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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“In reducing the classes of vehicles from nine to five, an unfortunate anomaly was created when those persons issued with Class IV licences prior to 1st February, 1969 renewed the old licences for new ones, as the new driving licences contained a pre-printed description of all the five classes of vehicles as defined under the new rules. In this description, Class IV vehicles are defined as heavy motor-cars above 2j tons up to seven tons, although these people are legally entitled to drive heavy motor-cars above seven tons as they had X been granted licences prior to 1st February, 1969. Mr Speaker, Sir, I wish to express my gratitude and thanks to the Member for Kallang for being so alert and drawing the attention of my Department to this anomaly. The necessary amending Rules re-classifying the classes of motor vehicles under the 1969 Rules to make driving licences issued under the 1948 and 1969 Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Rules equitable, have been published in the Government Gazette on 25th February, 1972. Action will also be taken by the Registrar of Vehicles to change the pre-printed description of the five classes of vehicles as contained in the new driving licences. PORT OF SINGAPORE AUTHORITY (Bonus payments to monthly-rated employees) 5. Mr P. Govindaswamy asked the Minister for Communications whether the operational profits of the Port of Singapore Authority in 1970 would enable the Authority to pay a bonus for productivity to its monthly-rated employees; and whether the Authority is considering paying such bonus, just as it had paid a bonus to such employees in the past, and if the bonus will be paid as soon as possible.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, when the Registry of Vehicles driving licence records were being computerised on 1st February, 1969, the 1948 Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Rules were replaced by the 1969 Rules. In order to streamline the driving licence records and to facilitate issuance of driving licences, the classification for motor vehicles was at the same time reduced from nine to five classes. It is true that persons issued with Class IV licences under the old rules were allowed to drive heavy motor-cars with no maximum limit in the unladen weight, whereas persons issued with Class IV licences under the new rules are not licensed to drive heavy motorcars above seven tons, for which a Class V licence is required. This, however, does not mean that under the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Rules, 1969, those who had acquired Class IV driving licences before 1st February, 1969 are being automatically disqualified and debarred from driving heavy motor-cars above seven tons. The validity of licences issued under the 1948 Rules is not affected, as the 1969 Rules were not introduced with retrospective effect. In addition, there is a saving clause under Rule 17 (3) of the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Rules, 1969, which provides that the new rules do not alter the classes of motor vehicles which a holder of a licence has been licensed to drive before the date when the new rules come into operation. Those issued with Class 1V licences before 1st February, 1969 are, therefore, legally entitled to drive heavy motor-cars above seven tons. The question of restoring to these people their status and qualifications to drive vehicles above seven tons, therefore, does not arise.”
“Inche Abdul Aziz Karim asked the Minister for Communications (a) if he knows to the best of his knowledge that persons who had been granted class 4 licences under the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Rules, 1948, which qualified them to drive heavy motor cars with no maximum limit in unladen weight, have on renewal of their licences been granted a similar class licence under the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Rules, 1969, which automatically disqualified and debarred them from driving vehicles exceeding 7 tons in unladen weight; (b) if he is aware that it is common occurrence that holders of class 4 heavy motor car licences are still driving vehicles exceeding 7 tons in unladen weight with the full knowledge, but with no valid authority; of the Registrar of Vehicles; and (c) in view of the fact that such persons might be committing road traffic offences and might face serious consequences, if he will take urgent steps to restore to such persons, who held class 4 heavy motor car licences granted under the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Rules, 1948, their status and qualification in all fairness to them and in the interest of the general public in the other respect.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, on the basis of the present rate of growth of air traffic in Singapore, my Ministry anticipates that a second runway would be needed around 1977 or 1978. The utilisation rate of the present runway capacity at Paya Lebar is around 40 per cent and is increasing rapidly. Last year, 41,241 commercial aircraft, two million passengers, 25.5 million kilograms of freight and 2.8 million kilograms of mail, passed through the Paya Lebar Airport. This represents an increase of approximately 20 per cent, 20 per cent, 21 per cent and a drop of 10 per cent respectively over the 1970 performance. As the second runway is needed around 1977-78, construction will have to commence around 1974. Therefore, the Department of Civil Aviation is proceeding with work to build the second runway at the Singapore International Airport at Paya Lebar. RENEWAL OF CLASS IV DRIVING LICENCES (Imposition of limit in unladen weight) 4.”
“Mr Govindasamy, Sir, Trafalgar Station used to be a high frequency radio receiving station. As such, it was sensitive to electrical interference. Thus it was necessary to impose conditions on the distribution of electricity supplies when the Station was functioning. However, the radio services operating from this Station have since 1st June, 1971, been transferred to operate from our Yio Chu Kang Station. There is, therefore, no necessity now to place any restriction on the provision of amenities such as the public utilities and better roads to the present residents. As my Ministry has yet no plans for the Trafalgar site, the residents who have been living there for many years may remain on Temporary Occupation Licences until the site is required for development. COMPULSORY PRIMARY EDUCATION (Introduction of legislation) 3. Mr Ang Nam Piau asked the Minister for Education if he will consider introducing legislation to make primary education compulsory for children who are citizens and resident in Singapore and have attained the age of six years.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I am glad that the Member for Sembawang has spoken in full support of the decision to convert the Post Office Savings Bank into a statutory corporation. He has suggested that if there are going to be lucky draws in the future, then the depositors need not personally present themselves at the post office to get the lottery tickets. I must assume that the Member has not as yet participated in the lucky draw, because if he had, he would have known the reason why a depositor has to make a personal application. It is because the staff will have to see that the particular person does have at least $500 in the Post Office Savings Bank. When issuing the lottery ticket, the staff will stamp on the pass book itself that such and such a lucky draw ticket has been given to the depositor. That is the reason why it is necessary for a depositor to call personally and present his passbook. Therefore, it will not be possible really to send a lucky draw ticket by post and for the depositor to receive it at the other end without his having to turn up at the post office himself. I can assure him that there will be lucky draws for 1972 and we do hope that the Member for Sembawang will be one of the depositors who will qualify for the lucky draw tickets and thus win a prize! Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill.-[Mr Yong Nyuk Lin]. Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. NATIONAL STADIUM CORPORATION BILL Order for Second Reading read. 6.24 p.m.”
