Hansard, 1966-12-05

Under the provisions of clause 2 (d) of Article 30 of the Constitution of Singapore, I have granted permission to the following Members to be or to remain absent from sittings of Parliament (or any committee of Parliament to which they have been appointed) for the period stated:- Tuan Haji Yaacob Bin Mohamed (Southern Islands), Minister of State for the Prime Minister's Department - from 21st November to 3rd December, 1966. Mr Chan Chee Seng (Jalan Besar), Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Social Affairs and Government Whip - from 21st November to 24th December, 1966. Inche A. Rahim Ishak (Siglap), Minister of State for Education - from 5th to 14th December, 1966.

I have been informed by the President that, on the days stated, he assented to the following Bills:- 1st November, 1966 (i) Betting and Sweepstake Duties (Amendment) Bill; and (ii) Currency (Amendment) Bill. 3rd November, 1966 Land Acquisition Bill

2.31p.m.

Order. The hon. Members desirous of taking their seats will please come forward when their names are called. The following Members made an Affirmation of Allegiance in the order below: Mr Chor Yeok Eng (Bukit Timah), Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health. Mr Ho Kah Leong (Jurong). Mr Yeoh Ghim Seng (Joo Chiat).

2.36 p.m.

I have to inform hon. Members that at 10.15 a.m. on the 28th October, 1966, I received to hand four letters each dated 27th October, 1966, under the respective hands of -

I wish to inform hon. Members that on the 16th November, 1966, on behalf of the House I received from a delegation of the Commons House of Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland a gift of a bookcase and books. I have directed that the bookcase and books be placed in the Library. In connection with this gift a motion stands on today's Order Paper in the name of the Leader of the House.

The recent bye-elections have caused the capacity of seats on my right to be exceeded. Acting under Standing Orders and in consultation with the Leader of the House, I have in the course of allocating seats to the three hon. Members who took their oaths today taken the opportunity to reallocate seats to certain other Members. By reason of the capacity of the benches, it has become necessary to seat on my left some hon. Members whose customary place would be on my right.

2.39 p.m.

asked the Deputy Prime Minister why a firm has been allowed to incorporate an advertisement in the fountain at the approach to the Paya Lebar International Airport; whether the firm pays a concession fee for the advertisement, and what is the fee for a year.

Mr Speaker, the decision to allow the firm concerned to incorporate an advertisement in the fountain built and paid for by the company at a cost of $69,000 at the approach road to the Paya Lebar International Airport was approved by the Malaysian Ministry of Transport on the 5th July, 1965, when the Department of Civil Aviation was under its control. The company does not pay concession fees for the advertisement, but it is responsible for the proper operation and maintenance of the fountain, estimated to cost $5,000 a year, in addition to the cost of electricity and water consumed. At the end of five years, from 1st January, 1966, the fountain and all its fittings will become the property of the Government. As advertising on the fountain has drawn unfavourable comments from visitors to the Airport, negotiations will be taken up to transfer the fountain to the Government within the contract period.

(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, can I raise a supplementary question?

Yes, certainly.

(In Mandarin): I would like to ask the Minister concerned, since this is a place which many tourists will be visiting, whether we can take immediate steps to remove this advertisement and, instead, other advertisements, posters, or slogans of a national nature be posted there. For instance, we can publicise that we want to build a multi-racial society, or that we welcome all international tourists to come to Singapore.

Mr Speaker, as I have pointed out just now, there is a contract by which the Singapore Government has to abide. And as I have indicated to the House, we are now negotiating with the company concerned to transfer the fountain to the Government within five years as soon as possible, and until we do so we are not in a position to control any advertising slogans which are now located on the fountain itself. However, I am quite certain that the company, being a longstanding company in Singapore, will co-operate with the Government, and I am certain that there will be no difficulties when we come to negotiate with them by which such a transfer can be made to the Government.

asked the Deputy Prime Minister whether he is aware that there are people entering Singapore illegally along the coast of Mata Ikan and Padang Terbakar, and what action he has taken, or proposes to take, in the matter.

Mr Speaker, as long as there was a curfew imposed in Singapore port waters, it was easy to detect any craft making its way to Singapore. With the ending of Indonesian confrontation, the curfew has now been lifted and, as is to be expected, numerous small craft make their way to Singapore from the neighbouring Rhio Islands. Some of these are barter traders who conduct their business at Telok Ayer Basin, while others conceivably bring in illegal immigrants who land at odd spots along the Singa-port coast line. The Immigration Department itself does not have a preventive branch to check these illegal entries, but relies on the Ministry of the Interior and Defence for surveillance of our coastal waters. The Immigration Department is liaising with the Ministry of the Interior and Defence on how to improve marine and beach patrols. Immigration and security responsibilities will be integrated when the Immigration Department is transferred to the Ministry of the Interior and Defence from the 1st of January next year. More effective measures to control illegal entries can then be worked out. I suggest that the Vigilante Corps in those areas close to the sea can perform a public duty by patrolling the beaches as they did previously, and help to detain illegal entries. From time to time, the presence of illegal immigrants has been reported by public-spirited citizens to the Immigration Department. Raids are conducted and illegal immigrants are deported after serving a term of imprisonment according to the law.

asked the Minister of Defence, in the demonstration by Ngee Ann College students in front of the City Hall on 4th November, 1966, how many Police officers and how many students were injured, and how many students were treated for their injuries at the General Hospital.

Mr Speaker, in all, 13 Police officers were injured. One of these, a police constable, was warded at the General Hospital for four days with a 2-inch laceration on his right forehead. Subsequently, 12 days' medical leave were prescribed for him. Six students were injured and were treated as outpatients at the General Hospital. The most serious injury among them appeared to be a fractured heel bone and this, on the admission of the student himself, was caused when he jumped from the City Hall steps to the ground in order to avoid the Police.

asked the Minister of Defence how many cases of gang-fights have been reported to the Police since the beginning of 1966, and how many of them took place in bars.

