Hansard, 1957-01-09

The following Members have, under the provisions of subsection (3) (i) of section 47 of the Singapore Colony Order in Council, 1955, obtained from the Speaker, permission to be or to remain absent from meetings of the Assembly: Mr A. R. Lazarous - two days, 9th and 10th January, 1957. Mr G. A. P. Sutherland - from 11th January to 16th January, 1957.

I have received three messages from His Excellency the Governor dated 10th, 13th and 18th December, 1956, respectively informing me that His Excellency has, in accordance with the provisions of Section 62 (2) of the Singapore Colony Order in Council, 1955, assented to the following Bills: i) Criminal Procedure Code (Amendment) Bill; ii) Prisons (Amendment) Bill; iii) Children and Young Persons (Amendment) Bill; iv) Control of Petroleum Fuel and Lubricants Bill; v) Public Service Commission Bill; vi) Singapore Youth Sports Centre Incorporation Bill; vii) Retirement from the Public Service (Compensation) Bill

asked the Chief Minister the reasons for his proposal that the Governor-General for Singapore may be appointed from the Federation of Malaya. The Chief Minister (Mr Lim Yew Hock): The policy of the Labour Front Coalition is to work towards a united Malaya and the proposal for a Malayan Governor-General is in keeping with that policy.

Would it not be wise, Sir, to have one Governor-General for both the territories?

asked the Minister for Labour and Welfare if he will make a statement on the present day situation on unemployment in Singapore; and what was the number of unemployed persons in Singapore as at 31st December, 1956.

In answer to a question in this House in February 1956, I explained that accurate numbers of unemployed persons in Singapore are not available. A study of the various factors which affect employment in Singapore does not suggest that there has been any appreciable change in the unemployment situation during the last 12 months. On the 31st of December, 1956, there were 7,842 persons actively seeking employment assistance through the Government Employment Exchange.

Mr Speaker, Sir, is the Minister aware that only a small number of unemployed persons are registered with the Government Labour Exchange, that there are about 100,000 unemployed persons in Singapore, and that there were hundreds of unemployed people registered with Government Labour Exchange for five years ago and are still out of employment?

Order. I must, of course, point out to hon. Members that supplementary questions are supplementary questions. They should not be read.

Sir, I find difficulty in understanding the supplementary question. If I understand it correctly, it is whether I am aware that there are more than 100,000 persons who are unemployed. Sir, with the resources at our service, may I tell him that there are not 100,000 persons unemployed? An hon. Member: Much more.

Much less.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he will take steps to introduce a Bill in this session to provide for radical amendments to the Banishment Ordinance.

Sir, this question is at present under consideration by the Government.

Sir, am I right in understanding that " under consideration" is a civil service term which means: "we have no intention of doing anything about it but we do not have the courage to say so?"

That is completely out of order.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that commercial advertisement of British companies has been distributed by the Information Services and to state on whose authority such distribution was made.

Sir, think the hon. Member is probably referring to magazines and industrials reviews which are published by large corporations and federations of industries in the United Kingdom. These publications do not offer goods for sale but they convey information about technological developments, industrial organisations, trade unions, staff activities and other matters of general interest. They are well produced and abundantly illustrated with excellent photographs from many parts of the world and are very informative. They are distributed to public reading rooms, community centres and schools where, I am advised, they are very much appreciated. The distribution is the responsibility of the Director of Information Services under my general authority.

Is the Hon. the Chief Secretary aware of the purpose of these large industrial concerns in putting forward these beautifully illustrated magazines containing a lot of useful information for their prospective buyers?

Yes, Sir, I am perfectly aware of the purpose.

Sir, is it not the duty of the United Kingdom Trade Commissioner to perform this duty instead of this Government?

Sir, I am not in a position to answer for the duties of the United Kingdom Trade Commissioner.

Do the Information Services give the same information to other Commonwealth countries?

Yes, Sir, if they wish it.

Is it proposed to give the same facilities to beautifully illustrated brochures of the German, the Japanese, the Russian, the Chinese enterprises?

They are not members of the Commonwealth, Sir.

asked the Financial Secretary what is the total cost to Singapore of the Royal Malayan Navy since its inception and up to the latest period for which figures are available, in respect of: (a) Land and Buildings; (b) Vessels and Equipment; (c) Personal emoluments including passages, and pensions; (d) Other expenses.

Sir, expenditure on the Royal Malayan Navy up to the 31st of December, 1956, has been as follows: 1. -

asked the Minister for Local Government, Lands and Housing if he will make a statement on the progress in the establishment of a Housing Authority to replace the Singapore Improvement Trust.

Mr Speaker, Sir, the establishment of a new Housing Authority presents many complex and intricate problems. The question was first considered by the Committee on Local Government whose recommendations were accepted by Government with certain modifications. Since then, Sir, the Government has given much thought to the problem and has now decided what policy should be adopted with regard to the constitution and functions of the new organisation. From 1st January this year Mr J. M. Fraser, Chairman and Manager of the Singapore Improvement Trust, has been released from his managerial duties and has been with the Ministry of Local Government, Lands and Housing on secondment for special duties in connection with the establishment of the new Housing Authority, including the preparation of the necessary legislation pertaining thereto and also with the preparation of comprehensive town planning legislation. He will also plan and organise the change-over from the Improvement Trust to the new Authority.

Mr Speaker, can the Minister tell us how long we will have to wait for the Committee to finalise its report so that the establishment of this Housing Authority could be implemented?

Mr Speaker, Sir, I cannot give a definite date, but I can assure the Member for Queenstown that it will only be a matter of months.

asked the Minister for Local Government, Lands and Housing when can S.I.T. tenants expect a reduction of rentals as promised by the Minister early last year.

Mr Speaker, Sir, the hon. Member presumably refers to a statement which I made in this House on 8th February, 1956, when I said that the savings resulting from the reduction of the interest rate on S.I.T. loans to two per cent might well go towards the reduction of rentals of the cheapest houses. It will be seen, Sir, from the White Paper tabled this morning that the Government has closely examined the question of housing subsidies and has decided not to proceed with the proposal to subsidise housing by reducing the rate of interest on loans. The new method of subsidy proposed will make it possible in due course to undertake a comprehensive survey of all Trust rentals with a view to equalisation of rents. It is a long-term policy of Government, Sir, that ultimately the same rent should be paid for the same type of accommodation in all public housing estates. As an interim measure, certain immediate reliefs are proposed to which reference is made in the White Paper and it is hoped, Sir, that these will be effective from the 1st of February this year. I can also say here, Sir, that the measures to be proposed involve Government to the extent of a little over half a million dollars for 1957.

asked the Minister for Local Government, Lands and Housing whether he is aware that the Singapore Improvement Trust has built on War Department lands houses now occupied by Army personnel, and to state on whose authority, out of what funds, and the terms on which such houses were built.

Mr Speaker, Sir, a thousand houses and ten shops were erected on War Department lands at Clementi Road by the Singapore Improvement Trust which was acting as agent for the Singapore Government. A loan of $3 million was approved by the Legislative Council in 1954. It was agreed that these houses should be occupied by families of local military personnel but that the houses will be vacated and handed over for housing the public as soon as alternative accommodation for these families has been built by the Army and that all houses would be handed over within a period of seven years from the time they were completed. The War Department is paying rent equivalent to the loan charges on the property and, in addition, maintenance charges amounting to 2 per cent of the cost of the buildings per annum.

Mr Speaker, Sir, can the Minister tell us if at this stage the scheme has been completed; and, if not, the number of units that have been completed and the number of units that the S.I.T. intends to build for the War Department to complete the scheme.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I shall require notice of that question.

In that case, Sir, can the Minister tell us is it Government's policy then to build houses and, if not, is there a chance for the Government to stop the implementation of that scheme from now onwards?

That is a different question.

asked the Minister for Local Government, Lands and Housing what steps, so far, have been taken to alleviate flooding in the Telok Ayer Division (Circular Road, Boat Quay, Market Street, Robinson Road) since his question on this subject in July 1955.

Mr Speaker, Sir, in reply to a similar question in July 1955, the hon. Member was informed that schemes to alleviate flooding in the areas in question have been included in the City Council's five-year programme. This is still the case. Sir, but the City Council consider that a reappraisal of the original scheme is necessary in the light of the recommendations by both the Singapore River Working Committee and the Chief Drainage Engineer.

Sir, how long will it take to implement this scheme in this area?

Mr Speaker, in my reply just now, I did indicate to the Member for Telok Ayer that this is purely a matter for the City Council and I am therefore unable to give any specific date.

asked the Minister for Local Government, Lands and Housing-

Mr Speaker, the reply to question (a) is that the Engineering Section of the Resettlement Claims of the Land Office has been fully occupied in building roads in newly opened-up resettlement areas. These have to be given priority as the lack of prepared resettlement sites was everywhere holding up the Government's building programme. The reply to question (b) , Sir, is that titles will be issued as soon as title survey of the area, which is now in hand, is completed.

asked the Minister for Local Government, Lands and Housing-

Mr Speaker, Sir, (a) 1,261 housing units and eight shops were completed during 1956, while a further 2,521 were under construction at the end of the year. These figures are lower than originally expected owing to complications of land clearance and resettlement, since Government's intention has been to make proper provision for persons affected by new building projects. However, Sir, the Land Clearance and Resettlement Department has now been established and Government has set aside $4 million to provide for proper resettlement. (b) It is expected that 3,056 low-cost dwellings and 95 shops will be completed during 1957, while a further 4,000 will be under construction on 31st December, 1957.

For the general information of Members in this Assembly, could we have a definition of a low-cost house?

I shall require notice of that question, Sir.

Sir, can the Minister tell us then what was the total number of units earmarked for 1956 compared to the number of units that have been completed and those that are now under construction?

I am afraid I cannot give an answer on the spot, Sir.

asked the Minister for Education-

Mr Speaker, Sir, (a) the first question is somewhat misleading. It can only be satisfactorily answered if I explain briefly what our aim is and how far we have succeeded in achieving it. The first object we set out to achieve was to provide enough schools and to train enough teachers to give every child a six-year primary education. As the primary age group is now increasing at the rate of some 20,000 a year, this meant that 20,000 extra places a year had to be provided even to maintain the existing position with the age of admission to Government schools seven plus. In fact, more than 20,000 additional places are being provided each year, most of them in new Government schools, so that it has been possible to lower the age of admission to about six years eight months. Parents of children born in 1949, that is, seven years old on 1st January, 1957, and 1950 six-year olds were asked to register in August last year. Of 11,715 seven-year olds who were registered, every single one has been offered a place. Of 15,685 six-year olds, 6,610 have been offered places. The others will be given priority of admission, according to age and place of residence, to schools which will be opened later this year. Those who are not so admitted will be guaranteed places in 1958. The position this year has been complicated by late registrations and by the need to use some of the new Government primary school buildings to house Chinese middle school pupils. (b) it is impossible to give a definite answer to this question. Obviously it is easier for children to find places in some localities than others. There are too few schools in some of the crowded city areas and too few sites available for building new ones. On the other hand, it is not possible to build schools easily accessible to all children in rural areas. In general, however, the large numbers of children aged six and even five years old who are admitted to Chinese schools show that there is no real shortage of places. Fully-aided schools will, however, be required to follow the Government practice of giving priority of admission to older children.

The following question for oral answer stood in the name of Mr Lee Choon Eng - 13. To ask the Minister for Communications and Works when will Kuoyu (Chinese language) be accepted for driving tests.

Mr Lee Choon Eng.

Mr Speaker, Sir, since Sessional Paper No. S.L. 39 of 1956 has now been laid upon the Table, may I have the permission of the Assembly to withdraw my question?

The hon. Member is too late. We are now on question No. 13. Mr Thomas.

Since the hon. Member is already aware of Sessional Paper No. S.L. 39 of 1956, I will merely say that Kuoyu has been provided for since the 1st of January this year.

asked the Minister for Communications and Works if he will consider accepting Tamil for driving tests.

There is no necessity to introduce Tamil at this stage since all Tamil-speaking candidates who have been tested speak sufficient Malay for the purposes of a driving licence.

Is it the opinion of the Minister that every Tamil does speak Malay, and is it his contention and belief that every Tamil should speak Malay?

We cannot have a matter of opinion.

asked the Minister for Communications and Works whether he has any plans for supplying electricity and telephones to the remoter parts of the rural areas; and to state in what areas and by what dates such services will be available.