“There is provision for the creation of a general reserve fund from the Bank's surplus revenues. The Bank may also invest in such stocks and securities as the Minister for Finance may, from time to time, approve. Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to conclude with a brief review of the past and future prospects of the Bank. When we took over control of the Bank from Kuala Lumpur in 1966, five years ago, there were only 250,000 depositors and $37 million in deposits. As at 30th September this year, there were 548,492 depositors and the amount of deposits was $85.83 million. Credit for this excellent achievement must go to the Advisory Committee appointed in 1968, to the staff, and to the strong support from the public, including our school children. I must add that the interest of 4 per cent will continue to be exempt from income tax! I am confident that, as an autonomous statutory corporation, the Post Office Savings Bank will become an even greater financial institution than it is today, and I have no doubt that the public will continue to give their fullest support to the Bank. Question proposed. 6.13 p.m.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Members will recall that in September last year I announced that Government had decided to convert the Post Office Savings Bank into a statutory corporation to give the Bank greater freedom of action and to provide more efficient service to its half-million depositors. This Bill seeks to convert the Bank into a statutory corporation. The advantages of being an independent statutory board are obvious. Management will have greater flexibility in administration, recruitment of staff, business operations and promotional programmes. With financial autonomy the Bank will be able to demonstrate its effectiveness. Calculations show that the Bank can be self-supporting and viable as a statutory corporation. I will now summarise the principal provisions of the Bill. The main objects of the Bank are to provide means for the deposit of savings and to mobilise domestic savings for public development. The Bank is empowered to operate time deposit accounts and to lend money to its depositors, vide clauses 5 (a) and (b) of the Bill. These are new facilities and will no doubt be welcomed by the depositors. The management of the Bank will be vested in a Board of Directors consisting of between five and eight members, all of whom, including its Chairman, shall be appointed by the Minister. There is also provision under clause 17 for the appointment of a General Manager who shall be the chief executive of the Bank. An important point is that Government will continue to guarantee the repayment of deposits and interest. This is provided for in clause 26. The public is therefore assured of complete security for their deposits.”
“There are provisions which deal with the taking of evidence in connection with offences committed on board an aircraft. The Minister is empowered to make regulations for carrying out the provisions of the Tokyo Convention. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill.--[Mr Yong Nyuk Lin]. Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. POST OFFICE SAVINGS BANK OF SINGAPORE BILL Order for Second Reading read. 6.09 p.m.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." The purpose of this Bill is to enable Singapore to implement the Tokyo Convention which deals with offences committed on board aircraft. Singapore accepted the Convention in March 1971. Briefly, the Tokyo Convention covers acts which jeopardize the safety of an aircraft or of persons or property therein or which jeopardize good order and discipline on board. The Convention requires any member State in which a hijacked aircraft lands to, firstly, take appropriate measures to return control of the aircraft, crew and passengers to the aircraft commander, and, secondly, permit onward movement of the aircraft, crew and passengers as soon as practicable. Under the Convention the State iii which the aircraft is registered can exercise jurisdiction over offences and acts committed on board the aircraft. As a civil aviation centre and with a view to deterring aircraft hijacking, it is obvious that Singapore should take appropriate measures against all kinds of unlawful acts over civil aircraft in flight. Accession to the Convention, while not a complete solution to hijacking, will help reduce some of the risks which result from such acts. The essential features of the Bill may be summarised as follows. The criminal law of Singapore is extended to acts and omissions taking place on board Singapore-controlled aircraft while in flight outside Singapore. Courts in Singapore will have power to try offences committed on board a Singapore-controlled aircraft in flight outside Singapore. The Bill gives wide powers to the commander of an aircraft to deal with persons who commit or are about to commit offences on board the aircraft.”
“NATIONAL STATISTICAL COMMISSION OF SINGAPORE BILL "to provide for the establishment of a National Statistical Commission of Singapore and for matters connected therewith", recommendation of President signified; presented by Mr Hon Sui Sen; read the First time, to he read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. PARLIAMENTARY PENSIONS (AMENDMENT) BILL "to amend the Parliamentary Pensions Act (Chapter 51 of the 1970 Revised Edition)", recommendation of President signified; presented by Mr Hon Sui Sen; read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. CHIT FUNDS BILL "to provide for the licensing and regulation of chit funds". presented by Mr Hon Sui Sen; read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. COMMON GAMING HOUSES (AMENDMENT) BILL `to amend the Common Gaming Houses Act (Chapter 96 of the 1970 Revised Edition)", presented by the Minister for Home Affairs (Prof. Wong Lin Ken); read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to he printed. CLEAN AIR BILL "relating to Prevention and Reduction of Air Pollution and for purposes connected therewith", presented by the Minister of State, Prime Minister's Office (Tuan Haji Ya'acob Bin Mohamed); read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION (AMENDMENT) BILL Order for Second Reading read. 3.46 p.m.”