Mr Speaker, Sir, since the beginning of 1966, three gang-fights have been reported to the Police, of which none took place in bars.

asked the Minister of Defence whether he is aware that the Prime Minister promised to build a community centre at the 7 m.s. Holland Road when he toured the Ulu Pandan Constituency on 13th February, 1966, and when the centre will be built.

Mr Speaker, Sir, the Prime Minister is not in the habit of making promises during his tours of constituencies. What was discussed in Ulu Pandan on the 13th February, 1966, was a proposal to establish a rural type community centre near Yoon Kin Road, off 7½ m.s. Holland Road. This was found to be unsuitable because of the scarcity of population. The Prime Minister advised the Ulu Pandan Citizens Consultative Committee to look for an alternative site. He said that if this site is found suitable, the People's Association would give consideration to the proposal to establish a community centre there. The suitability of this site is being investigated by the People's Association. My preliminary impression is that this locality is also too sparsely populated, there being only 200 families within a radius of two miles of the site. The Citizens Consultative Committee has claimed that there are 500 families. If this site is not suitable, the People's Association will assist in finding another site in the Constituency.

asked the Minister for Education, in the implementation of the policy of compulsory study of a second language in all secondary schools as from the beginning of 1966, whether (a) teaching facilities for second languages are provided in all Government and Government-aided secondary schools (including Mission schools), and language teachers are available for all the four languages in all the schools, irrespective of the number of students wishing to take a particular language; and (b) all Government-aided secondary schools (including Mission schools) have been made to implement the policy and commence Tamil language classes, where formerly there were none.

Mr Speaker, Sir, facilities for teaching any of the four official languages as a second language are provided in all Government and Government-aided schools, including Mission schools. Where second language teachers cannot be fully deployed in one school, they teach in a group of schools. Where the number of pupils choosing a second language is very small, classes are conducted centrally both in the afternoon for morning school pupils and in the morning for afternoon school pupils. It is stressed that, irrespective of the number of students wishing to take a particular second language, adequate provision has been made. All schools have been instructed to implement the policy of a compulsory second language in Secondary I from 1966 and provision has been made for Tamil. This year there are 9 morning and 8 afternoon secondary Tamil class centres, with 17 full-time teachers to teach about 2,500 Tamil pupils. There is also one English secondary school with two part-time Tamil language teachers, one for the morning and one for the afternoon, and two other schools have Tamil language teachers teaching the language during school hours.

A supplementary question, Sir. I understand that Tamil classes are centrally run at various places, due to the small number of children taking Tamil as a second language. But my point in bringing up this question here is that each and every school, whether it is a Government or a Government-aided school or a mission school, should be self- sufficient with language teachers in all streams of language, and not depend on any special centres to be provided by Government. I feel that the special centres -

Could the Member frame the supplementary question rather than make a criticism of what the Minister has said?

My supplementary question is this. In spite of the centres run by the Government for various languages, will the Minister give an assurance that all schools - whether they are Government or Government-aided or Mission schools - will be made self-sufficient with language teachers to teach the respective language in the school itself, irrespective of the number of children taking a second language?

Mr Speaker, Sir, wherever there is a sufficient number of pupils taking a second language, a full-time second language teacher will be provided. But if the number of students taking a second language in a particular school is small, for instance, two pupils, surely the Member for Farrer Park does not expect the Government to provide a full-time second language teacher for just two pupils?

Mr Speaker, Sir, for in, stance, in an English school where there are Chinese, Malay and Tamil children -

Mr Rajoo, I am afraid I must pull you up again. Could you frame the supplementary question?

Yes. The supplementary question is this. In schools where second language classes are run, during the language period certain children will attend either the Chinese or Malay language classes, whereas the Tamil children in these schools will be left without any teacher, because although classrooms are available, there is no teacher to teach Tamil. That is what I understand. Will the Minister look into the matter and investigate where such a state of affairs exists, so that Tamil-language teachers will be provided and the Tamil children do not waste their time idling during this language period?

Yes, Mr Speaker, I will certainly investigate if specific instances can be pointed out to me.

In view of the number of questions we have today - it is already five to 3 p.m. - I hope Members will restrict their supplementary questions so that those who have questions low down in the list will have their questions answered orally. Mr Rodrigues.

asked the Minister for Education, in view of the opportunity that can be afforded to anti-national elements to poison the minds of young children, if he will tighten up the supervision of kindergartens or consider bringing them within the state educational system.

Mr Speaker, Sir, most kindergartens in Singapore are supervised in one way or another by the Government or a quasi-Government organisation. These are private kindergartens registered with the Ministry of Education, those organised and supervised by the People's Association, and creches and play centres organised and supervised by the Department of Social Welfare. Owing to Government supervision of one kind or another, it would be extremely difficult for anti-national elements to poison the minds of young children unnoticed. To date there has been no report of such incidents in these kindergartens. However, for quite some time now, the demand for places in kindergartens for pre-school age children has been very great. This results in the establishment of a large number of unregistered kindergartens which fall into three categories: (1) those run by private individuals catering for the upper and middle classes, mainly in the private residential estates; (2) those run by religious organisations in Housing Board Estates or near squatter areas in the City area; (3) those run by political parties, particularly by the anti-national Barisan Sosialis. These kindergartens do not come under the supervision of the Government and are, therefore, open to exploitation by the anti-national elements, particularly so in the case of those run by the Barisan Sosialis in the rural areas. Besides the opportunity afforded them to poison the minds of the young children in their kindergarten classes, the teachers of these classes and their helpers, who are mostly members of the Barisan Sosialis, very often exploit the opportunity of meeting the parents of these children and putting across their insidious anti-national propaganda. Furthermore, these kindergarten classes also provide a source of income to sustain the livelihood of the Barisan Sosialis members. However, the Government does not favour the negative approach in dealing with this problem by closing down all the kindergartens run by the anti-national elements. To do so would fall into the trap of the Barisan Sosialis who are bound to exploit the issue by accusing the Government of being unsympathetic towards the welfare of the children of the poor living particularly in the rural areas. There is a real demand for pre-school education by Singapore parents in recent years as a result of improvement in the standard of living and the awareness of the value of an early education for children. This is, therefore, a social problem which should be better dealt with in a more positive manner. Since 1964, the Government has, through the People's Association, established kindergarten classes in the community centres to meet the needs of the rural parents and to counter the influence of kindergarten classes run by the anti-national elements. By May this year, the People's Association have established 159 kindergarten classes with a total enrolment of 5,900 pupils. The number of classes has since increased to 349 and the total enrolment to 12,500, whereas both the number of classes run by the anti-national elements and the total enrolment have drastically dwindled. Furthermore, a great majority of the kindergarten age children for classes next year have been registered by the People's Association. While it is desirable that all kindergartens should be supervised by the Government and be brought under the Republic educational system, the cost of implementing this by way of capital and recurrent expenditure is, however, prohibitive. The Government, therefore, does not envisage bringing the kindergartens within the State educational system in the foreseeable future.

