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PERMISSION TO MEMBER TO BE ABSENT The following Member has, under the provisions of subsection (2) (g) of section 42 of the Singapore (Constitution) Order in Council, 1958, obtained from the Speaker, permission to be or to remain absent from sittings of the Assembly: Mr Teo Hock Guan (Changi) - 9th August, 1960.
YANG DI-PERTUAN NEGARA'S SPEECH - (Debate on the Address) - (Sixth Day) Order read for resumption of adjourned debate on Question [9th August, 1960], `That the following Address in reply to the speech of the Yang di-Pertuan Negara be agreed to:- "We, the Legislative Assembly of the State of Singapore, express our thanks to the Yang di-Pertuan Negara for the speech which he delivered on behalf of the Government at the opening of the present session of this Assembly.".'-(The Prime Minister). Question again proposed. 2.31 p.m.
YANG DI-PERTUAN NEGARA'S SPEECH - (Debate on the Address) - (Sixth Day) (In Malay): Mr Speaker, Sir, I will continue with the speech which I started yesterday. On the first day of this debate, the Member for Hong Lim accused the Government of failing to implement democratic practices. Before the Member for Hong Lim introduced his 16 resolutions into this House, I personally know that these 16 resolutions brought up by the Hong Lim Branch were read out by the hon. Member at our Party Conference. The resolutions were rejected. Subsequently the hon. Member again raised the issue of the 16 resolutions at the Badminton Hall rally where he made accusations against the Government. At the same time, he boasted that he was the real fighter for the detainees and for the interest of the trade union movement in Singapore. Mr Speaker, Sir, I am really amused at the antics of the Member for Hong Lim. If he is so very much concerned about the deregistration of the four unions and the detainees. I would like him to answer this question: when did he start to fight for the welfare of the detainees and the trade union movement? Has he ever undergone the hardships experienced by the trade union movement? Has he ever gone through the experience of being detained? Anybody can give the answer, Mr Speaker - that he has not experienced all that. This is an attempt on his part to gain power for his own ends, by hoodwinking the people of Singapore. I know full well, Mr Speaker, Sir, about the circumstances relating to the deregistration of the unions, the trade union movement in Singapore as a whole, and the position of the detainees, as I have been personally detained on two occasions in the past. The Singapore Trades Union Congress interviewed the Minister for Labour and Law and exchanged views on the four deregistered unions, after which they were satisfied. Before the Member for Hong Lim raised this issue, we from the S.T.U.C. and the other unions had already submitted our views to the Minister for Labour and Law. But the Member for Hong Lim - Mr Speaker, Sir, I do not want to use unparliamentary words as I may be asked to sit down - might have borrowed or stolen the views of other trade unions. I still remember a story told to me when I was at school about Sang Kanchil and a heron. Sang Kanchil is very intelligent and wily and can outwit all the other animals. But all the same, he has one weakness - his insincerity. Although he is wily, he is insincere. Tigers, elephants and crocodiles can be outwitted by the wiliness of Sang Kanchil. The story goes like this. One day, he asked a heron to cross a river on a river crate with him with the thought of outwitting the heron. When Sam Kanchil felt sure that he could manage to get across safely to the other side, he caused the river crate to sink. The result was that Sang Kanchil was drowned but the heron was able to fly to safety. This is analogous to an insincere man who will ultimately drown himself. I hope that the labour movement and the people of Singapore will not be confused by the 16 resolutions. We must be on guard against any action initiated by the Member for Hong Lim. Mr Speaker, Sir, I would also like to refer to the speech of the Member for Aljunied. I was shocked to hear the blind accusations of the hon. Member against the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for National Development. He accused the Parliamentary Secretary of trying to win over the constituents of the Southern Islands so that he would be successful as a candidate for that ward in the next general elections. Sir, this is like the story I related just now about Sang Kanchil. The members of the P.A.P. do not go about their work with a view to offering themselves as candidates in the next general elections. This is a false and nonsensical accusation calculated to confuse the people. Can the Member for Aljunied substantiate his accusation that the Parliamentary Secretary invited the peng-hulus of the Southern Islands and told them that it was his intention to stand as a candidate for that ward in the coming general elections? If he cannot substantiate his accusation, then it is false. Mr Speaker, Sir, I think the hon. Member has run out of ideas to further confuse the minds of the people of Singapore. The People's Action Party will constantly be on the look-out against any activities initiated by the Member for Hong Lim and the Member for Aljunied. We will continue to oppose insincere leaders in the interest of the people as a whole. 2.41 p.m.