The Singapore Telephone Board are giving every consideration to the extension of the telephone system to all parts of the island. The Board's interim report on development plans has been published and laid at the Assembly sitting on the 5th of September last. Details are given in the report concerning proposals to expand many exchanges on the island, including Tanjong Katong, Bukit Timah, Paya Lebar, Pasir Panjang and so on. With regard to the installation of public call boxes, my Ministry has supplied the Board with a list of some 80 sites in the rural areas, and the Board have stated that nearly 80 per cent of these requirements will be met in the first quarter of 1957, which is very creditable indeed. The supply of electricity generally is a function of the local authorities, the City Council and the Rural Board. I am therefore not competent to comment on this matter.

asked the Minister for Commerce and Industry what steps have been taken to check the increase in the prices of essential foodstuffs and other commodities, apart from warnings in the Press.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I take it that the hon. Member means what steps have been taken to check profiteering. If that is so, I am sure he must have seen in this morning's papers a list of current retail prices issued by my Ministry for the guidance of housewives.

asked the Minister for Commerce and Industry-

The answer to part (a), Sir, is yes. The answer to part (b), Sir; I would refer the hon. Member to my statement on the encouragement of local industries made in this House on the 7th of November in which the Government's proposals to encourage the investment of overseas and local capital and to create a suitable climate for such investment were outlined. The hon. Member will be aware, Sir, from this morning's papers that Dr Godwin, Director of the Ceylon Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research, arrived in the Colony last night to advise us on the setting up of an Industrial Research Institute here, as outlined in my statement on the 7th of November.

asked the Minister for Commerce and Industry what steps the Government has taken to save small industries from peril because of the new taxation policy of the Federation Government.

Sir, the adverse effect of the Federation's duties on our industries has been pointed out to the Federation Government, which has promised to give the matter further consideration.

10.25 a.m. The Chief Minister (Mr Lim Yew Hock): Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise to make a statement on my London visit last month to arrange for the re-opening of constitutional talks with the Colonial Office. I understand, Sir, the local Press has been giving wide coverage to my informal talks, and for this the Government would like to express its thanks. Some of these reports, however, were of a speculative nature. Every time I was seen or interviewed by members of the Press, I had a smile for them and I had been able to laugh my way through many an awkward question. This might have accounted for the optimistic tone of the reports which have been coming through from London. I am not striking a pessimistic note at all, but I do wish to strike a note of caution, that, unless all the ingredients are there, the cake of Merdeka cannot be well and truly baked. I am, however, quite satisfied with the trend of the informal talks and can honestly say that the prospects are good and that success is within reach; but we can only achieve this if we lay our plans well and if we all make strenuous efforts to see to it that nothing happens in the meantime to jeopardise our chances. Let us march towards Merdeka in the full realisation that this means increasing responsibilities demanding the best that is in us in the fulfilment of the destiny of our people towards a better and a fuller life. This is a national issue and in this national issue let us not allow side issues to mar its success. And now, Sir, let me turn to the agreed agenda which reads: 1. To take note of the items in the Constitutional Proposal by the United Kingdom Government as set out in Appendix 8 of Command Paper 9777 (Annexure L. to the Legislative Assembly Sessional Paper No. Cmd. 31 of 1956), which have already been agreed to in principle. 2. Internal Security. 3. External Relations and External Defence. 4. Designation of Her Majesty's Representative in Singapore. 5. Date of coming into force of the new Constitution. 6. Position of civilian employees in the Armed Forces. 7. Any other business. Item 1 means that what the Marshall delegation has gained during the last talks would remain, and this includes citizenship status for the many thousands of non-locally-born persons. I have heard it expressed in some quarters that I was willing to accept less than what has been offered to the Marshall delegation, and I hope this information will put an end to their loose talk. Item 2, Sir, is an important one - a very important one. It refers to the extent to which the new constitution would permit interference in our internal security problem. Hon. Members will recollect that the Marshall delegation asked for a Malayan to be the Chairman of the Defence and Security Council proposed by the Colonial Office, but this was turned down. Failure to reach agreement on this question was the main cause of the breakdown of the last talks. Since I took over office as Chief Minister last June, I have been giving this matter considerable thought and I have also had informal discussions with my friend Tunku Abdul Rahman. The proposal which I submitted to the Colonial Office under this heading calls for an Internal Security Council to be composed of equal representation by the Singapore Government and Her Majesty's Government and a Minister from the Federation of Malaya, under the chairmanship of the representative of Her Majesty's Government. Under the proposed set-up, it will be seen that the vote of the Federation member is the deciding factor in the Internal Security Council. My proposal is based on the fact that the Federation is more closely linked with us vis-a-vis internal security than the United Kingdom. In this connection, the people of Singapore remember with gratitude the assistance of the Federation during our October riots. As to be expected, Sir, the Colonial Office had some misgivings about this proposal. The opportunity was taken of the presence in London of Tunku Abdul Rahman, and there was a joint informal discussion of the three parties - the Federation Chief Minister, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and myself. I am again indebted to Tunku Abdul Rahman for his fine and continued co-operation as a result of which the Colonial Office now considers that there is a basis for agreement. Item 3 on External Relations and External Defence is to be further discussed in the light of my proposal under item 2. Item 4 refers to the designation of Her Majesty's representative as apart from the representative of Her Majesty's Government. I pressed on for a Malayan Governor-General, and from the trend of the informal talks, I take heart that the new constitution may yet see a Malayan as the Queen's representative in a new State of Singapore. Item 5, Sir, refers to the date of coming into force of the new constitution, and hon. Members are already aware of the intention of the Government. Item 6, Sir, brings in for discussion the position of the many thousands of civilian employees in the Armed Services. This is a matter on which I will be holding discussions with the trade union organisations that represent them. Mr Speaker, Sir, the question that crops up in the mind of everyone, inside and outside the Assembly, is, "Will the delegation for the resumption of talks with the Colonial Office in March be an All-Party one or a Government one?" The answer to this question, Sir, is obvious. To ensure success, I must first of all ensure that there is unity in the delegation. I mean to ensure that the performance of the last delegation is not repeated. I want to bring a united force to London, a force that can be relied upon to bring the cake home. Another failure will be too much for the people of Singapore to bear. Another failure will mean a grave blow to the democratic forces in Singapore and will make the ground fertile for subversive forces to operate. I propose to call as soon as possible a conference of all Parties represented in the Assembly, after which I will be in a better position to make up my mind as to the composition of the delegation. Mr Speaker, Sir, during my meetings with the Secretary of State and with his officials, there was an air of cordiality and goodwill, and this has helped much to bring about a better understanding of the position. I hope the same spirit of cordiality and goodwill will prevail in March. I would like, Sir, to take this opportunity to express my thanks to Her Majesty's Government for their hospitality during my stay in London. Sir. I had several discussions with Malayan students in London, and I was impressed by their awareness of the trend of events in Malaya and by their enthusiasm and political acumen. This, indeed, augurs well for the future.

If it please you, Mr Speaker, Sir, I am sure that both sides of the House and the country are happy and relieved to learn of the bright prospects for merdeka; but will the Chief Minister inform us of the exact date-I think it has never been made known to the House-for the conference to be held, and reassure us that the holding of fresh elections in August 1957 is not only a possibility but will, in fact, if the talks are successful, take place?

The talks will reopen on the 11th of March, which I understand is the Ides of March. As far as the elections go, the Government is committed, to holding elections in August this year.

Since the Chief Minister has cited the cordial and hospitable manner in which he was treated as an indication of bright prospects, may we ask him if he is aware that when his predecessor went to London he was treated with even greater cordiality before the final blowup?

"to incorporate the Seamen's Registry Board and to make provision for the registration of seamen", presented by the Minister for Commerce and Industry (Mr J. M. Jumabhoy); read the First time, to be read a Second time on Wednesday, 13th February, 1957, and to be printed.

"to amend the Merchant Shipping Ordinance (Chapter 207 of the Revised Edition)", presented by the Minister for Commerce and Industry (Mr J. M. Jumabhoy); read the First time, to be read a Second time on Wednesday, 13th February, 1957, and to be printed.

"to Impose Light Dues", presented by the Minister for Commerce and Industry (Mr J. M. Jumabhoy); read the First time, to be read a Second time on Wednesday, 13th February, 1957, and to be printed.

"to amend the Census Ordinance (Chapter 260 of the Revised Edition)", presented by the Chief Secretary (Mr W. A. C. Goode); read the First time, to be read a Second time on Wednesday, 13th February. 1957, and to be printed.

Mr Speaker, Sir, it had been hoped that it would be possible to have the new Education Bill ready for me to introduce at today's sitting. Unfortunately, the officers of the Legal and Education Departments have been working on it at high pressure and there are still one or two points to which my colleagues and I think it is necessary to give further consideration. I am sure that hon. Members will agree that, in view of the great importance of this Bill, it would be unwise for me to introduce it until we have given it further study. I promise hon. Members that the Bill will be ready for the next sitting of the Assembly. I therefore give notice under Standing Order 57 that I withdraw the Bill.

It is difficult to understand how a Bill which has not been introduced can be withdrawn. The answer is, of course, that the Minister is not introducing the Bill.

Sir, I am not introducing the Bill at this sitting.

"to amend the Civil Law Ordinance", presented by the Attorney-General (Mr C. H. Butterfield); read the First time, to be read a Second time on Wednesday, 13th February, 1957, and to be printed.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I have to introduce a Bill intituled "An Ordinance to indemnify Jumabhoy Mohamed Jumabhoy, Mak Pak Shee, Mohamed Sidik bin Haji Abdul Hamid, Anthony Rebairo Lazarous and Lee Choon Eng from any penal consequences which they have incurred by acting as City Councillors while holding the office of Assistant Minister and Member of the Legislative Assembly or either of them: to remove any disqualification for acting as a City Councillor by reason of their having held those offices or either of them: and to provide that any person shall be deemed not to have been disqualified for acting as a Municipal Commissioner or City Councillor by reason only of the fact that he was a Member of the former Legislative Council of the Colony". Bill read the First time.

Second Reading, what day?

Now, Sir. Sir, I have to lay upon the Table a Certificate of Urgency signed by His Excellency the Governor stating that it is necessary for this Bill to be proceeded with throughout all its stages until it has been read the Third time. Certificate of Urgency handed in.

The Certificate is in order. Are typed copies of the Bill available for Members?

Yes, Sir. Typed copies of the Bill handed in to the Clerk and distributed to hon. Members.

Please proceed, Mr Attorney-General. 10.42 a.m.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I have to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Sir, I should like, first of all, to express my regret to the Assembly that it has not been possible to give hon. Members anything more than short notice of the contents of the Bill. I hope, however, Sir, that the arrangements which have been made to give them as much notice as possible have afforded them sufficient time in which to study the proposed legislation. Sir, this Bill is unusual in the sense that it relates particularly to the position on the City Council of the five Members of this Assembly who are referred to in the Bill by name. It relates to those Members particularly, Sir, because within recent weeks doubts about their qualification to act as City Councillors have arisen. These doubts have been considered and, as a result of the advice which has been given on the question, the Government takes the view that it is most desirable that the position of the hon. Members in question on the City Council should be put beyond doubt at the earliest opportunity. This Bill. Sir, has accordingly been introduced to put the matter beyond doubt so far as the past is concerned. Sir, the doubts about the position on the City Council of the hon. Members in question arise out of that provision of the Municipal Ordinance which provides that the seat of a City Councillor shall become vacant if he becomes a holder of an office of emolument under the Crown. Hon. Members will, I think, be aware that three of the five Members in question have been appointed to be Assistant Ministers while on the City Council and there seems to be little doubt that when they were so appointed they became holders of offices of emolument under the Crown. So far as the remaining two are concerned, Sir, it is considered that their position on the City Council is doubtful. In this connection, Sir, the provisions of the Singapore Colony Order in Council are relevant because they expressly provide that, for the purposes of that Order - I would emphasise those words "for the purposes of that Order" - a person is not considered to hold office of emolument under the Crown by reason only that he is in receipt of a salary or other emoluments in respect of his tenure, amongst others, of the office of Member of the Legislative Assembly. The resulting implication, of course, is that for other purposes "Member of the Legislative Assembly" may come within the category of persons who hold office of emolument under the Crown. I must now, I think, refer briefly to the consequences which follow, or which may follow, where a person has acted as a City Councillor whilst disqualified, because it is those consequences which make this Bill in the view of the Government necessary. These consequences, Sir, are two-fold. The first consequence, Sir, is that proceedings may be instituted against such a person in the High Court, and if they are successfully instituted, the Court has power, amongst other things, to order him to pay a penalty of up to $500 a day in respect of each occasion on which he acted whilst disqualified. The second consequence, Sir, is that the proceedings of the City Council in which a disqualified representative has taken part may be open to challenge. Accordingly, Sir, the purpose of this Bill, and I think it is clear from its title, is to remove the possibility of proceedings of the kind which I have just described being taken in the High Court, and also to remove the possibility of the validity of the proceedings of the City Council on which the hon. Members have taken part being challenged. I think, Sir, that before concluding I should also refer to the provisions of clause 4 of the Bill which it has been thought wise to include. This clause, Sir, completes the matter by covering the position of City Councillors who are Municipal Commissioners and who were also Members of the former Legislative Council. I hope, Sir, that Members on the opposite side of the House will agree with the view of the Government that, in the circumstances which I have outlined, it is very desirable that the position so far as the past is concerned should be put beyond doubt, and accordingly give their support to this motion. So far as the future is concerned, the Government's proposals are contained in the Bill which comes next in the Order Paper, and it is, I think, unnecessary for me to say anything more on that aspect of the matter at this stage. Sir, I beg to move. Question proposed. 10.48 a.m.