asked the Minister for Education whether and when an Integrated Primary School will be built in the Punggol Constituency in the vicinity of the 9th or 10th milestone Punggol Road.

Mr Speaker, as the existing schools can adequately cope with the present demand for places in primary schools, the Government does not propose to build any new primary school in Punggol Road in the near future. A survey of the demand for primary places in this area shows that the construction of a new primary school is not required.

asked the Minister for Education whether he is considering building a secondary school in the Lim Chu Kang area to cater for the school children living in that area.

Mr Speaker, Sir, investigation is being carried out by the Ministry of Education and the Planning Department for the provision of a secondary school building near the junction of Lim Chu Kang and Choa Chu Kang Roads.

asked the Minister for Health what is the policy in regard to the purchase by his Ministry of locally-produced medicines and drugs, which are comparable in quality to the corresponding imported articles, when the price of the locally-produced article is higher than that of the imported article.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I am pleased to inform the Member for Telok Blangah that it is Government's policy to give positive encouragement regarding the use of local products, and in line with the policy a directive was given on the 14th of December, 1965, to all Government departments and statutory bodies by the Economic Development Division of the Ministry of Finance on the subject of preferential purchase of locally manufactured products. To implement such a policy of giving preference to locally-manufactured goods, a preferential price margin of up to 5 per cent of the tendered price of an equivalent imported product is generally allowed. In certain instances, such as the bulk purchase of medicines and drugs, the preference price margin might even be higher.

A supplementary question, Mr Speaker, Sir, if I may have your permission to break it into three parts?

Is it one question or three questions?

A supplementary in three parts.

Can we have the first part first?

All right. First, Mr Speaker, is the Minister aware that his Ministry is purchasing P.A.S. tablets from a local factory at $4.38 cents per thousand tablets, whereas the cost of such tablets, after deducting the sales cost, is $4.45 cents per thousand tablets?

What tablets are you referring to, Mr Rodrigues?

P.A.S. tablets, Sir.

As far as I can remember, the contract was given to a local firm to supply this particular drug at a cost that is much higher than the imported product of the same kind. If the company is going to have very heavy manufacturing costs, I do not think Government is expected to bear the burden. As I have said earlier, there is already a margin of up to 5 per cent, and, in fact, in medicines and drugs, the preference price margin is even higher, especially in this particular case.

Mr Speaker, second part - is the Minister aware that S.A.T.A. is purchasing the same tablets at $5.50 per thousand tablets from the same factory compared to the Government's $4.38 cents per thousand tablets?

I am afraid I have no answer to that, because S.A.T.A. is not a Government institution.

Mr Speaker, Sir, is the Minister aware that his Ministry is even trying to reduce the price of $4.38 at the moment?

Good for him!

I think the Minister for Finance has answered that question.

I did not get that one, Mr Speaker, Sir.

He said, "Good for him!"

Then may I ask the third part of the question, Mr Speaker? What is the Government's policy in patronising local industry?

As I have said earlier, there is already this price margin of 5 per cent, and in medicines and drugs the margin is even higher. I do not think there should be no limit to the price that the local company can ask. There must be a limit.

asked the Minister for Health what progress has been made in the control and eradication of mosquitoes in the Anson Constituency.

(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, I regret to inform the Member for Anson that so far no steps have been taken to eradicate mosquitoes in Anson Constituency. This is because it is not possible to deal with the mosquito problem of Singapore on a piecemeal basis, as are shown in the results of a field survey without house-to-house checks done on the 24th of November, 1966, in Anson Constituency itself. The results are no less than 107 breeding places, mainly due to mosquitoes breeding in water-bearing receptacles found in scrap dumps of second-hand dealers, water storage tanks in unauthorised dwellings, stagnant water in drains caused by refuse thrown into them by hawkers and residents over a very long time. A lot of second-hand goods dealers in this area are responsible for the dumping of discarded receptacles which in turn become breeding places for mosquitoes. This is a long-time process and it is difficult to eradicate the mosquito menace within a short time. The view of my Ministry is that the mosquito eradication scheme can only be effective when it goes hand in hand with the proper reorganisation of the Public Cleansing Service which, I believe Members will agree with me, is to be launched shortly, as well as the licensing and control of hawkers, which campaign has already begun. As we all know, Mr Speaker, the control and the registration of such hawkers constitute a very major part of the Ministry of Health and this work is progressing satisfactorily.

(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, a supplementary question on the answer given. I would like to ask the Parliamentary Secretary whether he can implement the scheme as early as possible, because this is the time when the rainy season is around the corner and flooding is coming very soon. I myself have been subjected to the mosquito menace. The breeding of mosquitoes is increasing, and I would like the Minister to implement the scheme as early as possible so that the people of Singapore will be free from the mosquito menace.

(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, the supplementary question raised requires me to implement the scheme as early as possible. That, of course, will depend on our resources. We certainly wish to implement our scheme as early as possible. As I have already indicated earlier, for certain reasons and because of restrictions, we must do some preparatory work in advance before we can do anything else. The mosquito menace is a big problem arising out of various causes and we must have an overall scheme before we can start. A lot of preparation has to be made, and the moment this is done, we shall launch a campaign to implement the scheme. Whether this can be implemented as early as possible will, of course, depend on the question of staff and other resources.