“SINGAPORE POLYTECHNIC (AMENDMENT) BILL "to amend the Singapore Polytechnic Act (Chapter 180 of the 1970 Revised Edition)", presented by the Minister of State for Education (Dr Lee Chiaw Meng); read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. PARLIAMENTARY MEMBERSHIP BILL "to vary the number of elected Members of Parliament", recommendation of President signified; presented by the Minister for Law and National Development (Mr E. W. Barker); read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS (AMENDMENT) BILL "to amend the Parliamentary Elections Act (Chapter 50 of the 1970 Revised Edition)", presented by Mr Barker; read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. DENTISTS REGISTRATION (AMENDMENT) BILL "to amend the Dentists Registration Act (Chapter 215 of the 1970 Revised Edition)", presented by the Minister for Health (Mr Chua Sian Chin); read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next, available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. MEDICAL REGISTRATION (AMENDMENT) BILL "to amend the Medical Registration Act (Chapter 218 of the 1970 Revised Edition)", presented by Mr Chua Sian Chin; read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. PENSIONS (AMENDMENT) BILL "to amend the Pensions Act (Chapter 55 of the 1970 Revised Edition)", recommendation of President signified; presented by the Minister for Finance (Mr Hon Sui Sen); read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to he printed.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." The control of the Admiralty Waters is presently vested in the Queen's Harbour Master under the Admiralty Waters Ordinance. With the British military pull-out, it has been agreed that the Singapore portion of the Admiralty Waters will be handed back to the control of the Singapore Government, with effect from 1st November, 1971. The Government has accordingly decided that the Port of Singapore Authority should take over the Waters 10 be handed back and, to implement this decision, it is necessary to repeal the Admiralty Waters Ordinance and to declare the Waters as part of the port limits under the Port of Singapore Authority Act. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill.-[Mr Yong Nyuk Lin]. Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. EMPLOYMENT (AMENDMENT) BILL "to amend the Employment Act (Chapter 122 of the 1970 `Revised Edition)", presented by the Minister for Labour (Mr Ong Pang Boon); read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. REDUNDANCY PAYMENTS FUND (AMENDMENT) BILL "to amend the Redundancy Payments Fund Act (Chapter 126 of the 1970 Revised Edition)", presented by Mr Ong Pang Boon; read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to introduce a Bill intituled "An Act to repeal the Admiralty Waters Ordinance (Chapter 72 of the 1955 Revised Edition)." Bill read the First time. Second Reading”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, as the present three-shift system for dock workers in the Port of Singapore Authority would appear to be adequate to meet the requirements of the shipping community, there is therefore no intention on the part of P.S.A. to introduce a four-shift system. INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR MOTOR VEHICLES 4. Inche Abdul Aziz Karim asked the Minister for Communications if he will take the necessary measures to ensure that every person applying for a motor vehicle licence has a valid policy of insurance to cover the vehicle for the full period for which the licence is to be taken out. Mr Yong Nyuk Lin: Mr Speaker, Sir, I wish to thank the Member for Kallang for highlighting a problem which the Registrar of Vehicles has been faced with for some time. It is true that under existing legislation, a vehicle owner need produce only an insurance policy valid on the day that he applies to renew the annual road licence. In some cases, the insurance policy may expire or becomes invalid before the road licence expires. My Ministry proposes to introduce legislation soon to ensure that vehicle owners do take out insurance policies which will be valid for the full period for which a road licence is applied for. It has not been possible to do this earlier because of the immense problem of record keeping, which will soon be resolved when the Registry of Vehicles computerises its records by early 1972. CRASH PROGRAMME FOR TRAINING RELIEF TEACHERS 5. Mr P. Govindaswamy asked the Minister for Education why there is still a large number of relief teachers, who are untrained, and if his Ministry is planning a crash programme to train such teachers.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, because the demand for Telex service in Singapore has grown at an accelerated rate in recent years (the growth rate for the first half of 1971 is 60 per cent on that of the same period for 1970) and the fact that suppliers for teleprinter have not been able to honour delivery dates last year, I regret to state that the Telex service at present is not as satisfactory as we would want it to be. However, we have taken the following steps to improve the situation: Firstly, in the middle of last year, an order was made for 262 Telex machines, and again in January this year, another order for 503 Telex machines was made, thus making a total of 765 machines on order at a cost of $2.6 million. As the present number of applicants for Telex machines who are on the waiting list is 249, subject to the above suppliers meeting their delivery dates, we should be able to satisfy the present demand for Telex machines in full by the middle of next year. Secondly, 400 lines of the 1,200-line National Automatic Telex Exchange, costing $1.96 million, will be commissioned into operation this month (October). The full capacity of this exchange will be realised by the middle of next year. Thirdly, a 150-channel automatic International Telex Exchange has been ordered at a cost of $640,000, and should be operational early in 1973. PORT OF SINGAPORE AUTHORITY (Introduction of four-shift system) 3. Mr P. Govindaswamy asked the Minister for Communications whether the Port of Singapore Authority is considering the introduction of a 4-shift system for port workers, and whether there will be sufficient workers to man the shifts.”
“Mr Speaker. Sir, it does not appear to be an extension of the original question. However considering the fact that the Member for Kampong Kembangan happens to work in the Singapore Telephone Board, he has therefore much more inside information than 1 have. To his first supplementary question whether I am aware of any dissatisfaction. I must say that I am not aware of that. Now that he has brought it to my notice, I will request the management of the S.T.B, to look further into the question to removes the grievances, if any. SCHOOLS IN VICINITY OF PALEMBANG ROAD (Demolition) 2. Mr Low Yong Nguan asked the Minister for Education whether existing schools in the vicinity of the present Palembang Housing Estate will be demolished as a result of urban renewal. and whether there are plans to build new schools in the area.”