Mr Speaker, Sir, we have now got used to Government giving short notice for important motions or Bills. We have already passed that stage, and whether the Bill which is now before the House was given to us two weeks ago or even two days ago or even right now, Sir, it makes no difference. We are now quite used to the Government tactic. When the present Government took over office sometime in 1955, there was talk of a City Council re-election. It was stressed that that institution should be changed and they wanted to change it very quickly. We were foolish enough to rise to that bait, thinking that that would be so, but after a long time we are still waiting for the Government to take action to hold early election to the City Council. We were also then informed that the life of the City Council would be short, and that therefore there was no necessity of asking Assistant Ministers then to resign from the City Council. We were informed that the life of the City Council would only last for a few months. It is not a few months; it is now two years! We are still waiting for the elections. In any democratic country I think all laws must operate equally for individuals as well as institutions. We must be fair to everybody. Here is a case where somebody has blundered, somebody has shown grave inefficiency. We may say that they have overlooked this, but this is a very important and serious matter. We make the laws here, and we go against them. I think the Attorney-General's Department is responsible for this, and perhaps the Ministry of Local Government, Lands and Housing too. If an individual should go against the law, I do not think the Court will say, "Well, you have overlooked that, but we will let you off very lightly." I do not think if an individual who made such an error, and came to this Assembly to say that he overlooked it, the Assembly would say, "Well, you will be excused." No, Sir, it must say, "The law must work impartially. You must be punished for your mistake, whether you have made it knowingly or unknowingly." But, of course, we are now talking about a set of people whom we would say are privileged. They sit in this Assembly. They are the members of the ruling Party, and this Assembly is therefore asked to pass legislation in order to protect them! I think anybody who is sick must take his medicine, if he wants to get well. If anybody makes a mistake knowingly or unknowingly, he must pay the penalty. If it is $500 a day, let it be so. However, there are other aspects to consider. In all probability they have taken part in making a lot of decisions, and if they are punished now, the whole machinery of local government will be jeopardised, all because of Government's mistake, and the people will suffer. But there is one decent thing that the Assistant Ministers could do, and that is to resign straightaway from the City Council and stop making further mistakes. We have pointed out to Government that a person cannot be expected to do two jobs at the same time and do them well. The Assistant Ministers are being paid handsomely for doing the job of an Assistant Minister in addition to being a City Councillor. So one job must suffer. We have informed them that if they are of the opinion that their work in the City Council is not all-absorbing, then that institution becomes an unimportant one. If they think that, being Assistant Ministers, they need not devote all their time to that office, then they are wasting public money because they are being overpaid for their jobs. In fact, Sir, I consider this to be a very bad blunder on the part of the Government to make such an error. 10.55 a.m.

Mr Speaker, Sir, every now and then, since this Government took office, a sordid scandal comes to light, and of all the scandals, this is the most sordid of them all! It is one brought to light in circumstances of which I think the Member for Serangoon may not be fully aware. I remember reading in the papers - and I think no one has contradicted the reports yet-that the President of the City Council, Mr Rea, stated that if these men whose acts we are now asked to validate had not wanted to question the propriety of the City Council giving a cinema licence to one Mr Loke Wan Tho, a spirited gentleman whom we will all remember as the television applicant, then he would not have questioned their right to sit in the City Council. But since these unwise men, who have their hands in two pockets - one in the City Council, and the other in the Assembly (I am told it is $200 and $500 respectively) - did question the cinema licence he would question their right to be there. So we have the unholy spectacle of the Attorney-General coming before this Assembly to put the law right for them. Sir, if there is one humorous note in this Bill, it is this attempt to blur the lines between the Assistant Ministers and the ordinary Members of this Assembly. In his explanatory note, the Attorney-General said it would appear that a person who is an Assistant Minister is the holder of an office of emolument under the Crown. I am sure he has sound legal authority for that. But he goes on to say that a person who is a Member of the Legislative Assembly may also be the holder of such an office. What office? Presumably an office of emolument under the Crown. I would be grateful if we could know his authority for that statement. I have never considered myself as the holder of an office of emolument under the Crown. I have never thought that I am in the same category as the Hon. the Chief Minister and his colleagues, including the permanent civil servants who sit with us. But now we are told that such melodious names as Anthony Rebairo Lazarous and Lee Choon Eng are in the same category as Jumabhoy Mohamed Jumabhoy and Mak Pak Shee! We do not want to go into the niceties of all this. This Bill will go through, if for nothing else because, as the Member for Serangoon has pointed out, if they had to pay the penalty of $500 a day or thereabouts, they would all become bankrupt and would be disqualified from sitting in this Assembly-- except perhaps the Minister for Commerce and Industry who sports a Humber Hawk! But let them take note of this: the people of Singapore are not so politically illiterate as not to know when a person is holding office and profiting. They are not so stupid as not to be able to distinguish between those who have assumed public office to serve the people, and those who have assumed public office to serve themselves while they serve the people. We will say no more at this stage. The Government can do what it likes. We are against this Bill on principle. On principle we say it is a scandal that an Assistant Minister of a Government should sit on all kinds of petty tribunals-on City Council committees that are responsible for giving bus routes and hawking licences and all the other machinery of local government which, so I am told, the people of Singapore constantly find frustrating and oppressive.

Mr Speaker, Sir, if we pass this Bill today I will be led to believe the Chinese idioms that "money can move mountains" and also that "money can engage the devil to work for you". I think the issue behind this Bill is on account of money. Sir, there has been one such issue in the City Council which has caused a nominated City Councillor to resign and has been the subject of many heated debates. The decision arrived at on that issue has been set aside, reinstated, set aside again and reinstated again. We now have a similar issue facing the supreme law-making body today, the Legislative Assembly. Sir, I think all people are aware of and share the opinion with me when I endorsed one famous sentence delivered by the Minister for Commerce and Industry at a previous Assembly sitting when he described the present City Council as "a stagnant pool of dirty water". Sir, the introduction of this Bill makes me more convinced that the dirty water is actually more dirty. I wish the Government would show more faith in the intelligence of the people and withdraw this most deplorable Bill. 11.03 a.m.

Mr Speaker. Sir, personal quarrels over a small theatre in Katong, which in no way concern the welfare of the people of Singapore as a whole, lead to the introduction into this House of the City Councillors Indemnity and Validating Bill. After wasting so much time and making so much noise in the City Council Chamber, the City Councillors concerned have the impertinence to introduce in-

Order. I take it that "the City Councillors concerned" mean the hon. Members of this Assembly. The word "impertinence" used of them is out of order.

Sir, they have the effrontery to introduce into this House this Bill and request our approval of it. Personally I think the valuable time which has been spent debating this Bill can be better utilised for far more important matters relating to the interests of the people of the country. Sir, I am at a loss to understand why the status of the hon. Members concerned in this House as City Councillors was not raised before. Everyone knows that a person cannot serve two masters. We have a case here where a person can serve three masters - one, as a paid servant of the Crown; second, as a Member of the Legislative Assembly; and, third, as a City Councillor. What a mess? 11.06 a.m.

Mr Speaker, Sir, of all the Bills brought before this House, the most difficult to justify is this Bill which seeks to validate the actions which have been taken by Members of the City Council or the Legislative Assembly, and more so when these actions have been going on for such a long time. I am not objecting, Sir, to this course of relieving all these City Councillors and Assistant Ministers of the consequences of their acts in the past. But I do say, Sir, that we in this Assembly should not now be asked to clean up this stagnant pool which has been described as "very dirty" by the Member for Changi, and that we should not be asked to act as a purification plant. Sir, in view of the remarks already made on this side of the House, I would be grateful if the mover of the next item on the Order Paper would inform me whether the Assistant Minister for Labour and Welfare would still persist in sitting on the City Council. 11.08 a.m.

Mr Speaker, Sir, it seems that the Member for Serangoon, who left the House a little while ago, appears to be getting better and better in putting across ideas in a form which is incorrect. I am afraid of incurring your wrath in using the right word for it, Sir, but perhaps it is due to his proximity to the Member for Tanjong Pagar who, incidentally, called him "my colleague" just now. That was a surprise. The delay in elections to the City Council, Sir, is not the fault of this Government. The Local Government Bill is a very important piece of legislation and requires careful consideration. We do not want to put up a Bill in a haphazard form which might require a lot of amendments and might be found to be unworkable later on. Those Members on the opposite side of the House, Sir, who are Members of the Select Committee on the Local Government Bill, know the difficulties that the Select Committee face in deciding on matters in the Bill. Sir, the City Councillors Indemnity and Validating Bill which is before this House today is not exclusively for the Members on the Government side. There are two Members of the Opposition involved. Sir, it is not a monopoly of the three Government Members who are involved, including myself! It has not been admitted, Sir, that the five Members of this Assembly who are also City Councillors have indeed committed a penal offence. It is only a doubt that has been raised and this Bill intends to settle the matter beyond doubt, so that the work of the City Council may be carried on. Sir, as has been stated by the Member for Tiong Bahru and by other Members of the Opposition, this matter first came to light at a meeting of the City Council on the 21st December when a motion before it had to be withdrawn because the position of the Councillor moving that motion was, according to the President of the City Council, in doubt. Therefore, if this Bill is not proceeded with throughout all its stages today, it would mean that that doubt would still remain and the City Council would not be able to carry on its work. Sir, I do sport a Humber Hawk but it looks a miserable creature beside the Studebaker owned by the Member for Tanjong Pagar! In fact, only this morning I had occasion to mention to him that he owns a capitalist car and he said, "Why not?"! 11.11 a.m.

Mr Speaker, Sir, the Member for Serangoon in his speech made some remarks about the delay in holding elections to the City Council and he said that this was inefficiency and that it was due either to the Attorney-General's Department or my Ministry. If the Member for Serangoon will recollect the Governor's Address delivered at the first sitting of the previous session of this Assembly, it was stated therein that the then Government was going to introduce legislation immediately to have a fully elected Island and City Council. Only after taking office, Sir, did we have the opportunity of going through a ready-made Bill for elections to the City Council prepared by the then Progressive Party and only then did we realise that it was impossible to carry out the recommendations of the Rendel Constitution which were embodied in that Bill. We therefore thought it wiser to appoint a Committee on Local Government and to await its Report. When the Report came out, we eventually decided to adopt the recommendations of the Committee on Local Government. So, soon after that, we drew up legislation and, as you are well aware, Sir, this legislation is now before a Select Committee of the Assembly. Therefore, Sir, I think it is unwise on the part of the Member for Serangoon to accuse either the Attorney-General's Department or my Ministry of any delay in holding elections to the City Council.

A rash promise!

Quite so, Sir, it was somewhat rash but then one must also remember that in April 1955 we all were very young in politics and I should say the Members on the Opposition Benches were also in the same category. One other point which was raised by the Member for Serangoon - that it is impossible for a man to serve two masters: in the ease of an Assistant Minister, he has to serve not only his Ministry but also the City Council. Sir, the same situation also arises in the case of the Member for Serangoon. Not only is he an Assemblyman, but he is also a school-teacher, and I wonder who suffer most, the school-boys or this Assembly! 11.14 a.m.