Mr Speaker, Sir, a supplementary question. I remember at the last Budget session the Minister concerned replied to my question on this mosquito menace. He did mention that his Ministry was going to set up an Anti-Mosquito Unit. Sir, after a lapse of almost 12 months, I am wondering whether this Unit has, in fact, been set up and whether work has been carried out to eradicate the mosquito menace.

(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, the question of an Anti-Mosquito Unit was first raised by the Ministry of Health and this Unit has been established. But because of the shortage of staff, the work of this Unit cannot be launched on a large scale. As I have already said, the Public Health Division of the Ministry of Health is now preparing various schemes and is in liaison with the various sections. So when all this preparatory work is done, a proper scheme will be launched. Another question about the Anti-Mosquito Unit is that, at the present moment, this Unit has already carried out work in various areas in Singapore on a regional basis. It is not possible to do the work on an extensive basis because of the reasons I have given. So I would like to appeal to Members in this House, as they are very concerned with the mosquito menace, that the best thing for them to do at the present moment is to start a cleansing campaign in their own constituencies, or an anti-mosquito campaign in their own constituencies. That is more effective at the present moment.

(In Mandarin): Another supplementary question, Mr Speaker. From the answer given by the Parliamentary Secretary, I would like to ask him a further question on this point. If his scheme cannot be implemented within a year, then do not tell me that the people of Singapore have to be tolerant about mosquito bites for some more time. I appeal to him, as he has already indicated that this problem is actually dependent on the question of staff. Because of the shortage of staff, he says he cannot carry out his work as scheduled. I would like to ask the Minister whether he is prepared to consider employing temporary staff to eradicate the mosquito menace, because if it gets out of hand, then there will be epidemics all over Singapore.

(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, this question of the mosquito menace is getting more and more interesting. But it is a question which requires a long time to solve. I can assure Members that at the present moment it is not just the question of staff that is bothering us. As one can read from the local newspapers, the labour problem is coming to the forefront because of the Federation of Unions having a desire to negotiate with the Ministry of Health. The question is not just one of staff but is also one of industrial relations. Furthermore, there is the technical aspect of the problem. Some people simply do not care much about the situation. They just dump their empty tins around. So the first step now is for the Members concerned to start their own campaigns within their own constituencies - the campaigns to clean up their own constituencies and to get rid of the mosquitoes. In serious cases, I think, if notice is given, I believe the Ministry of Health will take steps to have some kind of regional control of the problem.

(In Tamil): Mr Speaker, what we want to know is whether the Parliamentary Secretary is going to take steps to destroy the mosquitoes. But what kind of answers is he giving? We want to know what steps he is taking, but he is talking about labour problems and other things. All that we want to know is whether he is taking steps, and how long it will take him to control this problem.

(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, before we can do anything, we must have the necessary staff. Without the workers, how can we do our work? This is fundamental. That is why my answer involves the question of industrial relations and some labour unions. Some unions within the Ministry of Health may want to take strike action. To put everything in a nutshell, in answer to the question of the Member for Anson as to whether we want to eradicate the mosquito menace, of course, the answer is, "Yes, we want to get rid of mosquitoes."

Mr Speaker, Sir, I stand to be corrected if I am wrong. I heard the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health say that he has difficulty in recruiting labour force to eradicate the mosquito menace. I think he should refer this matter to the Ministry of Labour. I am sure he can get thousands of workers to eradicate the mosquito menace. Why does he not take this step?

(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, if it is a question of recruitment, then I believe that every Member here is quite clear about it. Each Ministry has to work within its vote for the purpose of recruiting staff. If we have no such vote, then we cannot do anything even if we can get help from the Ministry of Labour.

Mr Speaker, Sir, in view of the tremendous mosquito menace, may I know how many cases of malaria have been reported last year?

(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, on this question, I have no statistics at the moment. If the Member for Joo Chiat is interested, he can give written notice and I shall endeavour to give him a reply.

Just now the Parliamentary Secretary has said that there is a shortage of funds in his Ministry. But I have been informed that there is an excess of funds of over a million dollars. I do not know whether that is true.

(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, I am not familiar with the figures and I will have to investigate before I can answer the question. If the Member concerned is still interested, he can give me a written question and I shall try to answer it at the next sitting.

If there are any Members who want to follow their questions with supplementaries, they had better signify to the Clerk that they desire to postpone their questions to a later sitting, otherwise they will receive written answers and no more.

asked the Minister for Health (a) to give the names of hospitals where there are institutional quarters provided for qualified specialists; and (b) whether he will consider providing such facilities to similar staff of other hospitals where there are no institutional quarters as they may be urgently required in emergencies when on call.

Mr Speaker, Sir, the hospitals where institutional quarters are available are as follows: Outram Road General Hospital 18 Tan Tock Seng Hospital 5 Thomson Road General Hospital 1 Kandang Kerbau Hospital 1 Woodbridge Hospital 6 Trafalgar Home 2 Middleton Hospital 1 It should be noted that institutional quarters are for medical officers and not necessarily for qualified specialists as mentioned by the Member for Aljunied. There is, I understand, no policy at the present regarding the provision of institutional quarters in hospitals, but it is understood that the Economic Planning Unit is studying this question. However, in the allocation of the present available institutional quarters, a points system is in use and some weight is given to those medical officers who are particularly required to stay inside the hospital compound.

asked the Minister for Health whether he will consider the addition of a "Mobile Unit", for providing Resuscitation Service, to the present ambulance fleet of the Kandang Kerbau Hospital to give a good and safe Maternity Service and when.

