stiff a bill as possible, but I think we have to gradually increase charges for services rendered - they will still be token charges - otherwise there will be a tendency to expect things free, and therefore to abuse the situation.”
“Unfortunately, I cannot off-hand inform the Member for Sembawang when the new Public Cleansing Department in Havelock Road is going to be built, but it should be well established before 1967 ends. As regards the question of mark in the rural areas, I have already indicated that there will be an improvement in Jurong - $20,000 for Tuas Market - but unfortunately not in Sembawang But I think the Sembawang Mar needs a little bit of reorganising. The other day, I just could not pass through Sembawang Road because of the hawkers.”
“I am sorry. I was a little bowled out, because first I was asked to stop within a little while, and then I was given a lot of time! So I missed this out. Sir, my colleague, the Minister for Education, who is the Member for Telok Ayer, says the old Telok Ayer Market is a historical market. So it looks as if he is more in favour of preserving it than having it pulled down. I agree that this is an excellent site and it is just next door to the multi-storey car park. I would rather prefer that this be looked into by the planning authorities. The Urban Renewal Planning Committee may perhaps enshrine this historical market for posterity or consider it should give way to progress, tearing it down and rebuilding a multi-storey market. For the moment, I have nothing more to say on this market, but I think that when it comes to the planning team for urban renewal, as and when the Telok Ayer Constituency is to be rebuilt, this matter can be brought up. But in the meantime, should there be any patching work to be done, we shall be looking into it.”
“So I think, with time and patience, we can license and control hawkers and probably look to the day when we can have full employment in Singapore and the question of hawkers, as we see it today, will become a thing of the past. Mr Lim Cheng Lock: Mr Speaker, Sir, the Minister has not answered the question on the old market at Raffles Quay.”
“Unfortunately, it is true and it has been so for some time. But with the implementation of the new Hawkers' Code, we are able to make unlicensed hawkers less shy to go into markets or stay a reasonable distance away from markets, as in the case of a number of new markets which we have been able to tackle in recent months, especially the Killiney Road private market where there was a large congregation of hawkers outside, and we have been able to move some of them inside it and resite a large number of them along Somerset Road and Exeter Road. We are using this as a model for re-siting other hawkers in other markets, which we shall attempt to do within the next few years. I do not think it is correct to say that markets are superfluous. I do not think it is even necessary to conduct an investigation as suggested by the Member for Telok Blangah. Markets are necessary. But we would be naive if we think we can build enough markets to put in all the hawkers, because a market costs as much as a few hundred thousand dollars. Let us say it is $300,000. It can only house 150 hawkers. But there are nearly 40,000 to 50,000 hawkers in Singapore. I do not think Singapore can afford to build hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of markets to house these 40,000 to 50,000 hawkers. So I do not think we can work on the principle that if we build markets, we will be able to tackle the problem. Some hawkers will be housed in markets, but for some time to come, we will have to permit some of them to trade in side streets and have them licensed and controlled. If and when we succeed in industrialisation and the numbers of our unemployed become less and less, then there will be fewer people wanting to hawk as a means of livelihood.”
“Sir, I was saying that there has been a change of policy and it is not necessary now for the Government to build markets. It will be the responsibility of the Housing and Development Board to build markets in addition to the building of flats and shopping centres. So the burden has been gratefully taken away from the Ministry of Health. In fact, should the Housing and Development Board want to take over the hawkers in the housing estates, we say. "Please do. Thank you very much." As for the number of markets that will be built next year, although the figure stated here is $374,000, two markets have actually been built this year, but the bills will be due for settlement next year and so they are included in next year's estimate. You will notice a little star there stating that there is a revote of $22,000. The two markets which have already been built - and for which bills have to be settled next year - are Jurong I Market at a cost of $167,000 and the Bukit Ho Swee IV Market at a cost of $105,600. Therefore, a sum of about $100,000 is left to cover Tuas Market which is way up in the Jurong area. It is at present under construction and will cost about $20,000, and it should be finished by February 1967. The other item will be an extension of Holland Road Market for a sum of a little over $80,000. This extension is necessitated by the rapid housing development that has taken place along Holland Road during the last few years. We have also managed to resite about 80 hawkers who were congregating at the triangle - the piece of vacant land in front of Holland Road Village into the Holland Road Market itself. So it is necessary to extend our market to accommodate the present hawkers. The Member for Telok Blangah has said that hawkers are shy of markets.”
“Sir, I will try to finish in two sentences. There has been a change in policy and it now a case of the Housing and Development Board undertaking all major development in Singapore, be it urban renewal, etc., and it will built shopping centres as well as ---”