Sir, the conduct of the President of the City Council has been called in question. I should like to endeavour to explain as well as I can his position in this matter. I understand it was this. Sir, the validity of the seats in the City Council of those Councillors who are either Assistant Ministers or Members of this Assembly had been brought into question. The question had not been resolved. Before the last ordinary meeting of the City Council, notices had been given of, I think it was, two motions which were sponsored by members whose eligibility for membership was in doubt. The President had reasons to believe that if those motions were moved, he would be asked, as President of the City Council, to give a ruling whether the motions were in order because they had been moved by persons who were not entitled to be Members of the City Council. Having obtained such legal advice as he could, he was then in a position of having, in conscience, to reply to that question, that the advice he had was that those Members were not properly Members and therefore the motions were out of order. Now, if he had to do that, it would immediately have brought into doubt the rest of the proceedings of the City Council in which these Councillors were taking part. He knew that the Government and the Minister were achieving a solution of this doubt and that if legislation was required, it would be brought forward, as it has been today. In order, therefore, not to frustrate the business of the City Council, he took, the course of suggesting that these two motions which would raise the doubt should be postponed until a later meeting of the Council when the doubt would not arise.

On a point of information, Mr Speaker. Sir. Surely whether or not these two Members moved the motion, the doubt existed?

Yes, certainly, Sir, the doubt existed but it was not necessary for a ruling to be made. 11.16 a.m.

As an interested party, Mr Speaker, Sir, I felt that I should not take part in the debate on this Bill, but it is very surprising that the Chief Secretary in this Assembly could protect the action of the President of the City Council in such a manner. I do agree that the President had been in doubt, and if so, all decisions made by me in the Council would not have been valid. Why then did he say that if the motion was withdrawn, the question of my seat in the Council would not have arisen?

Shame! Down with him!

If I were not allowed to second or move a motion, how could I then be allowed at that meeting to take a decision or take part in all the deliberations? I cannot understand this. It is really not surprising that, as a colonial officer, he is trying to protect another colonial officer. But before a vote is taken, Sir, I would like it to be recorded that I am not taking part in any discussion or voting. What I am doing now is just to reply to the Chief Secretary. I am actually not taking part in the debate on this Bill. I felt it to be my duty to reply to him and not let him just protect another colonial officer. But whatever it is, Sir, I still maintain that I am not drawing any emolument from the Crown. [Interruption.]

Order. Hon. Members have probably misunderstood the relevant section in the Legislative Assembly (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance. That section merely states that an hon. Member cannot take part in discussion on matters of this nature unless he first declares his direct pecuniary interest. Therefore discussion is completely in order if the hon. Member first declares his interest, if there is in fact a direct pecuniary interest, which is doubtful in this particular case.

Mr Speaker, Sir, whether there is a direct pecuniary interest or not, I will leave it to you to decide and I will abide by your ruling; but even then, if I am allowed to take part in discussions, I will -

Order. I merely informed the hon. Member that he is perfectly in order when he speaks. Mr Butterfield rose -

Is this in reply, Mr Attorney-General?

In reply, Mr Speaker, Sir, I should like to deal with one or two points which were made by various Members of this Assembly. First of all, Sir, I should like to say that I was gratified to hear from the Member for Paya Lebar that he does not object to the principle of the Bill, because, as I think he in effect says, he fully understands that its purpose is to put right the past, to remove the possibility of proceedings being taken against these Members, and also to validate their acts in order that there should be no possibility in the future of any proceedings of the City Council being challenged on the grounds that some persons taking part have been disqualified. For the rest, Sir, I think there has probably been some tendency to overlook the purpose of this Bill and to discuss other matters which are not immediately relevant, although they may arise, the immediate purpose being, of course, only to put right what has occurred in the past. I would, however, like to add this, Mr Speaker, Sir, in reply to the Member for Serangoon. I think on two occasions certainly it was suggested that this legislation was designed to prevent proceedings being taken against persons because they had committed some sort of crime. I would like to make it clear now that there is no question of that at all. The provisions of section 8A of the Municipal Ordinance merely provide, in circumstances where it is thought that a person sat as a City Councillor whilst he was disqualified, for proceedings in the High Court for a declaration, that his office is vacant, and empowers the High Court to require him to pay a forfeiture on account of his conduct. So there is no question now of saying, by this Bill, that what was a crime shall not be regarded as a crime. The Member for Tanjong Pagar stressed, I think, one particular point. He said that in the explanatory note the lines between the position of an Assistant Minister and a Member of the Legislative Assembly have become blurred. I think he is probably right when he says that so far as the explanatory note is concerned, but I think I did make it clear when I was moving the Second Reading - and I think at that stage the hon. Member was not present - that there was a distinction so far as we are concerned on this side of the House, that whereas the position of an Assistant Minister appears to be clear, that of Members of the Assembly appears to be doubtful, and I gave the reasons when I was moving the Second Reading. I am sorry if the hon. Member was not here at the time. I did try to explain the matter and I think it would be tiresome to the House if they were to listen to me doing it again. I do not propose to follow at all the remarks made by the Member for Queenstown, but I think the Chief Secretary did cover the ground on those points and I accordingly beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time.

Committee stage, what day?

Now, Sir. Sir, I move, That this Assembly will immediately resolve itself into a Committee on the Bill.

Sir, I second it.

Question put, and agreed to. Bill considered in Committee.

Clauses 1 to 4 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Sir, I move, "That the Bill be reported to the Assembly."

Question put, and agreed to. Bill reported, without Amendment.

Third Reading, what day?

Now, Sir. Sir, I have to move, "That the Bill be now read the Third time."

Sir, I second it.

Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read the Third time.

11.25 a.m.

Sir, I have to introduce a Bill intituled "An Ordinance to amend the Municipal Ordinance (Chapter 133 of the 1936 Edition)". Bill read the First time.

Second Reading, what day?

Now, Sir. I have to lay upon the Table, Sir, a Certificate of Urgency signed by His Excellency the Governor stating that it is necessary for this Bill to be proceeded with throughout all its stages until it has been read the Third time. Certificate of Urgency handed in.

The Certificate is in order. Are typed copies of the Bill available for Members?

Yes, Sir. Typed copies of the Bill handed in to the Clerk and distributed to hon. Members.

Please proceed, Mr Attorney-General.

Sir, I have to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Sir, I think hon. Members will have appreciated from the debate on the Bill which has just been passed by this Assembly that the future position on the City Council of persons who are Members of this Assembly, whether they be Assistant Ministers or not, will be uncertain unless some amendment is made to the Municipal Ordinance which makes provision for the qualifications of City Councillors. This Bill, Sir, is accordingly designed to remove that uncertainty and it does so by amendments to the law which, in the first place, provide in effect that a person holding the office of Assistant Minister or Member of the Assembly shall not be disqualified from election or appointment as a City Councillor; and, in the second place, that the seat of a City Councillor will not become vacant in the event of his becoming an Assistant Minister or Member of the Assembly. There is a further amendment, Sir, proposed by this Bill to which I think I should refer. It should be made abundantly clear that the provisions of the Municipal Ordinance under which the holder of an office of emolument under the Crown is disqualified from acting as a City Councillor relate only to cases where the office is under the Crown in the Colony and not where it is an office under the Crown in respect of the Government of the United Kingdom. Finally, Sir, since under the Municipal Ordinance persons are disqualified from acting as City Councillors if they hold an office of emolument under the City Council, it has been thought prudent to include a provision on the lines of that proposed by clause 4 which, in effect, says that the receipt of an allowance from acting as a City Councillor is not a disqualification. I think, Sir, that hon. Members will already have received a notice of an amendment which I propose to move to that clause at the Committee stage and that amendment, Sir, is designed to substitute for the proposed new section 8B one which is more comprehensive in its effect. I think, Sir, I shall not say anything more on that now, and I accordingly beg to move. Question proposed. 11.30 a.m.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I had hoped that the mover of this Bill would give an indication whether or not the Assistant Minister for Labour and Welfare would resign from the City Council, but by his not making any statement, I presume the intention is that he will stay. Sir, I think this amendment should be treated under two parts - one, the position of City Councillors, and the second, the position of Assistant Ministers. Where the City Councillors are concerned, they only draw an allowance of $200 a month. This allowance is meant to compensate a City Councillor for his transport and the clerical services which he would have to employ for the performance of his duties on the City Council. Where the Assistant Minister is concerned, it is entirely a different proposition. One can say that an allowance is not an emolument under the Crown, because all of us in this Assembly draw allowances and I should hate o be treated also as a person holding an office of emolument under the Crown, thereby having to assume the mantle of Caesar's wife. There may be arguments whether an allowance is or is not an emolument under the Crown, but there is no shadow of doubt that where a person is an Assistant Minister and is drawing a very fat salary from the Government, he must be regarded as being in the service of the Crown. I cannot see legally how he can avoid being treated as an officer under the Crown. There is another objection to the Assistant Minister for Labour and Welfare being on the City Council. Not only is he fully paid for his job, but at the present moment he is doing practically all the work of the Minister for Labour and Welfare, because we know that the Chief Minister is holding two jobs - his own job as Chief Minister and his other job as Minister for Labour and Welfare. Since the Chief Minister's time is so much taken up with the work of the Assembly, guiding the Government and in negotiations with the Colonial Office for merdeka, how can the Assistant Minister for Labour and Welfare justify taking away his time from doing the work not only of the Minister for Labour and Welfare but also his own work as Assistant Minister? If he can do both jobs, it means that the office of Assistant Minister for Labour and Welfare is not necessary. If he wants to draw the pay of an Assistant Minister, then we feel that he must resign from his seat on the City Council. Therefore, Sir, we object to this Bill on the ground that an Assistant Minister should not sit on the City Council. 11.35 a.m.

Mr Speaker, Sir, the debate this morning seems to have cast a doubt as to whether a Member of the Legislative Assembly is also a Government servant. In fact, I think Government has never regarded it in that light. In so far as amenities are concerned, I think Assemblymen are treated as private citizens. There are no such things as a pension, free medical service and all the other privileges that come from being a government servant. Furthermore we have been told that the $500 which an Assemblyman gets is not a salary but just an allowance. I am connected with many sports organisations and these pay a transport allowance to their coaches, but the coaches are not treated as people in their employ and paid salaries. They still retain their amateur status. I would really hate to be regarded as a government servant and subject to the wrong side of General Orders and not benefiting from the fact of being a government servant. There is absolutely no doubt, Sir, that Members of this Assembly, if they are not receiving salaries, such as Assistant Ministers or Ministers, should not be regarded as government servants. On the question of the Assistant Minister being provided for in this Bill and being exempted, I think it is very unfair to create this situation, then rectify it and then make sure that the Labour Front has an extra vote in the City Council. I put it to you, Sir, that they have power to appoint anybody they like in the City Council, and even if this Labour Fronter chose to leave the City Council and thereby vacate his seat, they could still appoint another Labour Fronter to take his place. They have done it before. There is one nominated City Councillor by the name of Miss Wee Kiat Neo. I think she is the Assistant General Secretary of the Labour Front. .1 think this is a direct appointment of a Party member and is a Party bias -

Order. Can the hon. Member indicate how those statements relate to this Bill?

Sir, I am urging that the Assistant Minister in this case can resign and there will be no loss to the number of votes in the City Council.

Order. The hon. Member is then, of course, implying an improper motive. That is out of order.

I am obliged to you, Sir, for drawing my attention to this and, of course, I think the attention of the public is similarly drawn. All in all, Sir, I feel that I do not like to see the words "Assistant Minister" included in clause 2. Mr Butterfield rose -

In reply, Mr Attorney-General?

Yes, Sir. In reply, Sir, I think I shall be very brief and I shall deal only with two points which have been raised. The first, I think, was made by the Member for Paya Lebar when - I think I am right in saying - he said that there could be no doubt that an Assistant Minister is the holder of an office of emolument under the Crown and is therefore disqualified. All I would say in answer to that is, because that point is appreciated, that the amendments to the Municipal Ordinance are now proposed by this Bill in order to provide that he will not be disqualified. With regard to the observations made by the Member for Serangoon, I did try to explain in moving the Bill which preceded this one in the Order Paper that so far as the position of Members of the Legislative Assembly is concerned, the point is a technical one. I have referred to the provisions in the Colony Order in Council and I have stated that it is doubtful, and it is because of the doubts which some of us responsible for considering questions of this kind entertain on the matter that the provisions of this Bill provide, in effect, that there shall no longer be any doubt.

On a point of information, Sir. I take it that, from this remark, the Hon. the Attorney-General agrees with me that the Assistant Minister is disqualified.