Mr Speaker, Sir, a Mobile Unit to provide a resuscitation service for the Kandang Kerbau Maternity Hospital was seriously considered towards the end of 1959 but was found not necessary for the following reasons: One, Singapore being a small island and Kandang Kerbau Hospital not more than 15 miles away from any given point, and what with the excellent road facilities throughout the island, access to the hospital is rapid and easy. Two, the proportion of women delivering in the hospital is almost 75 per cent of the total deliveries in Singapore. This being the case, it is estimated that at the most about four cases per year of those who deliver outside the Kandang Kerbau Hospital may need the type of service envisaged for the Mobile Unit if set up. Three, the resources of Kandang Kerbau Hospital itself are limited. It will be preferable to entrain staff for normal hospital work which itself is already severely strained rather than set aside valuable staff just to stand by for occasional calls. To man a 24-hour service, the Mobile Unit will require three teams working in shifts - not to mention those who will have to cover for leave when the staff take their annual leave or emergency leave. The minimum staff required to establish one Mobile Unit would be two medical officers, five nurses, four ambulance drivers and four attendants.

asked the Minister for Health if he will take steps to license the hawkers concentrated at the Housing and Development Board Housing Estate car park near Kampong Arang Road, the majority of whom are residents of the area, and to arrange for them to be re-sited elsewhere in the Housing Estate.

(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, I am very happy indeed to inform the Member for Mountbatten that the problem of resiting the unlicensed hawkers now operating in the car park near Kampong Arang Road has been fully considered by the Housing and Development Board and that a two-storey hawker centre will be built as soon as possible to accommodate them at Lots 202-4, Mukim 25, off Mountbatten Road, as the operating site for the hawkers. By then, all the hawkers will be sited in this area.

asked the Minister for Finance how many first-class and second-class bar licences were issued during the period 1st January to 20th November, 1966, and how many first-class and second-class bars were there in Singapore on 20th November, 1966.

From the 1st of January to 20th of November, 1966, 30 first-class public house licences and two second-class public house licences were issued. There are 294 first-class public house and 59 second-class public house licences now.

A supplementary question, Sir. In view of the high figure of first-class bar licences issued by the Government, will the Minister consider imposing a moratorium on the issue of bar licences, as I have been informed that young bar waitresses, who are engaged to sit with the customers, also take on other assignments? In view of my information, this practice will bring about a very adverse moral effect on our young population. So I would like to ask the Minister to consider my request to impose a moratorium on the issue of bar licences.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I have not had the pleasure of pub-crawling. So I am not able to confirm whether what the hon. Member says is true. But our policy here is to allow freedom to people to trade. If there is any danger of moral turpitude, I think we will tackle it in some other way, rather than by restriction of bar licences.

asked the Minister for Labour whether he is aware that in the past 9 months there were about 6,000 accidents in industries of which 10 cases were fatal, 63 cases resulted in workers being maimed for life and 627 cases resulted in workers being temporarily incapacitated; and if he will say what steps have been, or are being, taken to minimise industrial accidents in order to safeguard the lives of workers and the livelihood of their families.

Mr Speaker, Sir, in the first nine months of this year the Labour Ministry received a total of 6,383 reports of accidents. Of these, 83 were fatal, 435 resulted in permanent disablement, and 5,865 resulted in temporary disablement. Fifty-seven of the fatal accidents were accounted for by heart failure (9 cases), drowning (9 cases), explosions (13 cases), falls of persons (14 cases), and collisions (12 cases). Of the 435 permanent disablement cases, the degree of disablement in more than half of them - 297 cases - was from 1¼ per cent to 5 per cent. In another 107 cases, it was from 6 per cent to 20 per cent. In the remaining 31 cases, disablement was about 21 per cent. Investigations into the causes of accidents in factories have revealed that most of them were due to faulty operation of machinery, ignorance or lack of training of the workmen, lack of coordination between workers, carelessness or negligence of the workers concerned, absence of safety devices or safety appliances, and poor maintenance of industrial equipment. Minimum standards of safety and health in factories are laid down in the Factories Ordinance which is enforced by my Ministry. During the last ten months, factory inspectors made 6,246 inspections of factories. It has been found that enforcement of the law alone is not sufficient for the prevention of accidents. It is necessary to educate the workers, to arouse their safety consciousness, and also to improve supervision of work by management. In order to do this, a number of measures have been taken. Safety posters have been printed and distributed to factories for prominent display, and safety pamphlets are in the course of preparation. The managements of bigger factories have been persuaded to set up safety committees in their factories to promote the safety consciousness of their workers. An industrial Safety Branch has been established under the National Safety First Council with the aim of preventing accidents in industrial establishments. More regular visits to factories by inspectors of factories are being planned so that advice can be given to factory occupiers and a higher standard of safety can be achieved. Arrangements have been made with the Electricity Department of the Public Utilities Board since September this year for the electrical installations in factories to be inspected by electrical inspectors. In order to take preventive measures in respect of occupational health in industry, it is intended to set up an Industrial Health Unit. For this purpose, assistance has been sought under the U.N. Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance for an industrial health expert. An expert is due to arrive here early next year. The Industrial Health Unit, when set up, will contribute greatly to the prevention of industrial hazards to which workmen are exposed.

(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, a supplementary question. The Minister has mentioned just now that a unit will be formed to look into and to prevent accidents in industries. I would like to ask whether his Ministry has regularly sent out officers to inspect the various factories and installations in the factories. He has also said just now that some of the accidents were due to faulty machinery. I would therefore like to ask whether there will be adequate compensation to those workers who met with such accidents. These accidents are disastrous because they bring about more widows and orphans. So I would ask the Minister to take appropriate steps to prevent them.

The Member for Sembawang did not hear me just now. He has asked whether we have sent out any inspectors to inspect these factories regularly. I have said that during the last 10 months we have sent inspectors to these factories for inspection and 6,246 inspections have been made during this period.

(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, the Minister has said that he has sent out inspectors to inspect the various factories.

May I speak in Mandarin, Sir?

Certainly.

(In Mandarin): These inspections were made not after the accidents but before the accidents. We sent them out before the accidents happened. They were routine inspections. 3.30 p.m.

Under the Standing Orders, that concludes Questions for the day. Questions not withdrawn will be dealt with by way of written answers*. (*See Mr Barker's motion on col. 509.)