“I am sorry if my ears have failed to catch the words "public bonds". I thought I heard "public telephones". Nevertheless. I did say earlier that various alternatives of raising revenue equitably are under consideration by the Singapore Telephone Board. Therefore, the issuance of public bonds will be considered. Tuan Haji Mohd. Ariff Bin Suradi (Kampong Kembangan): Mr Speaker. Sir, is the Minister aware that many telephone subscribers are dissatisfied with the S.T.B, billing system which has led to a temporary disconnection of their lines recently? Also, is the payment of $5.75 for re-connection justifiable?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I will attempt to reply to the three supplementary questions. First, whether there will be more public telephones to be installed. We already have no less than 2,000 public telephones at ten cents per call, and we have another 2,000 in hand which will he made available to the public soon, and we intend to increase the number of public telephones in Singapore. As regards the second supplementary question. whether the increased rentals with effect from 1st October, 1971 will be final. The answer is that they are final and there will be no further negotiation or discussions with interested groups. Thirdly whether evaluation has been made on the proposed increased rentals with effect from October of this year, I can say that the new telephone rentals, even with the prevailing Government tax of 15 per cent, will compare favourably with telephone rentals now charged in West Malaysia. We have not made any attempt to find out what goes on in East Malaysia because a sea of about 800 miles separates the two countries. So I think we can only talk about West Malaysia where it is possible for us to have subscriber direct dialling service available to those in Singapore. As regards charges in West Malaysia subscribers do pay annual rentals of $204 for a residential telephone and $360 for a business telephone. They also pay, in addition, a surcharge of ten cents a call after the first one hundred calls. Furthermore, residential subscribers are also required to deposit $75 while the deposit required for a business subscriber ranges from $200 to $500.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I have been reading press speculation to the effect that the Singapore Telephone Board would be introducing a "ten cents a call" system for telephones otherwise known as the Message rate system. As explained in the Addendum to the President's speech, operational surpluses of the S.T.B. average only $12 million a year on existing rentals. Not all of the balance of $160 million for development can be borrowed, so it will be necessary for the S.T.B, to increase its rentals. The S.T.B, has the problem of finding adequate finance to meet its large five-year development programme for 197l-75 amounting to $212 million. So far, the World Bank has agreed to assist with a loan of $33 million or just over 15 per cent of total development. Various alternatives of raising revenue equitably are under consideration by the SIB. The Message rate is one of the methods. In advanced countries the method of charging is related to frequency of calls as well as the length of each call. It can be made fairer still by charging less for calls during off-peak hours, as in the case of trunk calls. Unfortunately, we have not yet achieved that degree of sophistication in our equipment, nor do we have as yet professional expertise to maintain such equipment. Within five to 10 years we hope to achieve this. Then people will pay in accordance with the load they put on the telephone network. This will help to cut out jams on Saturday mornings and race days, besides making the charges fairer. Meanwhile, it has been decided that the annual telephone rentals of residential and business Direct Exchange Lines he increased from $180 to $200 and from $250 to $300 respectively with effect from 1st October, 1971.”
“(b) Regarding the irregular departure of buses from bus termini resulting in irregular and poor frequency along the routes, the Bus Services Licensing Authority, as well as the Registry of Vehicles, are fully aware of this perennial problem, which occurs whenever there is poor management control over the bus drivers or because of traffic congestion upsetting bus schedules. To counter this, the Bus Services Licensing Authority requires all bus companies to furnish to the Authority a Performance Bond of $100,000 per company, under the new Bus Services Licensing Authority Act, which came into operation on 1st March 1971. Any company, which is found to be giving poor services, without any good reason, is liable to a financial penalty deductible from the Performance Bond. The staff of the Investigation Section of the R.O.V., which is being strengthened, will keep observation over the performance of the bus companies by conducting routine checks, or on receipt of complaints from the public, to ensure that the bus companies do provide a more regular and efficient service than what was available prior to the bus services reorganisation in April this year. PRIMARY I ENROLMENT IN CHINESE SCHOOLS IN JULY 1971 (Particulars) 6. Mr Teong Eng Siong asked the Minister for Education (a) how many children have been enrolled in Primary I classes in Chinese schools in July 1971, and in how many schools; and (b) whether he is considering extending the new system of enrolment to schools in the other language streams.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir:(a) As a result of the recent bus services reorganisation, the number of written complaints received by the Suggestions Action Unit (P.O. Box 6000) of the Ministry, which was set up on 5th March, 1971, more than a month before the reorganisation, was 348. These, however, included 65 letters which were anonymous, that is, without name or address, thus making it impossible for our Ministry to acknowledge or to follow up on them. The remaining 283 letters, of which 226 were in English, 49 in Chinese and eight in Tamil, were first acknowledged by the Ministry and the complainants were subsequently advised of the remedial decisions that were taken; whether they were found acceptable, as proposed, or acceptable after suitable amendments had been made, or not acceptable but with reasons therefor, etc. It may interest the Member for Sembawang if I give him some indication of the nature of the complaints received. They may be classified broadly as follows: Type of complaint Number of complaints (i) Deprivation of former service 80 (ii) Dissatisfaction over no direct service 78 (iii) Poor or irregular frequecy 78 (iv) Bus fares 19 (v) Service numbers on buses not visible 19 (vi) Complaints regarding routes being too long and circuitous 10 (vii) Time schedule (first bus/last bus leaving terminal) 9 (viii) Complaints against bus drivers/conductors 5 (ix) Complaints regarding old buses 2 --- 300 === As we dealt with 283 letters, of course, some letters of complaint did contain more than one type of complaint.”