What I have said is that, because of the view which I have expressed in moving the Second Reading of the other Bill that Assistant Ministers are disqualified under the existing law, legislation has now been introduced. Question put. Hon. Members: Division, Sir

Clear the lobbies. The House divided: Ayes, 16; Noes, 11; Abstentions, 2. Ayes Noes Abdul Hamid bin Haji Jumat. Ahmad bin Ibrahim. Braga, A. J. Ede, John. Butterfield, C. H. Goh Chew Chua. Chew Swee Kee. Goh Tong Liang. Goode, W. A. C. Jumabhoy, R. Hart, T. M. Lee Kuan Yew. Jumabhoy, J. M. Lim Cher Kheng. Lim, R. C. H. Lim Choon Mong. Lim Yew Hock. Lim Koon Teck. Marshall, D. S. Seah Peng Chuan. Mohd. Sidik bin Haji Abdul Hamid. Tan, William. Nair, M. P. D. Sutherland, G. A. P. Abstentions Tan Theng Chiang. Thomas, Francis. Lee Choon Eng. Wong Foo Nam. Mak Pak Shee. Absent Lazarous, A. R. Lim Ching Siong. Ong Piah Teng. Bill accordingly read a Second time.

Committee stage, what day?

Now, Sir. Sir, I move, That this Assembly will immediately resolve itself into a Committee on the Bill.

Sir, I second it.

Question put, and agreed to. Bill considered in Committee.

Clauses 1 to 3 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 4-

Sir, I move an amendment to clause 4 of which notice has been given, To leave out all the words after "new section 8B" in line 3 and to insert- "8B. For the removal of doubts it is hereby declared that a person shall be deemed not to have held or to hold an office of emolument under the Municipality or the City Council by reason only that he has been or is in receipt of an allowance in respect of his service as a Commissioner or City Councillor as the case may be." Sir, the purpose of this amendment is to give this removal of doubt clause a wider effect. The effect of clause 4 in its present form is restricted in the sense that it only puts beyond doubt the position of the City Councillors on the City Council. The new clause, Sir, is designed to put that position beyond doubt not only on the City Council but also where they are members of other bodies as well and the holding of an office of emolument under the City Council is a disqualification for membership of those bodies. An example of that, Sir, arises in the case of nominated trustees of the Singapore Improvement Trust.

Question, "That the words proposed to be left out, be left out," put, and agreed to. Question, "That the words proposed to be inserted, be there inserted," put, and agreed to. Clause 4, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill, as amended, be reported to the Assembly."

Question put, and agreed to. Bill reported, with an Amendment.

Third Reading, what day?

Now, Sir. Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill, as amended, be now read the Third time."

Sir, I second it.

Question put, and agreed to. Bill, as amended, accordingly read the Third time.

11.52 a.m. The following motion stood in the name of Mr D. S. Marshall- That leave be granted to introduce a Bill to amend section 12 of the Civil Law Ordinance (Chapter 24 of the Revised Edition).

If it please you, Mr Speaker, Sir, I am happy to inform the House that the Bill which I have in mind has now been adopted by the Government and presented this morning under item 6 in the Order Paper by the Hon. the Attorney-General, and, in the circumstances, my motion is redundant and I withdraw it.

The hon. Member is not moving it?

No, Sir.

Order for Second Reading read. 11.53 a.m.

Sir, I have His Excellency the Governor's authority to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." The provisions for ordinary expenditure and for development expenditure made in the Supply Ordinance, 1954, were exceeded by the amounts and under the various Heads shown in the First and Second Schedules to the Bill. These amounts total $2,650,102.57 in the case of ordinary expenditure and $2,013,585.37 in respect of development expenditure. They have all been covered by supplementary votes approved by the Assembly from time to time. The Bill seeks to give legal sanction to the supplementary votes already approved by resolution of the Assembly. Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time.

Committee stage, what day?

Now, Sir. Sir, I beg to move, That this Assembly will immediately resolve itself into a Committee on the Bill.

Sir, I second it.

Question put, and agreed to. Bill considered in Committee.

Clause 1-

Sir, I have a slight amendment to move to clause 1, In page 2, line 8, to leave out the figure "1956" and to insert "1957".

Can I have that in writing, please, Mr Financial Secretary? Amendment handed in.

Question, "That the figure proposed to be left out, be left out," put, and agreed to. Question. "That the figure proposed to be inserted, be there inserted," put, and agreed to. Clause 1, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clauses 2 and 3 ordered to stand part of the Bill. First and Second Schedules ordered to stand part of the Bill. The Preamble ordered to be the Preamble to the Bill.

Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill, as amended, be reported to the Assembly."

Question put, and agreed to. Bill reported, with an Amendment.

Third Reading, what day?

Now, Sir. Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill, as amended, be now read the Third time."

Sir, I second it.

Question put, and agreed to. Bill, as amended, accordingly read the Third time.

Order for Second Reading read. 11.59 a.m.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." This legislation is only concerned with minor amendments to the Singapore Improvement Ordinance (Chapter 259 of the Revised Edition). As will be seen from the explanatory note, section 5 of the Ordinance is concerned with the constitution of the Board. It is considered desirable that Ministers serving on statutory bodies should be replaced by permanent officials, and clause 3 accordingly provides that the Deputy Secretary to the Ministry of Local Government, Lands and Housing shall replace the Financial Secretary. With regard to clause 3, in view of the fact that the Singapore Improvement Trust now controls over 14,000 tenancies, which are increasing in number annually, it has become necessary to delegate the authority to sign notices to other appropriate officers of the Trust, and to discontinue the use of facsimile signatures which, for security reasons, have never been used in practice. At the Committee stage, Sir, I shall introduce minor amendments to this Bill. Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time.

Committee stage, what day?

Now, Sir. Sir, I move, That this Assembly will immediately resolve itself into a Committee on the Bill.

Sir, I second it.

Question put, and agreed to. Bill considered in Committee.

Clause 1-

Mr Chairman, Sir, I move, In page 1, line 5, to leave out the words and figures "(Amendment No. 2) Ordinance, 1956", and to insert "(Amendment) Ordinance, 1957".

Question, "That the words and figures proposed to be left out, be left out." put, and agreed to. Question, "That the words and figures proposed to be inserted, be there inserted," put, and agreed to. Clause 1, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 2-

Mr Chairman, Sir, I move, In page 1, lines 6 to 10 inclusive, to leave out all the words and figure after "Section 5 of the", and to insert- "Singapore Improvement Ordinance is hereby amended: -

I think the House is entitled to some explanation, Mr Assistant Minister.

Sir, by deleting the words "Financial Secretary" in paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 5 of the Singapore Improvement Ordinance, and replacing him with the Deputy Secretary to the Ministry of Local Government, Lands and Housing, the Board will now have a permanent official instead of a Minister serving on it. Also, Sir, by deleting subsection (5), which is no longer necessary, we have to bring up the other subsections (6), (7) and (8) and renumber them subsections (5), (6) and (7).

Question, "That the words and the figure proposed to be left out, be left out," put, and agreed to. Question, "That the words and figures proposed to be inserted, be there inserted," put, and agreed to. Clause 2, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 3-

Mr Chairman, Sir, I move, In page 1, lines 11 and 13, to leave out the figure "134" in each case, and to insert "138".

Is it a clerical error, Mr Assistant Minister?

Yes, Sir.

Question, "That the figure proposed to be left out in each case, be left out," put, and agreed to. Question, "That the figure proposed to be inserted in each case, be there inserted," put, and agreed to. Clause 3, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Mr Chairman, Sir, I move. "That the Bill, as amended, be reported to the Assembly."

Question put, and agreed to. Bill reported, with Amendments.

Third Reading, what day?

Now, Sir. Sir, I move, "That the Bill, as amended, be now read the Third time."

Sir, I second it.

Question put, and agreed to. Bill, as amended, accordingly read the Third time.

I think this is an appropriate time to suspend. I will take the Chair again at half-past two. Sitting accordingly suspended at 12.10 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. Sitting resumed at 2.30 p.m.

Order for Second Reading read.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I have the recommendation of His Excellency the Governor to proceed on this Bill. I move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Hon. Members will recall my statement to this House on the 7th of November in connection with the question of encouragement of industries. I promised then that I will bring up as soon as possible the necessary legislation to this House to set up an Industrial Promotion Board. The need to establish such a Board was felt by the International Bank Mission and formed one of their recommendations in their Report on the economic development of Malaya. Whilst we want to encourage new capital to come in and set up new industries, we must not forget that we can accelerate in this sphere of expansion if existing industries could be helped to expand and if existing small factories could be assisted in modernising, so that they can manufacture more competitively, thereby, enabling them to widen their market and consequently to increase their production. In fact, if we can produce more competitively, we may be able to overcome, to a certain extent, the tariff obstacles in neighbouring countries. In Singapore, Sir, we have many small factories and some of these factories could so expand if they had the necessary funds. This Board will become the instrument through which Government could give the necessary financial assistance to such deserving enterprises. It does not follow, however, that the Board will be restricted to assist only industries which are existing. I would invite the attention of hon. Members to clause 4 of the Bill which gives the Board powers to promote and manage new undertakings in case of need. It is proposed, Sir, that the Board should start off with a revolving fund of $1 million. All applications for loans will be considered by the Board on their merits and the Board will decide on the terms and conditions attached to every loan it advances. The Board will be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal. Its membership will comprise a Chairman, a representative of the Financial Secretary, a representative of my Ministry and two other Members, all of whom will be appointed by me with the prior approval of the Governor in Council. The Chairman and the two Members already mentioned will be appointed from persons having practical experience of matters relating to banking, finance, industry and trade administration. The Board will be responsible for its own day-to-day transactions but may be given broad directives by the Governor in Council on matters appearing to them to concern the public interests. I am sure, Sir, that this Bill will be welcomed by hon. Members. Sir, I beg to move. Question proposed. 2.34 p.m.

Mr Speaker, Sir, the objects of the Board, as defined in clause 4 of the Bill, appear to be wholly laudable and cover a very wide field and the powers of the Board, as defined in clause 5, are themselves very wide and high-sounding but I take it that the Singapore Industrial Promotion Board, when it is established, will, in fact, be, as it were, a pilot plant for a larger industrial credit corporation such as the Federation Government has in mind to establish. The Explanatory Note states that the Industrial Promotion Board will have - "...at its disposal a revolving fund to enable loans to be made to local industrialists who lack the capital to acquire the equipment necessary for expanding their production on the most advantageous economic basis." Apparently, this sum is to be $1 million which, presumably, will be voted by the Assembly as indicated in clause 6. Now, $1 million does not strike me as being a very large sum to dispose of and I shall be obliged if the Minister for Commerce and industry will indicate what is meant by "a revolving fund?" I myself have a fair idea in banking circles what is meant by "revolving" but this type of loan would be granted by the Board, almost certainly, on a long-term basis and I shall like to know, when the full amount has been absorbed, whether a further $1 million will be voted for the disposal of the Board or is it the intention that as advances are repaid which, presumably, will take a very long time, the amounts that have been repaid will then become available as part of the revolving loan. I should like some clarification on that point, Sir. 2.36 p.m.

Mr Speaker, Sir, we welcome this Bill. If we are to criticise it at all, it will be only to say that perhaps it is long overdue and the amount allocated for it is not sufficient to meet the needs. During the past year, I have been greatly disturbed by the difficulties met by small industries throughout the country, and due to factories having to close down, more and more people are being thrown out of employment. I do hope that as soon as the $1 million which we are asked to vote today is absorbed in loans to finance and promote industries, Government will come forward to request further replenishments of this amount. 2.38 p.m.