Mr Speaker, Sir, I understand that under Standing Order 20, paragraph (2) , Members are entitled to request that questions that are not answered be postponed for oral answer at a later sitting. May I request that my two questions set down on the Order Paper be so postponed?

Mr Tang, I am afraid you are too late. Fifteen minutes ago I said that anyone who wanted his questions put forward to another day should signify to the Clerk before 3.30 p.m. As that was not done, I will now proceed to the introduction of Government Bills.

"to provide for the issue from the Consolidated Fund of the sums necessary to meet the estimated expenditure for the public services of Singapore for the year 1967", recommendation of President signified; presented by the Minister for Finance (Mr Lim Kim San); read the First time, to be read a Second time on Wednesday, 21st December, 1966, and to be printed.

"for making Supplementary Provision for the Public Service for the year 1966", recommendation of President signified; presented by Mr Lim Kim San; read the First time, to be read a Second time on Wednesday, 21st December, 1966, and to be printed.

"for making Final Provision for the Public Service for the year 1963", recommendation of President signified; presented by Mr Lim Kim San; read the First time, to be read a Second time on Wednesday, 21st December, 1966, and to be printed.

"to amend the Fees Ordinance (Chapter 165 of the Revised Edition)", recommendation of President signified; presented by Mr Lim Kim San; read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting, and to be printed.

"to provide for public holidays and for matters incidental thereto", presented by the Minister for Culture and Social Affairs (Inche Othman Bin Wok); read the First time, to be read a Second time on Wednesday, 21st December, 1966, and to be printed.

"to amend and consolidate the law relating to societies", presented by Inche Othman Bin Wok; read the First time, to be read a Second time on Wednesday, 21st December, 1966, and to be printed.

"to amend the Tourist Promotion Board Ordinance, 1963 (No. 35 of 1963)", recommendation of President signified; presented by the Minister for Law and National Development (Mr E. W. Barker); read the First time, to be read a Second time on Wednesday, 21st December, 1966, and to be printed.

"to establish the Board of Legal Education, to constitute the Singapore Advocates and Solicitors Society and to amend and consolidate the law relating to the legal profession', presented by Mr Barker; read the First time, to be read a Second time on Wednesday, 21st December, 1966, and to be printed.

"to consolidate and amend the law relating to Companies", recommendation of President signified; presented by Mr Barker; read the First time, to be read a Second time on Wednesday, 21st December, 1966, and to be printed.

3.41 p.m.

Mr Speaker, I beg to move, That this House expresses its warm appreciation of the generous gift of a bookcase and books which it received on the 16th of November, 1966, from a delegation of the Commons House of Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as a token of friendship and goodwill on the part of the House of Commons and people of the United Kingdom towards the Parliament and people of Singapore to commemorate the attainment by Singapore of independence within the Commonwealth. Mr Speaker, Members of the House will recollect that last month a delegation representing both sides of the House of Commons paid us a visit and at the same time presented us with a bookcase with some books on Parliament and Constitutional Law to the C.P.A. in commemoration of Singapore's attaining independence. We had the opportunity to discuss many matters with them on that occasion, and I have no doubt that as a result of our discussions, they left Singapore with the conviction that this Government is determined to carry on the practice of parliamentary democracy, notwithstanding the fact that today we see Members of the People's Action Party alone occupying seats on both sides of this Chamber. This is not our fault; neither is it our intention to destroy the Opposition, but I must certainly say that the Opposition in its madness has destroyed itself. There is no clause in the Constitution of Singapore which forbids or prohibits the formation of other political Parties. Neither is there any law which prevents representatives of political Parties, or Independents for that matter, from contesting the General Elections or, as the case may be in the recent bye-elections. If today the House sees only a one-Party representation, it has been at the behest of the people. It is ultimately the electorate, the people of Singapore, who decide whether they wish to maintain political stability, whether they wish that there should be an efficient, honest and stable government, to run the affairs of State and, therefore, determine the future of our two million population. With these words, Mr Speaker, I will only reiterate that the hopes and wishes of all those who wish parliamentary democracy to be upheld will not be in vain, and it is our intention to continue a custom which we have had for the last decade. You yourself, Mr Speaker, have expressed on behalf of the House your appreciation of the gift and the goodwill visit which was paid by Members of the House of Commons, and I do not wish to add further to what you already have said. Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to. Resolved, That this House expresses its warm appreciation of the generous gift of a bookcase and books which it received on the 16th of November, 1966, from a delegation of the Commons House of Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as a token of friendship and goodwill on the part of the House of Commons and people of the United Kingdom towards the Parliament and people of Singapore to commemorate the attainment by Singapore of independence within the Commonwealth. 3.45 p.m.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise to move, That this House, pursuant to subsection (3) of section 5 of the Registration of Imports and Exports Ordinance (Cap. 261), resolves that the Registration of Imports and Exports (Amendment) Rules, 1966, published as Notification No. S 233 in the Gazette Supplement No. 85 of 28th October, 1966, as contained in Paper S.L. 61 of 1966, be approved. Under the existing Registration of Imports and Exports Rules, 1935, the Singapore Armed Forces, including the Police Force, are requested to declare their imports and exports. It is imperative that information concerning weapons and ammunition imported by the Singapore Armed Forces should be kept secret. The amendment to Rule 14 will exempt the Singapore Armed Forces, including the Police Force, from declaring their imports and exports. Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to. Resolved, That this House, pursuant to subsection (3) of section 5 of the Registration of Imports and Exports Ordinance (Cap. 261), resolves that the Registration of Imports and Exports (Amendment) Rules, 1966, published as Notification No. S 233 in the Gazette Supplement No. 85 of 28th October, 1966, as contained in Paper S.L. 61 of 1966, be approved.