“Mr Ng Kah Ting asked the Minister for Finance (a) the number of complaints made against civil servants who have been discourteous and impolite to members of the public during the period 1st January, 1969 up to the latest convenient date; (b) whether courses on courtesy have been organised for civil servants and, if so, (i) how many courses have been held; and (ii) how many and what categories of civil servants participated in them; and (c) whether more such courses will be conducted.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the bus transport system is of a flexible nature by which passengers can be conveniently loaded and unloaded at very close intervals along the routes, unlike a rail or other mass transport system. The need, therefore, for a concentrated passenger stop, where passengers unload and walk to their destination, is not considered necessary. Nevertheless, in the bus reorganisation plan a number of high capacity bus stops in the City area, for example, in Market Street, Cecil Street, Empress Place, Collyer Quay, Prince Edward Road, which is just opposite the Singapore Polytechnic, are provided to cater for the needs of the majority of commuters who concentrate in this area. The proposed re-routing of services has also been designed so as to provide direct links between major residential areas with the City area, namely, Collyer Quay, Shenton Way, Robinson Road, Chinatown, North Bridge Road, Victoria Street, High Street, and Orchard Road. Furthermore, a series of re-routes and inter-urban services also provide direct links between major residential and industrial areas. This arrangement of services should enable the majority of bus commuters to complete their journeys without changing buses or, at most, with only one transfer. COMPLAINTS AGAINST CIVIL SERVANTS OF DISCOURTESY (Conduct of courtesy courses) 3.”
“, whether we are going to spend all this money and what about the returns, the Telecommunications Department is working on the basis of an economic service, which means that we provide a service but we make sure that at the same time we also make money. We are not part of a social service where money goes out and very little is received in return. If we provide large capital sums for establishing a service, we expect returns which will make it not only economically viable but also profitable, both for the users and for ourselves. We believe that the annual costs, including staff salaries, maintenance, depreciation of equipment and other overheads, will be around $100,000 per annum. But the revenue we expect at the rate matters are developing can well be $330,000 per annum. I think it is a fairly good business. We spend about $100,000 per annum and we should be getting over $300,000 as revenue per annum. I think that is why we had the Finance Ministry's approval for this project.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the special vote of $400,000 for establishing radio communications equipment for the off-shore industry is to meet the rather large needs of the off-shore industry in Singapore. They are being catered for at present, of course, by our so-called medium-range maritime radio telephone service. There has been considerable development since 1968 when the off-shore industry decided to establish various offices in Singapore. For example, in 1967 there were only 677 calls. In 1968, it practically doubled to 1,331. In 1969, it shot up to 3,807. And last year, there were 6,228 calls. There has therefore been an increase of 10 times in the last three years. About 90 per cent of these calls are directly or indirectly due to the off-shore industry. Of course, there were the usual complaints of delay in meeting their requirements. So our Telecommunications Department decided to have special discussions with representatives from the oil industry. That was done last year. Two meetings were held and it was then decided to provide a special high-quality radio communications network exclusively for the off-shore oil industry. The network, for which we are now asking for a vote of $400,000, is really part of a number of phases. The whole project will come to $1.3 million spread out over five years. Phase One will cost $800,000 and the sum of $400,000 is included in next year's estimates so that we can slowly build it up into something much bigger. This network is timed to come into operation in early 1972, and will provide very high grade, almost cable-quality communication, which means to say that it will be free of interference and very clear signals will be obtained through this special network. As regards the cost effectiveness of this expenditure, i.e.”
“May I say that the redevelopment of the Passenger Terminal Building was put at an estimated cost of $6.4 million. Tenders for the project were called on the 12th of June and the contract that was awarded was $5.87 million for building work alone. I suppose that is how costs have moved up. The new Passenger Terminal Building will have double the capacity in floor space as compared with the existing one. So there will be twice as much room to move around. 4.00 p.m.”
“We practise economy when it is necessary, but sometimes the cost moves up. For example, the cost of equipment is $l 1/2 million, but at the time the estimates were drawn, it was $1.2 million. You will then have to provide for another $300,000. There is no alternative.”
“Perhaps I have to give him more details, if that is what he wants. Perhaps the calculation was a little underestimated and the cost has moved up a bit. An hon. Member: There should be economy.”
“And lunch may be thrown in -- to test the restaurant service there to see whether it satisfies the two Members. That will then be a much happier time to answer all the questions to their satisfaction. The facilities in the Passenger Terminal Building will be improved. When everything is completed, I will invite the two Members to come along with me and, of course, my Parliamentary Secretary will also be interested, and we will all go and have a look around. Mr Ng Kah Ting: I think the Minister for Communications has not answered a part of my question, that is, the increase of $1.8 million. To what use has this $1.8 million been channelled apart from the redevelopment?”
“Good, I thank him very much. Once the redevelopment of the Passenger Terminal Building is effected - as I have said, it will be totally completed in September 1971 -all the problems and complaints of slowness in baggage clearance will be solved. There will be new equipment installed for faster movement of baggage. The transit lounge will be expanded. It is only six months from now when everything will be completed, and I shall then invite the Member for Punggol and the Member for Sembawang to go for a little visit to the airport and we can have tea to celebrate it - An hon. Member: And lunch!”