Mr Speaker, Sir, we support this Bill. This is a good Bill. The principles are that it will help local industries and small factories to improve their products and modernise their plants. However, having been informed that the amount of money that is going to be allotted to help industries here is $1 million, I ask: how much help will these small industries be getting? I had a talk with the office-bearers of the bee-hoon manufacturing industry who, I think, closed down their factories some time last year and they have, since then, been seeking the assistance of the Government. The talk revealed to me that they will require somewhere in the region of $300,000 to help them buy machinery, modernise their plant and produce goods that will compete fairly with imports from other countries. Now if we have $1 million and if we are going to help this class of manufacturers to the full, we will then be expending about one-third of that money. Probably, the next category of industrialists coming along for assistance will be those of soap factories and that might absorb another one-third of that $1 million. Again, recently, we had the biscuit factories closing down with some of them moving into the Federation and that might absorb another one-third. Therefore, we will have all the three-thirds absorbed and if one will not revolve, it will come to a standstill. I think that if help is going to come from Government, we must try to help these people even more. I do not think that assistance in the matter of loaning them money is all the answer. If you are going to manufacture goods for local consumption, the population of Singapore is only over a million and no matter how much food you can produce to feed the people, it will only be on a small scale. The aim that we must have is that we must manufacture goods not only for our own consumption but also for export. Now, if we are going to manufacture goods for export, then I think that the most important thing is to find markets for the outlet of our goods. I have said this before and I am repeating it again. Singapore is a small island with the Federation of Malaya as its main hinterland. Taxation by the Federation of Malaya is hitting us hard. Industries are not going to expand in Singapore but they are going to shift over to the Federation. One of the industrialists of the soap factories recently said that they will save roughly $150,000 in tax a year. If this be the case, no matter how much help we can give them, we will find expansion of industries, whether light or heavy, not in Singapore but in South Johore, probably around Johore Bahru. If we have been considering ourselves as being part of Malaya, it will be the duty of the Government to come to a better understanding with the Federation and if we must be taxed, at least it could be made more preferential than the Empire rates as a gesture of good neighbourliness and our close connection with the Federation. However, the Federation Government is not the only market which Singapore has been having all these years. In fact, we trade a great deal more with countries like Indonesia, Siam and Burma. It is not possible to ask businessmen to help themselves in negotiating with the various Governments on ways and means of improving trade. Here is a case where Government can try its very best to see that conditions for our traders will be improved. No doubt, the answer will be, "These are foreign countries; they are independent states; they do not depend on us for anything; and whatever they do, they are responsible to themselves, and they look after their own interests." But I suggest that no matter what, Government must find a way whereby trade between these territories can be made more favourable for Singapore and, of course, even if we find a market, we must still remember that we will be faced with very keen competition from such manufacturing countries as Hongkong and Japan. The aim of the Singapore Industrial Promotion Board should be to help industries to such an extent that they can produce goods at a cost, if not comparable with that of goods imported from other countries, at least at the same price as what we pay for them. I think that if these methods are adopted and sincerely carried out, then there is a hope that this Board will be able to do much more. 2.45 p.m.

Mr Speaker, Sir, everyone of us has read through clause 4 of this Bill; it reads as follows: "The Board may in order to facilitate the industrial and economic development of the Colony promote and assist in the financing, management, or establishment of -

Mr Speaker, Sir, as a pilot scheme, we do not oppose this Bill. We face the problem of an entrepot economy if we view Singapore by itself. In fact, in the long run, if we take Singapore just by itself, there is really no point in having this Industrial Promotion Board. But I notice in the Explanatory Note given at the end of the Bill, it reads: "The Report of the International Bank Mission on the Economic Development of Malaya recommended that consideration should be given to the establishment of a pan-Malayan institute of industrial research and a pan-Malayan industrial credit institution." I do not think for many years to come, even taking Malaya as a whole, that it is possible to have complete State ownership of capital and of industrial potentials. Hence, in our desire in common with all other Asian countries to expand industrially and rapidly, we have to attempt all kinds of not quite orthodox socialist schemes to try to do in ten or twenty years what European nations have taken about a hundred years to do. There are however two dangers in this scheme. As I see it, there are two difficulties: first, the Board should act as an industrial research institute. Now, is this industrial research institute going to carry out research only on Singapore potentials or on a pan-Malayan basis? If it is to carry out research only on Singapore potentialities, then I suggest that we send the Industrial Promotion Board to Hongkong where they carry on, I am told, a very lucrative, if perhaps an ephemeral entrepot trade, and that is the end of the matter. If we are to carry out research of lasting value, then it must be on a pan-Malayan basis and there must be co-ordination with the Federation. I think that the latter view of a one Malaya has become accepted in the political thinking of all political Parties in Singapore, though once upon a time, we had curious "organisations" like the Progressive Party which believed that Singapore should go it alone. The second difficulty - this is an even graver one - is that as an industrial credit institute, it becomes a sort of a jackpot into which friends of influential politicians could dip their fingers. Some countries in South-East Asia have tried this technique. Sir, if a proposition is a sound one, whether to start a new industry or to expand an existing one or to modernise it, there will always be sound, hardheaded, if somewhat ruthless businessmen, like Mr Sutherland, who will advance that money-

Not so.

What is not so: that he is ruthless or that he is a sound business-man?

Sound.

He has decided obviously to pack up from South-East Asia and advisedly so

On the contrary.

- because people like him, I think, will find it very difficult to get on with the national industrial plants that may spring up as a result of such Industrial Promotion Boards. But, as a matter of logical argument, I do not see how we can explain this. If it is a sound business proposition, a bank will advance it. If it is not a sound business proposition and the whole capital may be lost, then the Industrial Promotion Board should not advance. Where then is this in-between class that, where although a bank will not advance, yet it will be right, it will be good for the economy of the country and it will be a fair risk for the Board to advance money? I hope to be enlightened on this particular category of enterprises by the Minister for Commerce and Industry. I would like to know what would be the sort of directives his Government has in mind for the Industrial Promotion Board. But we must warn him that if we try to do foolishly what other neighbouring South-East Asian countries have done, all we will succeed in doing is to create a corrupt, effete and decadent group of quasi-political opportunists who will start all kinds of scatterbrained schemes to enrich themselves and those in power with whom they conspire. That must never be the object of this Bill. 2.55 p.m.

Mr Speaker, Sir, there is no harm whatsoever to have this Industrial Promotion Board. Singapore, as I have said before, has not got anything of its own raw material resources to supply its own industries to manufacture anything cheaper. On the other hand, as the first necessity to produce or manufacture anything, you must have low costs of labour or handling charges which you have not in Singapore. Then you have to compete with other countries from all over the world. We are just starting to learn. Many countries have experimented and succeeded with their industries. What I would suggest is this. We have at present no hinterland which can take our products without imposing any duty. Where are we then to sell except to Singapore and to outside countries? In Singapore itself, we have plenty of competition from foreign imports produced on a scientific basis and mass-produced. I can visualise one thing good that this Industrial Promotion Board can do to this City and that is to promote small-scale industries or cottage-industries. You can employ our idle population who sit at home, possibly the ladies who do not want to come out and work in factories or the children during their leisure hours. This lesson can be learnt very easily-

Child labour.

Not child labour at all. Those children who have spare time can help their mothers or sisters or old parents in producing something to help themselves. In this case, we can easily seek the help of the E.C.A.F.E. experts. Various advanced countries today like India and Ceylon have established very good centres for their cottage and small-scale industries. I think that if we are to proceed on those lines, we will be truly helping our own population but to institute a research for big-scale industries, I think it is quite outdated unless you have a vast hinterland and if at all you have to do it, it should be on a pan-Malayan basis. 3.00 p.m. Mr J. M. Jumabhoy rose-

In reply?

In reply, Sir. Mr Speaker, I would like to assure this House that this scheme, at the moment, is a pilot scheme and the part where it is considered a pilot scheme appears in the footnote at the end of the Bill where it says that $1,000,000 will be provided for the Board and I did mention also that to start the Board off, the Government propose to provide $1,000,000. The legislation need not be considered as pilot legislation because as and when the Board requires more funds and as and when this Assembly provides the Board with such more funds, the scheme can be expanded. It is my intention, when I find that $1 million is not sufficient, to come up to this House and ask for more funds. I am glad the reaction of Members of the Opposition is that they consider that $1 million is not enough and that makes it easier for me to approach this House for more funds when needed but I would like to draw hon. Members' attention to clause 6 which states: "...the Minister may make advances to the Board from such moneys as are voted for the purpose by the Legislative Assembly." Therefore, the Board is not tied up with just a million dollars which I am proposing to provide in the first instance and I understand that the resolution to provide this $1 million will be coming up in the next sitting and will be moved by the Hon. the Financial Secretary.

What is a revolving fund?

A revolving fund is a technical term. It means a fund from which you lend out money and as the money comes back you lend that money out again to somebody else. It keeps on revolving and, as suggested by Mr Sutherland, it is possible you might find that the money does not revolve sufficiently fast enough. If that happens, I will come up to this House for more money.

Down the rat-hole.

I think that the same point was raised by the Member for Serangoon (Mr Lim Choon Mong) and the Member for Paya Lebar (Mr Lim Koon Teck): whether more money would be provided, and I give this assurance that I will not hesitate to come up to this House for more money.

If it is justified.

I want to compliment the Member for Serangoon on his ability at mathematics in working out that the $1 million will be exhausted in three instalments of $300,000 but I must sound a note of caution that this Board should not - I repeat not - be regarded as a Board to give out money to all those who come and ask for it, just for the mere asking. You will notice in the Bill that a rough system is provided on how the Board will grant the loans. Clause 4 (2) says: "...the Board shall have due regard to the economic and commercial merits of any undertaking it promotes, assists, finances or manages and shall also take into consideration in considering such economic and commercial merits, the economic merits of any other undertaking in which it has an interest and the economic requirements of the Colony as a whole." So, for the Board to advance a loan, the major considerations are: What are the economic requirements of the Colony; whether the applicant fits in with the economic requirements of the Colony as a whole; if he does, whether he has a proper business proposition or not? Also the Board can appoint one of its members to sit on the managerial board of the undertaking it finances to keep an eye on its activities. Now I think that also deals with the question raised by the Member for Tanjong Pagar (Mr Lee Kuan Yew). He mentioned that the Board will be a jackpot into which friends of influential politicians could dip their fingers, etc. Sir, that was one of my worries too because I have seen that happening in other countries and I have been very careful here to see that the powers of the Minister are minimised and that more powers are given to the Governor in Council, so that if you have a Minister who may probably try to use his influence, you will find that the matter will go to all the other Ministers in the Council of Ministers.

They share it equally.

Well then, you can say that the whole of Singapore is corrupted, if it comes to that.

We must not assume that the P.A.P. will-

Order.

I hope not. The Minister has no say about whom the money should be given to. It is the Board that will decide and the Minister is entirely out of the picture as far as that is concerned. Now we come to the defeatist speech of the Member for Changi (Mr Lim Cher Kheng) and other Members who have referred to this question of Federation duties. That question, Sir, has been referred to in this House many, many times in the last two months.

It is very important.

I admit that it is important. I have spoken on that question myself, Sir, in this House and even this morning, I did mention it when questioned by the Member for Queenstown (Mr Lee Choon Eng). Sir, I have said before that the adverse effect of these duties is causing me grave worries. We have taken the matter up at the highest possible level with the Federation Government and they have promised consideration but beyond that, you cannot force their hand. It is absurd to say that you can force another Government to do what you want them to do but what you can do is to make an approach, make them realise our difficulties and, as good neighbours, hope that they will co-operate with us. They have promised to consider the matter. The Hon. the Chief Minister and the Minister for Finance of the Federation are not here at the moment; they are both in London, and I hope again to pursue the matter further when both of them return. I admit, Sir, that some of our industries are badly affected and some of them may have to close down. Probably, some of them are thinking of going across to the Federation but I say that if any industry wants to go across to the Federation, it is having a shortsighted view. We, Sir, in Singapore offer port facilities that are the best in the East. We have a highly developed banking and insurance system. We have highly developed business skills here and though an industry, in Singapore, may find that it comes up against tariff barriers across the Causeway, it can more effectively deal with the export market outside Malaya. That is what I said in my introductory speech to this Bill: if we can bring down the cost of our production and if we can produce more competitively, then we have a chance to survive and overcome the tariff obstacles. It is no use taking a defeatist attitude and saying that just because of this tariff policy of the Federation, we should sit back and do nothing about it. That is a defeatist attitude, Sir. The Member for Serangoon mentioned about trading with Indonesia. Sir, he is not aware of what my Ministry has been doing in the past. Two months ago - I believe, in September - certain new regulations came up regarding barter trade, restriction on shipping, and so on, and we took the matter up strongly through the Indonesian Consulate here. Within a week, I am glad to say, we managed to put matters right and to revert the position back to its level where it was before the new regulations had come in. I have not publicised these things because I do not consider it will be any good publicising all these things. We are dealing with foreign Governments and we must be very circumspect in our references to them. We want to maintain friendly relations with them and, as has been mentioned by the Member for Telok Ayer (Mr R. Jumabhoy), we have nothing of our own as we are an entrep�t trading community. In order to get more employment for our people, we are now trying to develop our industries but we have to be very careful how we talk about other Governments and we have to see that we maintain a friendly attitude towards them, so that we can go on trading with them. I wish to say, Sir, that this Bill is not a mockery as what the Member for Changi said. Probably, you can call this Bill "timely succour". There was mention of "curious organisations" like the Progressive Party. Well, Sir, we have to thank this curious organisation a lot for the difficulties we experience with the Federation now! If the Labour Front had been in power, you would not have had this, probably. Now, the clause that provides for the Board to carry out research is clause 4 (1) (c). That is a provision made in this Bill just in case we find it necessary that the Board should carry out research into the industrial potentialities of the Colony. It is to give the Board more power. It does not necessarily follow that the power will be used. It is possible that the research may be carried out by a separate organisation entirely but in case we find that we are limited in scope and we want to do it on a small scale, it is possible that the Board can do it then. That is why we have given this power to the Board. The Report of the International Bank Mission on the Economic Development of Malaya recommended the establishment of a pan-Malayan institute of industrial research and a pan-Malayan industrial credit institution. Sir, my colleagues and I on this side of the House will be the first to admit that the ideal approach to the economy of the Malay Peninsula as a whole would be on a pan-Malayan basis but we have found that we have not been able to get agreement on a pan-Malayan basis from the Federation Government and therefore we have to do it now on our own. But this does not close the door to a future merger of two such separate institutes in Singapore and in the Federation if, at a later date, we find that we come to some political agreement. The answer to all this pan-Malayan approach is that it is a political answer and not an economic answer. Economics are dictated by political ideologies. There was reference made, Sir, to cottage industries. Personally, I am not convinced that we can have much cottage industries here because we do not produce anything much that would go into these industries, but that is something to which I have never closed my eyes and which we will have to investigate. If we do come across any sort of possibility of establishing cottage industries, we will not hesitate to give it our full attention. I can give that assurance to this House.

Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time.

Committee stage, what day?

Now, Sir. Mr Speaker, Sir, I move, That this Assembly will immediately resolve itself into a Committee on the Bill.

I second it.

Question put, and agreed to. Bill considered in Committee.

Clauses 1 to 13 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 14-

Mr Chairman, Sir, I move, At page 6, lines 7 to 9 inclusive, to leave out the words- "within the next subsequent three months after any such regulations are so presented disapproving the regulations", and to insert the words- "not later than at the first sitting of the Assembly next after the expiry of three months from the date when such regulation is so presented annulling the regulation". The object is this: that as it stands, clause 14 (3) is not adequate. It is possible that we may not have a sitting of the Assembly within three months of the coming into force of any regulation and therefore the Members of the Assembly will not have a chance of being able to exercise their right of annulling the whole or part of any regulation. This amendment will provide that the period is not restricted to three months straightaway but to the first sitting of the Assembly next after the expiry of three months. Amendment handed in.

There appears to be a typographical error. I think that the word "regulation" which appears twice in your amendment should be "regulations". The clause itself starts with the words "Such regulations...". Is that agreed?

Can you explain to me further, Sir?

Instead of the singular, have the plural in your amendment. Instead of "regulation is" should it not read "regulations are"?

Yes. I agree to that, Sir.

Thank you.

Question, "That the words proposed to be left out, be left out," put, and agreed to. Question, "That the words proposed to be inserted, be there inserted," put, and agreed to. Clause 14, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 15 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Mr Chairman, Sir, I move, "That the Bill, as amended, be reported to the Assembly."

Question put, and agreed to. Bill reported, with an Amendment.

Third Reading, what day?

Now, Sir. I move, "That the Bill, as amended, be now read the Third time."

I second it.

Question put, and agreed to. Bill, as amended, accordingly read the Third time.

3.20 p.m.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That this Assembly, pursuant to subsection (1) of section 106 of the Income Tax Ordinance (Chapter 166), resolves that the Government of the State of Brunei be added to the First Schedule to the said Ordinance. Sir, the Government of Brunei has invested sums in certain Singapore Municipal stocks and has now requested that the interest on its holdings should be exempt from Singapore income tax. The general position of Governments under the Crown is that the income of one such Government arising in the territory of another is exempt from tax imposed by the second Government unless the income is expressly charged to tax in the taxation code of the second Government. For example, in the absence of any specific imposition in the United Kingdom law, funds of this Government invested in the United Kingdom are free from United Kingdom income tax. There is some doubt in the minds of the law officers whether this immunity from tax which does not appear to rest on statute extends to territories under Her Majesty's protection; for example, the protected state of Brunei. In the circumstances, it is usual to exempt such protected territories specifically from tax. This can be done by including the territory in question in the First Schedule of the Ordinance by resolution of the Assembly under section 106 of the Ordinance. I need not stress, Sir, the material advantages of exempting investments of the Brunei Government in the Singapore Government or City Council stock from tax. Sir, I beg to move.

I second it.

Question put, and agreed to. Resolved, That this Assembly, pursuant to subsection (1) of section 106 of the Income Tax Ordinance (Chapter 166), resolves that the Government of the State of Brunei be added to the First Schedule to the said Ordinance.

3.22 p.m.

Sir, I have His Excellency the Governor's authority to move, That this Assembly resolves that the sum of $540,291 shall be supplied to the Government under the heads of expenditure and for the services specified in the Schedule contained in Sessional Paper No. Cmd. 2 of 1957. Sir, this is a short list of applications for supplementary votes. It consists of items which either could not have been foreseen at the time when the annual Estimates were prepared or had not, at that time, reached the stage of finality which would have permitted their inclusion in the annual Estimates. The reasons necessitating the applications are given fully in the Cmd. Paper and my colleagues and I shall be happy to answer any question which hon. Members may wish to raise. Sir, I beg to move.

I second the motion.

Committee of Supply, what day?

Now, Sir. Motion and Schedule considered in Committee of Supply.

Schedule

The summary is at page 8. There is no notice of any amendments. Head 5- The sum of $23,040 for Head 5 ordered to stand part of the Schedule. Head 8- Question proposed, "That the sum of $53,340 for Head 8 stand part of the Schedule." 3.24 p.m.

Mr Chairman, Sir, the reason why I have not tabled any amendments is because it would have required the Governor's consent and it is doubtful if the Governor would allow Members of the Opposition to interfere with the terms and conditions of service of certain officers, but that does not debar us from making some observations on "Subhead 1, new item - Permanent Secretary (Establishment), Grade C ($1,950) . . . $23,400". Sir, in the local Press recently, there has been some debate as to what sum of money should be paid to local men who take over these Permanent Secretaryships. Those of us who look forward to a spirited service from our civil service are delighted to see that their leaders are men of calibre, men who understand that, with merdeka, comes the opportunity for greater service and not greater loot. I am sure though that not every member of the civil service who is either hoping now or, at some future date, to become a Permanent Secretary and enjoy the sum of $1,950 plus Variable Allowance, Travelling Allowance, etc., may be in agreement with the proposal of their Association's President and Secretary that $1,770 would be quite adequate and that, in fact, the trend should be downwards, not upwards. Sir, we are inheriting a false standard, a standard created by our white mandarinate who came overseas because they could not do as well "at home" in England. As we take over these positions of control, we must understand that the difficulty facing us is not the difficulty of getting more loot because whilst we are in control, we can fill our pockets. The difficulty is one of remaining in the saddle and of preventing the whole system from collapsing. There is what in Marxist terminology would be called a revolutionary situation in Malaya. There is a state of unrest. Men's attitudes and minds are undergoing a violent change. Before the war, we might have found peons quite happy and contented; the officer whose car door he opens every morning as he faithfully waits in the rain for him earns in one month what he earns in 20 months. Even today, a peon in the Government service gets somewhere around $120 a month, compared to the Permanent Secretary who gets somewhere around $2,400 a month. Anyone who is familiar with peons, not when they are in their livened uniform, now minus red stripes despite the desire of the Hon. the Chief Secretary to put them in livery, know that they are not happy at the thought that they earn 1/20th of what is earned by the men whom they have to answer to when the bell rings. What he earns in one month, the peon earns in 20 months. Hence, this desire for a rapid transformation in society. I was glad to note that one of the serving officers in a Press statement said that the trend is towards an egalitarian society. Sir, there are some Members of this Assembly who, when they got elected, thought that the purpose of their coming into this Assembly was to put up a badge on their cars and inform the world that they were above everybody else and that they should be given the right of way. Some have even suggested that Ministers should have little pennants just as the Governor has the Union Jack, the Chief Secretary has the flag of Singapore, the Commissioner of Police has a little blue pennant and the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Malaya has an enormous blue flag with a tiger on it. Nowhere in the world have we a Vice-Chancellor flying a pennant. It is like those Japanese occupation days when every colonel, major, brigadier flew either a blue, red or yellow flag. If we try to maintain positions of privileges, then the whole system will collapse. There are two ways in which we move towards an egalitarian society: one: we ease ourselves gently as those who have given and those who have not taken and evolve a new society; two: where the whole social order crumbles and a tight revolutionary dictatorship takes over and creates by force, if necessary, the new order of things. There are some societies in this world that have avoided such a violent and a painful revolutionary process. One is Sweden. Let me just inform hon. Members in this House what an egalitarian society means in a democratic Socialist country. The Director of the Swedish Railways gets 3,000-

Order. I was just wondering how a lecture on the egalitarian society has anything to do with Head 8.

Sir, it is very important in this respect, that although Members of the Opposition cannot move an amendment to reduce the salaries of the permanent officials who, as I pointed out, are earning in one month what their peons take 20 months to earn, yet, I would like to bring the attention of the Government to the fact that unless they lower these scales and boost up the scales of the under-paid groups, there is going to be a revolution and a violent one.

The only point I would like to make is that there is nothing to prevent an hon. Member from giving notice of a motion to reduce any item in any Head of expenditure. Of course, he might be faced with having to obtain the Governor's recommendation or consent, but I do not think that he is entitled to assume that he will not get the recommendation or consent of the Governor.

Sir, I have, on one previous occasion, sought the Governor's consent to discuss conditions of service of some class of officers which I have now forgotten. It was connected with the emoluments of the civil service. It was flatly turned down and those were in the days when we had a Chief Minister who was very keen on exposing the white civil service and all their misdeeds. Sir, if I may just wind up my argument: I was pointing out that the Director of the Swedish Railways earns 3,200 krone as against 1,800 krone for his engine-drivers. In other words, the Director of Malayan Railways should get under twice what his engine-driver gets. I do not know what the exact figures are but I am quite sure that it is in multiples of ten that the Director compares to the engine-driver. I think that if the Labour Front Members had met - as the Chief Minister met - a very distinguished Israeli, Mr Moshe Sharett, Foreign Minister and Acting Prime Minister, they would have discovered that the highest paid man in the Israeli Government cannot be paid more than six times the lowest paid man. On that basis, I ask the Government to review the adoption of false European standards, superimposing them over our local mandarinate. 3.35 p.m.

Mr Chairman, Sir, I support most of the sentiments expressed by the leader of the P.A.P.

He is a Socialist.

Mr Chairman, Sir, I also take off my hat to the local men who are going to take over the Permanent Secretaryships for offering that their salaries be reduced. Now this is the way in which you can make progress in this country. The money saved will thus go to meet other expenditure with the result that there will be less taxation and the masses will benefit by it. I have always said that the Ministers should follow that example and copy the salary scales of the Indian Civil Service, Ceylon and Burma. You have got to bring down your expenditure and then only you can spend more money for the welfare of the country.

Mr Chairman, Sir, the comments made have covered a very wide field running from University flags to Swedish railway drivers.

Engine drivers.

Engine drivers. It shows how little we in Singapore have to do with the railways. The Member for Telok Ayer, I gather, has joined the People's Action Party and taken off his hat -

Not in the least, Sir.

Perhaps, he has not joined the Party and still has his hat on.

That is to the local men.