3.48 p.m.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the House approves the financial policy of the Government for the year 1967. Mr Speaker, Sir, I am privileged to present the Second Budget of the Independent Republic of Singapore today. The first full year of our independence, 1966, has been a period of intense effort and activity. Separation of Singapore from Malaysia did not mean the loss of the common market but the loss of expectation of a common market. Our manufacturers have now overcome this psychological barrier. Industrial output and employment increased substantially. We have consolidated and strengthened our financial position. The uncertainty following separation has been dispelled. Our official external reserves are up. ECONOMIC REVIEW AND TRENDS Growth of Gross Domestic Product The economy continues to move forward. Gross domestic product in 1965 increased by $206 million to $3,017 million, representing a rate of growth of 7.3 per cent over 1964. This compares very favourably with 1964 when the rate of growth was only 2 per cent. Even more gratifying is the fact that in spite of sudden political developments in the last six years, Singapore has been able to achieve a consistently high rate of growth. The average annual rate of increase in gross domestic product during the period 1960 to 1965 is 8.5 per cent. Of great importance to the economy is the rate of gross capital formation. In 1965 gross capital formation increased by $49.1 million to $463.8 million, reflecting an increase of 11.8 per cent over 1964. It, therefore, accounts for about 15 per cent of the gross domestic product. Though creditable, this performance falls short of the 17.5 per cent to 20 per cent rate of capital accumulation, which is considered necessary for self-sustaining growth in developing countries. External Reserves Official external reserves of the Government and statutory authorities have increased by $123.3 million this year, compared with the position in 1965. Official reserves now total $1,038 million, compared with $914.7 million in September last year. It is made up as follows:- 1966 1965 Government reserves 554.31 484.7 Statutory authorities 183.69 153.6 783.00 638.3 Add estimate of 300.00 276.4 currency reserves -------- ----- Total 1,038.00 914.7 ======== ===== Our official reserves would probably be more, depending on the amount of currency redeemed in Singapore next year. External debts stand at only $61.75 million, which is a slight increase of $2.75 million over last year. Rising External Trade The buoyancy of the economy is reflected by the rising volume of external trade. In the first nine months of this year, imports were valued at $3,017.9 million, which is an increase of 6.3 per cent over the same period in 1965. Similarly, exports expanded to $2,494.6 million, an increase of 13.3 per cent over last year. Total external trade by the third quarter of this year has therefore shown an increase of 9.36 per cent. Projected over the full year, total trade may well exceed $7,200 million. Though this would be still below the peak years of 1962 and 1963, prospects for improvement are good, bearing in mind the resumption of trade with Indonesia and establishment of direct trading relations with the Soviet Union and East European countries. An examination of the composition of Singapore's growing external trade shows even more significant and encouraging trends. Domestic exports, excluding petroleum products in 1965, increased by $48.9 million to $345.8 million. This represents an increase of 16.4 per cent over 1964. It forms 11.5 per cent of total exports compared to 10.7 per cent in 1964. A large proportion of the increase in domestic exports comes from local industries. For instance, exports of wheat flour in 1965 showed an increase of 125 per cent over 1964. Similarly, exports of steel bars and plywood recorded increases of 140 per cent and 197 per cent respectively over the previous year. Imports of goods purely for re-export is declining in importance. In 1964 re-exports of goods imported formed 37.9 per cent of total exports. In 1965 it fell to 36.2 per cent. It is natural that with industrialisation, Singapore will either process goods it imports before re-exporting them, or use them as raw materials for the manufacture of new products, which are then exported. Retained imports will therefore increase with the years. In 1965 retained imports increased by $190.5 million to $1,809 million. But what is significant is the fact that an increasing amount of imports retained is in the form of either raw materials or capital equipment required by new industries. The growing volume of external trade has resulted in higher earnings for Singapore also. In 1965 earnings from trade was estimated at $396.2 million, or $44.5 million over earnings in 1964, which stood at $351.7 million. Building and Construction The value of buildings commenced in the first six months of this year stood at $56.5 million as against $80.7 million for the same period last year. Private development fell from $42 million in 1965 to $28 million in 1966 for the same period - a fall of $14 million. Investment in property is less attractive than investment in other fields. I will outline later on the steps we are taking to make investments in properties in urban and designated areas a more attractive proposition. Transportation Industrial growth and expanding trade is shown by the increasing volume of shipping and cargo handled through our port. The number and tonnage of ships entering and leaving the port of Singapore in 1965 surpassed all previous records with an impressive figure of 21,862 vessels of 90 million net registered tons. Performance this year is likely to be even higher as there has been a rapid increase in shipping movements during the first nine months of the year. Cargo passing through the port last year totalled 21.3 million tons, or an increase of 18.2 per cent over 1964. Performance this year shows that cargo handled will reach 24 million tons in 1966. Increase in cargo handled is due to Singapore's growing importance as a centre for petroleum refining. Discharge of industrial raw materials such as bulk wheat and cement clinker is also rising rapidly, testimony to Singapore's changing industrial structure. Finance The well being of an economy can also be tested by an examination of its financial bedrock, namely, deposits in the banks and advances made by them during the year. As at the end of September this year, deposits of customers other than banks totalled $1,337.2 million. This is $115.2 million more than the amount of deposits at the end of December 1965 and $172.9 million more than deposits held at the end of September last year. Increases in bank deposits this year are therefore better than increases in previous years, which averaged $82.3 million annually between 1961 and 1965. Loans and advances of banks show the level of economic activity generated. At the end of September this year, loans and advances to customers other than banks total $995 million, or an increase of $81 million over the amount lent at the end of December 1965. Control of Finance Companies Of late, the activities of certain finance companies have given rise to some concern, and I feel that a public warning would be timely. Very simply, finance companies receive deposits from the public on payment of interest and re-lend this money to finance, usually on hire-purchase, the sale of goods like motor-cars, motor-scooters, radios, refrigerators and so on. In a sense they operate like a bank, but unlike banks the activities of finance companies are not governed by law. Recently, there has been a spate of finance companies advertising for deposits from the public offering to pay rather high rates of interest. It follows that in turn these finance companies must re-lend at even higher rates of interest in order to make a profit. To do so, some of them may be tempted to take undue risks in their lending and thereby endanger the security of the deposits made by the public. There is nothing wrong if a reputable finance company accepts deposits from the public and in turn re-lends if care is taken to ensure that the purpose for which the money is re-lent is sound and there is reasonable credit-worthiness to warrant such lending. It is only when the finance companies become reckless and accept unjustifiable risks without regard to proper and adequate securities, that the monies deposited by the public are exposed to danger. The Government will shortly introduce legislation to regulate and control the operations of finance companies in order to safeguard the interests of the public who deposit funds with them. Industrial Expansion The industrial census of 1965 shows that output by manufacturing industries increased by 16.6 per cent from $927.9 million to $1,082.1 million. Employment in these industries rose by 13.8 per cent from 41,488 to 47,217. Value added in 1965 was $319.6 million compared with $282.5 million, or a rise of 13.1 per cent. Wages also rose accordingly from $111 million in 1964 to $132 million in 1965. This is an increase of 18.9 per cent. The increase in output, value added, employment and wages is due both to establishment of new industries, as well as rising production of firms already established. Output of an established group of 882 manufacturing firms increased from $918.9 million to $1,034.6 million, or 12.6 per cent in 1965 over 1964. Industrialisation remains the backbone of our economic development. During the two years in Malaysia no Pioneer Certificates were issued in Singapore, but since August last year we have issued 58 new certificates; in addition, some 25 more projects were approved in principle. Today, there are 165 pioneer industrial firms compared with 113 in 1964. 107 of these are already in production while 33 projects are in various stages of implementation. By September 1966, the total investment of these pioneer firms in fixed assets had grown to more than $300 million from $255 million at the end of 1965. The total value of output of these firms is expected to reach $450 million this year, as against $318 million in 1965. In terms of employment, the total number of workers in pioneer firms has grown from 5,000 at the end of 1964 to 12,000 today. For the industrial sector as a whole, the production of all industrial firms - pioneer and non-pioneer - in the Republic has risen by nearly 20 per cent during the past 12 months. Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of the industrial development programme is that our exports of domestic products have been increasing steadily. As noted earlier, in 1965, $345.8 million worth of domestic products were exported. This is expected to reach some $450 million this year. Another significant aspect of our programme is that we have succeeded in broadening our industrial base. There is today a wide range of industrial enterprises scattered all over the Republic which are capable of expansion. This includes the expansion of oil refineries into a petro-chemical complex, the expansion of general ship-repairing and building facilities for construction of specialised vessels, construction of a fisheries harbour as part of an integrated plan for developing a deep-sea fishing and canning industry, the production of parts and components for motor vehicles, electronics and other engineering assembly industries, the development of an integrated feedmill and vegetable oil complex around the grain silo enterprise, the expansion of caustic soda and chlorine production to p.v.c. and other chemicals, the establishment of a modern paper mill for supporting various paper products industries, the expansion of garments manufacturing to integrated textile mills, and the development of integrated timber projects to make use of waste from saw-milling and plywood factories. To provide the infrastructure for expansion, continuing efforts are being directed to developing new industrial land and factory buildings. Prepared new land for industry at the Jurong Industrial Estate has gone up to 2,843 acres in September this year, as compared with some 2,443 acres at the end of 1965. The country's first flatted factory at Tanglin Halt Industrial Estate was fully occupied immediately upon completion. More will be built. Prepared sites in the Kallang Park Marine Industry Zone and the Kranji Timber Industry Estate are also in great demand. NEW FISCAL INCENTIVES The performance of the economy in 1965 and the current year shows that it is moving forward. By all criteria - external trade, domestic exports, industrial production and savings - Singapore has an expanding economy. The challenge really is whether the Singapore economy can grow fast enough to solve its fundamental problem, namely, generation of employment opportunities. During the period 1961-1965, employment opportunities increased by 57,600 jobs, or an average of 11,520 jobs a year. This fell short of the 70,000 additional jobs needed. This shortfall of 12,400 jobs, added to the number of people already unemployed at the beginning of 1961, raised the number of unemployed to 56,300 at the end of 1965. This level of unemployment constitutes 10 per cent of the total economically active population. The incidence of unemployment is therefore high. Unless we can during the coming five years reduce this spectre, then all the economic gains will be lost in the turmoil of social and political unrest. Over the next five years from 1966 to 1970, Singapore would need not only to wipe off the backlog of the existing unemployed, but also provide another 95,000 jobs for our youths, who would be leaving schools and seeking entry into the labour market.