“I am sorry. I thought I heard the Member say a decrease. I hope he supports this increase”
“The first Jumbo jet landing in Singapore will therefore be 26th of April. The plane will come all the way from San Francisco. This is six months ahead of schedule. As regards the number of passengers in the Jumbo jet, fortunately I have gone inside one of these Jumbo jets before they started to fly. I went to the factory when the first Jumbo jet rolled out. I was two days behind time, otherwise I would have been present at the ceremony in Seattle in 1968. The plans are that most airlines would carry 360 passengers, but some airlines would like to have 450 or 500 passengers. For the time being, all the airlines operate on the basis of perhaps 362 passengers. However. I will stick to 360 for the time being. That answers all the four "oral questions" asked by the Member for Sembawang. I hope I have answered them to his satisfaction. Coming to the Member for Punggol, he says that there has been a reduced vote for the redevelopment of the Passenger Terminal Building. I beg to disagree with him. For the financial year 1970-71, it was $3 million. For the financial year 1971-72, there is a provision of $4.8 million. There has been an increase and not a decrease.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I will try to provide the "oral answers" asked for by the Member for Sembawang. I should have thought that there must be questions tabled before there could be oral answers! However, I will try my best to provide the information in detail. I believe the Member asked when the present redevelopment of the Passenger Terminal Building is expected to be completed. The answer is September of this year. This is just about six months from now, when this project should be completed. His next question was whether there will be closed-circuit television and a public address system. There will always be a public address system. In fact, this morning's paper announced that the new mushroom-shaped information counter is already in use from today. Our airport hostesses will be there to serve Members if they have any queries to ask. As for closed-circuit television, we have decided not to install this. What we have in mind is something more expensive. It will cost about half a million dollars and works on the electronic principle and will provide information regarding the movements of aircraft, expected arrivals and departures and so on. They will appear on something like a television screen and this is supposed to be an improvement on the old-style closed-circuit television. The third question was, when will the first Jumbo jet land in Singapore? All this while we have been planning on the basis of the Australian Airline, Qantas, starting the Jumbo jet service from Sydney to London. It was scheduled to be September or October of this year. But they have been beaten to it by an American Airline, Pan-American Airways, which is expected to inaugurate the thrice-weekly San Francisco/Singapore service on the 26th of next month.”
“For the conversion of part of the West Coast Road/Clementi Road facilities into postal stores, a sum of $47,000 was approved by the D.P.C, and the D.P.S.C. (Development Planning Sub-Committee) in 1970. Conversion work, which is currently in progress, is expected to be completed by the end of April. 3.45 p.m. According to the architect in charge, the total progress payment during the financial year 1970-71 is expected to amount to only $20,000 and, therefore, there will be a revote of $27,000 in the 1971-72 Development Estimates. As regards the postal garages, which are also to be shifted to the West Coast Road/Clementi Road location, conversion work is expected to commence in the early part of the next financial year. A sum of $150,000 is included in the 1971-72 Development Estimates for this project. So the two together, $27,000 plus $150,000, give a gross figure of $177,000. This therefore means that there is a great saving of over $230,000, and this is for the good of the country.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, there is a good explanation for the reduction in the vote from $400,000 for the last financial year to $177,000 for the ensuing year. I think it is a good example for all concerned to know that, although we may have a rather large vote to draw from, we always give due consideration to the fact that if we can get what we want at a cheaper price, it is our duty to choose the cheaper alternative, provided we do not lose by doing so. What happened in this case was this. In 1969 the Master Plan Committee recommended that new postal stores and postal garages should be built on a three-acre site at Tannery Lane. The site was allocated by the Commissioner of Lands to the Postal Services Department on 8th September, 1969, and a provision of $400,000 was included in the 1970-71 Development Estimates for this purpose. However, because of the high estimated cost of building the new postal stores and garages at Tannery Lane, the department looked for a cheaper alternative and approached the Bases Economic Conversion Department in May 1970 for suitable stores and garages which were being vacated by the British Military Forces. The B.E.C.D. indicated that No. 4 Sub Depot, 3BOD, at 7¼ m.s. West Coast Road/Clementi Road, where there were stores and a garage complex with a covered storage area of over 90,000 square feet, was available and it agreed to release to the Postal Services Department just three of the store buildings, not all, together with the open area around it, which cover a total area of over 30,000 square feet. The two Nissen huts there will be converted into postal stores, garages, workshops, and parking areas. Because of this alternative, the Postal Department decided to relinquish the three-acre site at Tannery Lane.”
“There will also be a car park to accommodate over 40 vehicles at any one time, and we have the capacity to carry out 63,000 proper vehicle inspections per year. I think the Member asked how many inspections could be made per day. At 63,000 inspections per year, it will be about 200 inspections per working day. This number can be increased to 100,000 inspections per year, as there are possibilities of future expansion. Let me give a little bit of the background to the present Middle Road site. It was built way back in 1930, and it occupies an area of over 30,000 square feet. These premises are situated in the central city area, and there is no space for expansion. As I have said, with only six inspection pits, vehicles have to queue up for inspection, and quite often there is serious congestion along Middle Road, Bencoolen Street, and the roads surrounding the R.O.V. Because of this, we have to think of moving out of the city area into the suburbs. At present the Inspection Centre is planned to handle only 36,000 inspections a year. But last year there were as many as 78,000 cursory inspections, which means that the vehicles were not really thoroughly checked. They were just given a quick look-over, and then off they went. Moreover, these inspections were confined to public service vehicles, buses, taxis, and goods vehicles. That is why this vote is a fairly urgent requirement, as it is necessary for us to get on with this new building which we hope to be able to move into in five months' time, i.e. September this year.”
