(In Malay): Mr Speaker, Sir, I feel that the Bill which has been introduced in Parliament today is a Bill which really affects the public of our country. I believe that it certainly has good intentions, that is, to safeguard our country from being a country without laws or without procedure. However, in a matter of this nature, we must consider all aspects. Firstly, the taxi drivers; secondly, the bus companies; thirdly, members of the public, including adults, office workers, women going marketing, school children; and fourthly, the unemployed. I am sure unemployed persons will find ways and means to earn a living and, in their opinion, they can earn a living by driving pirate taxis. To me, if a country is short of buses, bus routes, or taxis, or if the taxis or buses are untidy and the roads are narrow, we can say that that country has not got adequate laws. We must have an open mind on how we can adopt these laws so that the citizens may benefit from them. Mr Speaker, in Paper Misc. 3 of 1966, the Report of the Committee to Review the Licensing of Taxis and Taxi Drivers, the Committee only recommends a total of 300 additional taxis. Statistics were obtained from cities like Bangkok, Hongkong, Manila, London, Queensland Australia, and the Malay States. I believe that, apart from Malaya, the standard of living of those countries mentioned is high and that enables the people to own their own cars or to run adequate buses. Perhaps in countries like London, we understand that in addition to taxis and buses, there are underground rail and monorail services. Perhaps that is an effort on the part of the Government concerned to improve the transport system. Mr Speaker, in contrast, in the whole of Malaya there are 5,245 taxis with a population of 7 million. We cannot compare Malaya with Singapore on the ground that Malaya, with a population of 7 million, has hundreds of small towns, excepting Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Ipoh, and Seremban, for example, which do not have any use for taxis as we do in Singapore. Therefore, it is impossible for this Committee to consider all these factors because, as stated by the Minister of State, with the development of housing estates by private developers and the Housing and Development Board, we must also consider that the increase of 300 taxis must be raised. As I said, we cannot compare with those countries that I enumerated just now. Conditions in Malaya differ from those obtaining in our country. Mr Speaker, Sir, services by road, rail, and aeroplane all differ. Bus services and the operation of taxis and pirate taxis differ one from the other. For instance, in the case of buses, they run along fixed or determined routes and cannot stop anywhere other than at specified bus stops. Pirate taxis ply according to their own routes and they may stop wherever they like. Sometimes they even stop when the traffic lights are red in order to set down their passengers. There are two types of taxis in Singapore. One is the taxi which follows the rules of the Registrar of Vehicles, and the other which follows the pirate taxi rules. This means that taxis following the rules of the R.O.V. ply their business along routes which differ from the bus routes and the routes of pirate taxis. They pick up passengers at one place and go according to the directions of the passengers. Mr Speaker, Sir, in the Committee's Report referred to, there is reference made to 61,000 school children using pirate taxis. Because of the great number of children, the Committee recommends that licences be issued to what are termed by the Committee as "school taxis" or "private motor vehicles licensed to carry school children". Why cannot this Committee make a recommendation for separate licences as, for instance, office workers' taxis, taxis for people going to market, or taxis for people living in areas without buses? This is a complicated matter. In issuing special licences to taxis to carry the 61,000 school children alone, we must also consider the views of other transport operators because the Committee is of the opinion that buses are insufficient. I also think that office workers in town are not supplied with adequate bus services and they feel that they should come to office by pirate taxis. If we allow taxis to run according to pirate taxi rules, I am sure that, for the purpose of enforcing the law with good intentions, we should not implement it, and that to regularise the position in our country we must be open-minded and not restrict or confine ourselves to one sector of the population alone. Mention is also made in the Report that most of the drivers have a little knowledge of Singapore for the benefit of tourism. I am sure that because of the rapid developments taking place in our country, that has nothing to do with the Bill under discussion today. Mr Speaker, Sir, we should also find out the reason why, in addition to the matters I have mentioned earlier on, the bus companies as mentioned in the Report do not wish to provide special bus services because of uneconomical grounds. What is surprising to me is that if the Bill is passed without an open mind considering it, I am afraid that the attitude of bus companies will be this, "If I do not make a profit, then I do not care what happens to you." If this is the attitude of bus companies, we should not adopt a civil attitude. We cannot support that attitude. We must find ways and means to enable bus companies to operate for the benefit of the public, for school children, and so on. The reason why parents allow their children to use pirate taxis is this. Firstly, the safety of their children; secondly, the distance from their homes to the bus stand; and thirdly, they have to change buses frequently, which takes time and also cost more in fares. This must be considered as widely as possible. That is all, Mr Speaker. 4.59 p.m.