YANG DI-PERTUAN NEGARA'S SPEECH - (Debate on the Address) - (Sixth Day) (In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, for the past few days, I have been listening to the speeches of Members of the Opposition. All of these speeches are feats of acrobatics showing purposeful abstruseness, distortion of Government's policies and the creation of disharmony. Since the formation of our Party, we have never deviated from our consistent stand. We have been expressing our independent character and have never been controlled by others. Before the general election, the P.A.P. had told the people that it was non-Communist. We did not conceal our policies and we have been trustworthy. During the general election, we were also telling the people that we were non-Communist in order to win over the people. The situation in Singapore has been fundamentally secure since the P.A.P. took over the government after its victory in the election 14 months ago. This fact shows that the P.A.P. policies are successful and right. The former Chief Minister. Mr Lim Yew Hock has not remembered this fact and does not absorb our experience. On the contrary, he still wants to go back to the road of anti-people and pro-colonialism. He has been very stubborn and has not reflected on the lesson of the failure of his S.P.A. even up to the present moment. Now, the Member for Cairnhill wants to pull us into the water and make us go along his old road of failure. Since we have expressed our non-Communist attitude, we will never change it, no matter what misleading and challenging words we may encounter from the Opposition Members. Our present task is to seek the welfare of the people and serve them in a better way. The Member for Cairnhill has become very belligerent and challenges us to a light in the by-elections. The people are not interested in this and it is, in fact, wasting people's resources and energy. We will not be so childish as to do this. I would like to ask the Member for Cairnhill why does he want to drag us into the water and what is his motive in wanting us to be anti-Communist? He wants to have an effortless gain by making us fail in our pledge by betraying the people and creating disorder. Is this not a naive fancy of his? Mr Speaker, the Member for Cairnhill talks a lot about anti-Communism, and is very much interested because he wants to become a hero of the anti-Communist movement in Singapore, thereby earning another title for that, like the one he has received from the Federation of Malaya. Even if he should obtain a title for being a hero of the anti-Communist movement, would it benefit the welfare of the people and solve the unemployment problem? Could he achieve results by being just anti-Communist? What the people, both the Chinese and English-educated, are greatly concerned is whether there is security of livelihood and the possibility of solving the unemployment problem, and not merely the question of whether the State is anti-Communist or pro-Communist. The road that the Government is taking is the most practical road, that is, to find out ways and means to create situations for the purpose of solving the unemployment problem and to look after the livelihood of the people. This is a practical and effective way of checking the development of pro-Communist activity. Mr Speaker, the speech of the Member for Cairnhill is lengthy, but it has not expressed any anti-colonial feelings at all. Many of my colleagues have clarified that we are not tools of either the colonialists or the Communists, and I doubt whether the Member for Cairnhill himself is a tool of the colonialists. Mr Speaker, after hearing the speeches of the Members of the Opposition, I am of the opinion that they have not contributed any constructive criticisms of Government's policies. An Opposition Member's responsibility is to speak for the people and to make useful suggestions to raise the standard of living and welfare of the people, and not simply to oppose this and oppose that. Members of the Opposition have not done this. For the past few days, their lengthy speeches are misleading, and their purpose is to make political capital out of them. They have not even suggested how the basic problems may be solved. For example, a few days ago, the Member for Joo Chiat said that he had reared chickens. Does he mean to say that, by having reared chickens, he is a qualified farmer and understands the hardship of the farmers? Deceiving people by this means does not amount to an expression of concern for the farmers. In fact, the farmers already know how to increase their production. The problem is how best to market their products. This is also a problem of rural economy, and a problem relating to land. He did not mention all this. So, let me remind him that without going to the farmers and without knowing their hardship, one cannot serve the farmers. The Member for Joo Chiat said that Japanese hens and leghorns can lay about 240 to 280 eggs per year. The Deputy Prime Minister has touched on this. But I would like to point out his childish, political cheating -
YANG DI-PERTUAN NEGARA'S SPEECH - (Debate on the Address) - (Sixth Day) Order. I think I heard the expression "childish, political cheating". If that is so, then, of course, that is an expression which should not be used. Perhaps the hon. Member can assure me that that was not the expression he used. If it is the expression he used, then he must withdraw that expression.
YANG DI-PERTUAN NEGARA'S SPEECH - (Debate on the Address) - (Sixth Day) (In Mandarin): I think, Mr Speaker, just now I was -
YANG DI-PERTUAN NEGARA'S SPEECH - (Debate on the Address) - (Sixth Day) Order. Can I have a reply? If the expression "childish, political cheating" was used, then it has to be withdrawn. If it was not used, then the hon. Member can tell me that it was not the expression used.
YANG DI-PERTUAN NEGARA'S SPEECH - (Debate on the Address) - (Sixth Day) (In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, I withdraw the words "childish, political cheating". As a matter of fact, the farmers have reared these two breeds of chicken. Because the local climate is different, these hens cannot lay as many eggs as the Member for Joo Chiat claimed. The egg production is, what the Deputy Prime Minister has said, about 260 a year. I would point out here that the Deputy Prime Minister's speech is based on facts taken from books. We must know that in Australia and Japan. the climate is different from ours, and this yield of egg production is possible. But over here, because of our climate, we cannot expect the same results. The Prime Minister has said that the Opposition Members are weak in their judgment. The correctness of the Prime Minister's judgment can be proved here by all these facts. 2.56 p.m.