“Probably he goes to Middle Road rather frequently to be able to notice that there is some work being carried out at the R.O.V. premises there. It is true that some alteration work is going on, but that is to convert existing quarters into offices, for which a tender for $21,000 has been accepted. Only a part of the Registry is expected to move over to Sin Ming Road in September/October this year, and the first movement will be the Motor Vehicle Inspection Centre where all vehicles can be properly inspected. The bulk will still remain in Middle Road until such time as we can come to an understanding with the Urban Renewal Department, which is eyeing the R.O.V. Middle Road site. It is only after all these matters have been agreed to that we are in a position to say, "Yes, the whole Registry can now move over to Sin Ming Road." I hope the Member himself will agree to the $21,000 expenditure on renovations, which will enable our staff to work under better and more desirable conditions. After all, the Registry of Vehicles gets an annual income of $60 million, and $21,000 is chicken feed really. The Member for Mountbatten also asked for information on the Sin Ming Road site. At this new Motor Vehicle Inspection Centre, there will be 10 inspection pits as compared with only six pits at Middle Road. That means an increase of four. This Inspection Centre, together with its own administrative office, stores, etc., will occupy a total floor area of over 20,000 square feet. But the total land area that will be made available to the proposed Registry of Vehicles offices will be 2.37 acres. So at present we are really building on only one part of the area that has been earmarked for the Registry of Vehicles.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, if I may first answer the question raised by the Member for Toa Payoh referring to that section of the White Paper on the Reorganisation of the Motor Transport Service of Singapore, Paper Cmd. 21 of 1970. It is true that in para. 12.2 of the Paper, it was indicated that it is proposed to accept certificates of inspection issued by authorised motor workshops or repairers in lieu of inspection by the ROV. We have not implemented this decision: it is not kept in cold storage, but just being deferred, because there are many problems now being tackled by the Registrar of Vehicles, especially the proposed re-routing and reallocation of bus routes which will begin about two weeks from now and there is a tremendous amount of work involved. Once we have got over the bus services reorganisation, we will come back again to this other proposal, by which time we hope that the new Inspection Centre which is being built at Sin Ming Road will be ready within five months from now, i.e., in September. When certain sections of the Registry have moved out from Middle Road to Sin Ming Road, off Upper Thomson Road, there will be less congestion in the administrative headquarters at Middle Road, and with more room to spare we shall get down to implementing the decision about acceptance of certificates of inspection. I hope this will convince the Member that the matter has not really been forgotten but deferred for a little while because of other pressing problems of greater magnitude. And as usual we will be carrying on with the same number of staff, although we shall be recruiting new staff who will not come to the establishment until some time after April this year. As for the Member for Mountbatten, there is no doubt that he is very observant and alert.”
“Sir, perhaps the Member for Katong is somewhat impatient and wants to have a statement from me as to what is the preferred system. I think we should allow the expert technical staff to put forward their views. It could be an underground or an overhead railway. May I plead with the Member for Katong to hold his horses till we get the feasibility report?”
“Perhaps we had better wait for the study to indicate how many hundreds of millions of dollars will be involved.”
“It is always essential to have the Ministry of Finance officials right from the very beginning, so that when the report comes up, it will have already been processed by their officials and is more likely to be approved at a later stage. That is one of the secrets of getting things done. Some members of the local professional staff will be sent overseas for advanced training and study on mass transit planning, technology and management. Owing to expansion needs in the State and City Planning Department, the original plan to site the Mass Transit Planning Unit in their premises has to be revised. In view of the short duration and specialised nature of the study, it is proposed to convert a bungalow in the Port of Singapore Authority to house the Unit for the duration of the study. The estimated total project cost is expected to be in the region of over $4 million and it is expected that the U.N.D.P, may contribute $2.8 million, and Singapore's contribution will be in the region of $1.2 million, partly in cash and partly in kind, especially the rendering of professional services. The Member for Punggol then asked what the cost of the Mass Rapid Transit System would be if and when we do decide to implement this proposal. I do not think I could do better than refer him to the budget statement made by the Minister for Finance on 8th March, 1971, in Hansard, col. 591: 'Development expenditure requests, however, have been increasing in size from year to year. Some of the needs in the coming years for projects like the Mass Rapid Transit System or for renewal of urban areas will be for sums beyond anything we have been accustomed so far to consider.' Preliminary indications are that it would be to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.”
“Sir, I shall be only too happy to explain this matter of mass rapid transit, in particular the Mass Transit Planning Unit which has a vote of half a million dollars for the next financial year, as mentioned by the Member for Punggol. As stated earlier in the debate on the Estimates of Expenditure for the year 1971-72, we have applied to the United Nations Development Programme for assistance to carry out a mass rapid transit feasibility study. This is now under study by the U.N.D.P. We expect a decision to be made some time in June this year. If it is in the affirmative, the study is expected to commence in January next year. In October last year, it was decided to set up within the Ministry of Communications a Mass Transit Planning Unit to administer and service this proposed study. The Unit will comprise both foreign consultants, who will be employed by the World Bank for this project, and local counterpart staff of professional calibre. In addition, related services required for the efficient operation of the study team will be provided for the duration of the study. In terms of manpower, it is anticipated that the staff will be about 50, comprising 13 foreign consultants, 12 local professional staff, and about 24 administrative technical supporters who will be working on this project. The local professional staff will consist of serving and newly recruited administrative officials in the Ministry of Communications and experienced staff seconded from the State and City Planning Department, the Urban Renewal Department and the Ministry of Finance.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, since the Member mentioned air hostesses who announced in Tamil which he could not understand, can he give us some examples?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I thought I had answered that point when I said that we shall be moving out from Middle Road to the Sin Ming site off Upper Thomson Road. For a start, we will begin with the Vehicle Inspection Centre. Later on, the administrative staff will also move out once we have decided that we can get extra money to build the administrative building which is under discussion at the moment. So I am in no position to say, "Yes, we have got the money to move out." We are thinking of moving out.”