He referred - I do not doubt, from knowledge-to events in neighbouring countries and that is a very relevant point to the issue which has been raised. I understand, Sir, that in at least one neighbouring country, when they reached independence, they did introduce a very considerable cut in the salaries which, no doubt, they had inherited from their particular type of "mandarinate" - I think that is the word - and I am advised, Sir, that the result of that, no doubt, patriotic gesture at that time, was very adverse to the interest of the country. I mention that by way of starting to comment on the remarks made because I would like Members of the Assembly to regard this proposal to reduce the salaries of the civil service as one that has considerable complications and one that should be treated with caution and with due consideration. Do not please get led away into a quick decision by two or three "men of calibre" who have given tongue in the Press but have not yet thought fit to make any representations to the Government. There are a number of points which have got to be taken into account in dealing with what may, at first sight, seem a very attractive suggestion, that there is the local man to take over from the overseas officer and that it is patriotic and right that the rates of pay should be reduced. First of all, of course, there is already a reduction between what the local man gets and what the overseas man gets. The overseas man still draws that wonderful and much discussed extra pay - expatriation pay. Now, local officers do not get that and that should be remembered when you are considering relative salaries. But there are other very important questions which you have got to consider. First of all, you must relate what you are going to pay the top men in your civil service to the structure of the service as a whole. Two years ago, we revised the superscale structure of the civil service and when we were doing that, it was my very keen desire personally to reduce the number of superscale grades. I thought we had far too many and I made a great effort at that time to try and reduce the number of grades down to about three. Well, I found I could not do it. So we have now got five grades running from the top of the timescale to these posts of Permanent Secretary. Now, if you are going to reduce your Permanent Secretaries down to $1,770 a month, then obviously you have got to do one of two things: you have either got to reduce the number of grades or you have got to downgrade every grade below them including the top of your timescale. Now, it may be that that would be a good thing to do and it is possible that the top of the ordinary timescale is too high. If you start reducing the top of your timescale, then you may have to consider reducing the bottom of your timescale and you are involved in a very complex business of revising your salary scales throughout the whole Government service. I do not think that you can change one series of top posts without getting involved in those complexities. Another very important point is that you must bear in mind the comparable rates of remuneration which can be obtained by local people in doing similar type of work in non-Government establishments. You must relate the remuneration a man can get in the Government service with the remuneration he can probably get in your big industrial business concern. If you do not do that, then you only get a second-rate man going into your public service and, of course, you must consider very carefully the rewards that can be obtained in the professions. Now we have a legal service in the public service and we must have a good legal service. In order to recruit your legal service, you have got to compete with the rewards that are won by people at the Bar and if the rewards cannot possibly be commensurate and reasonably related, then you will not get the right type of man to be your legal adviser and you will not get the right type of men eventually to fill your posts of Attorney-General and on the Bench. I do not think I need say any more but I would just stress that while, at first sight, it seems attractive, we should not jump to a hasty conclusion, that because a certain number of individuals have made a gesture - no doubt, a very fine gesture - of having their salaries reduced, we should at once accept the offer. It is a more complicated business than that and if the view is held that the salary scales throughout the service that are inherited are too high, then the simple remedy is to reduce the variable allowance which is provided for that express purpose and leave the main structure unaltered, unless you wish to become involved in a very complicated and prolonged business. 3.44 p.m.

Mr Chairman, Sir, it is rather interesting to hear the Member for Tanjong Pagar cite as examples what happens in Sweden and Israel as a pattern upon which we should base the salaries of our Government service. I would like to ask the hon. Member in how many multiples of ten does he earn a year as compared with his lowest paid clerk or even his highest paid clerk? Is it a question of do as I say but not as I do?

Sir, the Hon. the Chief Secretary just explained to us that we should not be carried away. May I enquire whether the lowering of salary scales is under consideration by the Government? 3.45 p.m.

Mr Chairman, Sir, the Hon. the Chief Secretary has already said that the Government has not received any official approach from the officers concerned and therefore the Government is not in a position to consider it but there is one other point which we must not overlook. In the drawing up of a salary scale for civil servants in Singapore, all the Committees that have sat on the question of a salary scale tried to evolve a salary scale on the basis of the rate for the job. In their view, the rate for a Permanent Secretary is $1,950 a month. Surely, it does not mean now that just because an Asian is going to take over the job, he cannot qualify for the job and that his rate should be lowered? 3.46 p.m.

Mr Chairman, Sir, it is a sad thing to see the head of what professes to be a Socialist Government talk about whether a man is worth the rate for a job and say that if you reduce the salaries of the officers, it is a slight on them. It would reflect on their merits since it would be said that they are not worth what their European counterparts are worth. Does he not understand that there are values, human incentives, which money cannot buy? That when a man says, "I will give up this because I believe that it is going to do good," that man is worth much more than the man attracted and retained with expatriation pay? Now, Sir - just an aside to the Hon. the Minister for Health - I think he was conscience-stricken because he was on the House Committee that recommended the badges for cars. Let me inform him that far from not doing what I preach, I sincerely believe in everything that we say about an egalitarian society. It might interest him to know that if he goes back to the legal profession, he will find that there is a trade union of employees of lawyers' firms whose leaders include employees of my firm.

Answer the question.

Sir, I am afraid that there is very little which I can add to what has already been said in this matter. I would say this: none of the officers who are making this gesture have yet performed the duties of the post of Permanent Secretary. If they fulfil the duties and bear the responsibilities of the post in full, as I am sure they will, I can say, in all sincerity, that they will earn every cent of the salary now fixed for the post.

And a C.M.G. too?

Question put, and agreed to. The sum of $53,340 for Head 8 ordered to stand part of the Schedule. Head 9- The sum of $10 for Head 9 ordered to stand part of the Schedule. Head 23- The sum of $23,400 for Head 23 ordered to stand part of the Schedule. Head 26- Question proposed, "That the sum of $10,000 for Head 26 stand part of the Schedule."

Mr Chairman, Sir, can we be informed as to what good the Royal Singapore Flying Club is doing for the people of Singapore? Is it a Club engaged in entertaining its own members or in flying? 3.50 p.m.

Sir, since the Member cannot inform himself, I will be glad to inform him. A flying club is a club which helps people to fly and it is very valuable in Singapore that we should have many people who are interested in flying and competent to fly. It forms a reservoir of flying talent and an encouragement to the young men to go into civil aviation careers. We are hoping that, in the next few years, we shall get a very significant expansion of civil aviation here and it will be a sad story if we have to import the expatriates, who so irritate the Member for Tanjong Pagar and the Member for Serangoon too, instead of using our own local boys. It is with the idea that the Flying Club can make a significant contribution to the ab initio training in certain cases and perhaps, more valuably, to the general air-mindedness of Singapore, that this contribution is proposed. You will not get a high standard in a few people unless you have a wide interest amongst many people. Not every badminton player in Singapore hopes to play in the Thomas Cup matches but you get a high standard in the Thomas Cup matches because there is a general interest throughout a very large part of the population and the same thing applies broadly to any of the skills, arts and techniques of modern life - that you need to have a large number of people interested. I do not know how much detail the hon. Member would like me to go into. I can go into a great deal if he would like me to-

What about the Malayan Air Training Centre?

The M.A.T.C. is one organisation providing a certain amount of training; also, the Malayan Auxiliary Air Force. There is also the present Royal Singapore Flying Club and I think all these three are necessary and, to some extent, inter-related, particularly the Royal Singapore Flying Club which has given a certain amount of assistance to the M.A.T.C. The Flying Club has also issued 99 licences to European members and 38 to Asian members but in August last, there were 16 European student pilots and 12 Asians in the Flying Club. In other words, you can see that the Asian proportion is steadily moving upwards in relation to the European proportion. This delights the Member for Tanjong Pagar: he is hoping to put me off and embarrass me by my seeing his broad grins. Why he should regard it as humorous that Asians should learn to fly - and there should be as many Asians flying, I hope, soon, as there are expatriates at present - I cannot imagine.

Why did you not support Malayan Airways?

It is not clear what connection Malayan Airways has with the Royal Singapore Flying Club except, of course, that they did, through the Flying Club, get the training for some of their pilots. Does he prefer that the pilots should not get the training? I think I have already said enough to indicate the value of the Flying Club but I can come back to it again if further questions are asked.

I do not know if the Minister for Communications and Works had ever visited the Flying Club. I myself never had that privilege but I do know a number of friends who regularly visit the Club. They spend their time more on drinking than on flying. Incidentally, it is one of the few bars in town that open up to the very early hours of the morning. To grant a subsidy of $10,000 in order that we should teach British pilots how to fly and go and attack the Egyptians is absolutely outrageous. Sir, I grinned broadly because I wondered, whilst the Minister was talking, whether he believed in all this piffle that is being put over, that this $10,000 subsidy-

Order. It took some time for that word to sink in but I think "piffle" is unparliamentary.

If I have to withdraw "piffle", then I will say all the poppycock that is being put over.

Order. I am afraid that "poppycock" is also unparliamentary.

Well, Sir, to use quite a neutral word "waffle". Sir, we are urged to give $10,000 to a select group of men whose social habits take them into expensive pursuits and whose eventual benefit to the community is more than speculative. We were enthralled with the vision of this $10,000 creating mass enthusiasm for flying: everybody paying $10 for a joy-ride to be taken up into the air. We are told that one day we might have an air force. When I last debated Malayan Airways in this House, I mentioned to the Minister the fact that not one of the pilots had been trained in Malaya, that there was no local man as captain of any aeroplane in Malayan Airways and that all the local pilots had been trained overseas. He did not lend his support for what I was then urging, namely, that he should impose conditions in the new franchise to see that, within a definite space of time, local men will take over the flight operations of all aircraft of Malayan Airways. Then, he talked about factors of confidence: that if you change these pilots, there may be air crashes and loss of public confidence in air travel. Well, let me tell him this. We on this side of the House are not impressed by his waffle. Further, Sir, we want to know on what basis was this $10,000 computed? We first attack the grant on principle. When we have acquainted ourselves with the basis of that figure we may attack the figure itself.

If it please you, Sir, I am a member of this Club at which the hon. Member has seen fit to fling a waffle. I have been a member for some 16 or 17 years, Sir, and joined it to learn flying, shortly after the Munich talks, when I hoped to be able to be of some use to this country. I must say that though I tried very hard, I failed, but I cannot remember ever having spent the early hours of the morning at the bar of the Club, Sir, It may well be that my learned Friend's nocturnal habits give him a greater experience in this respect but whether they do have a bar or not, it does not mitigate from the utility of their activity to the community. The fact that they are giving training to those who are prepared to avail themselves of this opportunity is something of which we must take cognizance. It will be prohibitive unless they have a subsidy. If it is of value to the country -

Order. Moment of interruption. Thereupon Mr Speaker left the Chair of the Committee and took the Chair of the Assembly.

Sir, some progress has been made on this particular item and I ask leave to continue tomorrow.

Tomorrow it will be. Remaining items on the Order Paper taken as read, and set down for tomorrow.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise to move, That this Assembly do now adjourn.

I rise to second the motion.

Question put, and agreed to. Resolved, That this Assembly do now adjourn. Adjourned accordingly at one minute past Four o'clock p.m.

Wednesday, 9th January, 1957

asked the Minister for Commerce and Industry whether he will state the profit or loss made by the Government on rice trading or stockpiling for 1953, 1954, 1955, and for the period 1st January, 1956, to 31st October, 1956.

$ c. 1953 4,307,376 86 loss 1954 2,441,988 27 loss 1955 413,351 21 profit 1956 (1-1-56 to 278,958 21 loss 31-10-56)

asked the Minister for Commerce and Industry-

1955 . 11,443 tons 1956 . 15,508 tons (b) Normally purchases are made by tender. (c) $3.20 per ton for 1,500 tons and under handled in any one calendar month. $3.00 per ton for quantities between 1,501 and 3,000 tons handled in any one calendar month. $2.75 per ton for quantities between 3,001 and 5,000 tons handled in any one calendar month. $2.60 per ton for quantities in excess of 5,000 tons handled in any one calendar month. These charges include all normal handling charges, telephone rentals, light and water supplied to godowns, watchmen's wages and the cost of deinfestation. The godowns are Government property. Godowns and stock are not insured.

asked the Minister for Commerce and Industry whether he will state-

1955 Pakistan India tons tons October 308 438 November 100 143 December 200 396 1956 January 442 454 February 40 148 March Nil 75 (b) Daily lists published by the Singapore Chamber of Commerce which are available to subscribers contain the names of importers. (c) Licences to import rice are issued freely to applicants whether or not they are regular rice importers. No special record is, therefore, made of whether or not an applicant is a regular importer when licences are issued.

asked the Minister for Commerce and Industry what is the average monthly consumption of rice in Singapore for the period January 1955 to November 1956.

Figures of the actual monthly consumption of rice in Singapore are not available. On the basis of net imports declared for human consumption during the period January 1955 to November 1956, the average monthly consumption is estimated at 10,500 tons. Actual consumption varies from month to month.

asked the Minister for Commerce and Industry whether any rice has been re-exported or transhipped from Singapore during the period July 1955 to June 1956; and to state the quantities, destinations and countries of origin of the rice so re-exported or transhipped.

Yes. 122,568 tons of rice for human consumption and for animal foodstuffs were re-exported from Singapore during the period July 1955 to June 1956. The quantities, destinations and countries of origin of the rice so re-exported are as follows:- Quantity in tons Destination Origin 53,765 Federation of Malaya Thailand, Burma and India 240 Mauritius Thailand 7 Other British Countries Thailand in Africa 110 Brunei Thailand 5 Ceylon Thailand 1,189 Hong Kong Thailand and Burma 524 North Borneo Thailand and Burma 12,093 Sarawak Thailand and Burma 1 Aden Thailand 26 Other British Countries Thailand and in Asia Burma 110 New Zealand Thailand 551 Other British Countries Thailand in Oceania 20 Somalia Thailand 53,854 Indonesia Thailand and Burma 2 Thailand Thailand 71 Macao and Timor Deli Thailand and Burma Figures of rice transhipped at Singapore on through Bills of Lading are not available.