“Yes. And he has so much work to do in the National Safety First Council, etc. You can see the amount of work that he has got to put in to try to teach some old dogs new tricks.”
“It is our hope that after the massive reorganisation of bus routes has taken place next month and when there is an adequate number of buses on the roads to meet the needs of the bus commuting public, we will proceed to educate the drivers to be more courteous on the road. At the moment, we do have a Public Service Vehicle Training Centre at Queenstown where the question of courtesy on the road, first aid, etc, instructions are being given to new bus drivers before they can get their vocational driving licences. But, of course, there is this hard core of drivers now in service who need some education. As everybody who is involved in education knows, we do not get successes overnight. We have to be a bit patient. We have to talk, persuade and to instruct over a period of time before old habits disappear and new habits are cultivated. I do hope that the Member for Katong, being an educationist of high calibre in the University of Singapore, can appreciate this situation. Otherwise, there would not be an Adult Education Department in the University of Singapore of which the Member is in charge. An hon. Member: And adviser to the National Safety First Council!”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in reply to the Member for Mount-batten, I wish to assure him that with the reorganisation of our motor transport service, there will also be expansion of the administrative set-up of the Registrar of Vehicles, both in staff and in the building facilities. Although the Member says that he does not see anything in the Development Estimates, which will be discussed at a subsequent session of Parliament, I would like to assure him that it is already in this year's estimates. Tenders have already been awarded for the sum of $481,150 for the construction of the Motor Vehicle Inspection Centre at Sin Ming Road, off Upper Thomson Road, and we expect it to be completed within five months. Once the Inspection Centre site has been established, it is our intention to move out from Middle Road to Sin Ming Road because the Urban Renewal Department is keeping a very watchful eye on where we are at present, because it is a very valuable site. Negotiations are going on to decide who is to be responsible for the building of the office at Sin Ming Road, etc. The Member for Mountbatten also referred to a letter which he kindly addressed to me on the subject of the possibility of introducing season tickets for our bus commuters. What he has listed as the advantages of season tickets is accepted by us. We think it is a very good idea and this matter will be tabled for consideration by the bus companies and the new Bus Services Licensing Authority which will have its first meeting on the 26th instant. We will have this on the agenda for consideration. Coming to the remarks made by the Member for Katong, he is not the only one to be dismayed over the poor standard of driving and lack of courtesy by bus drivers.”
“Tens of thousands of hours of time off are being accumulated and they are still hanging on to their jobs to make Singapore the telecommunications centre of South-east Asia. In any case, a complaint was received by our Ministry in 1970. I think it was due to a number of factors. We have diesel generators. The head of the Anti-Pollution Unit in the Prime Minister's Office has replied to the complainant who is closely associated with the Member for Potong Pasir. In this reply, they have said that investigations have been made and it has been ascertained that the smoke and noise are due to the emergency stand-by diesel generators which are being test-run weekly. This means that in case of a general breakdown, this generator will carry on in the meantime. To avoid noise nuisance, the Director of Telecommunications has agreed to suspend for the time being the test-run of these engines on week days and is trying to reschedule the test runs on Sundays. It looks as if the Member for Potong Pasir is working overtime on Saturdays and Sundays when the Telecommunications Department are test-running and, therefore, causing the noise pollution. Further, the Senior Mechanical Engineer, Public Works Department, is taking action to abate the smoke nuisance and to dampen the noise from the engines. So every effort is being made. But should all these efforts be in vain, it may well be that the Member for Potong Pasir will be helping me to persuade the Ministry of Finance to give us modern diesel engines that will be noiseless and pollution free, for which I will then be most grateful to him for having lodged this complaint in this House. 3.45 p.m.”
“It depends on the requirements needed by the commercial sector. But should our staffing position again prove to be inadequate despite all these efforts to keep pace with the terrific demand for our services, here again I am pleased to disclose that there is an understanding with the Ministry of Finance that we may make our applications and that they will be favourably considered. I cannot ask better than that. It is almost like a blank cheque where you just fill in your requirements. Of course, this is by means of the establishment warrant procedure. This was done in August last year when we were able to get approval for an additional 68 posts. Although the Member for Telok Blangah has expressed doubts that things will improve next year, I can assure him that his doubts can, like the mist in the hills, disappear as the sun rises high up in the sky. Of course, I would like to say that I want to express my thanks and gratitude to the staff of the Telecommunications Department for their loyalty and dedicated service under such trying conditions. If Singapore is to have a rugged society, I think the staff of the Telecommunications Department have proved that they are very rugged to be able to withstand all that pressure and stress at the cost of very heavy time off accumulation. May I now turn to the Member for Potong Pasir? He has mentioned that there is smoke and noise pollution coming from the Telecommunications Department. At the rate that they are trying to provide a service to the public, can you blame them? The rate of development is not five per cent, which we normally see in advanced countries which are very prosperous, it is an overall 22 per cent, which is four times higher than that of other advanced countries.”