4.10 p.m. The solution to this employment problem lies in a crash programme for the development of export-orientated industries. As in the case of all countries which strive for industrial development, we have initially only a limited number of industries directed entirely towards exports. The majority of our existing industries still depend to a great extent on the domestic market. This is inevitable in the early stages of our industrial development. We must now move to a new phase of the industrial programme, namely, the development of export-orientated industries. In order to achieve early full employment and to ensure long-term economic stability and growth, we need specially to encourage manufacturers with established overseas markets and which can draw their raw material supply on a world-wide basis. After independence, we began to work in this direction. I am glad to report that we have now completed the necessary administrative arrangements for such a crash programme. This programme calls for three major areas of action. Development Training Firstly, the development of human resources remains our most valuable asset. It is only in recent years that we began to gear our educational system towards providing skills needed for an industrial society. In order to achieve rapid technological advancement and to develop to the full the potential quality of our workers, it will be necessary to organise a mass programme of training within industries for specialised skills. The Economic Development Board has already started, on a limited scale, the training of technicians and skilled workers in tool and die-making, electro-plating and heat treatment. The specialised training programmes help to upgrade the skill of our workers in the existing industries and, what is more important, to impart new specialised skills and knowledge to school leavers to prepare them for new and more sophisticated industries. A Metal Industry Development Centre and Prototype Production and Training Centre for machinery building, electronics, precision instruments, printing and plastic will be set up. These centres will be operated in close co-operation with industry. In addition, specialised production teams, including workers, will be sent overseas for on-the-job training. Each of such schemes will be directed towards the creation of specific factories. By building up a large reservoir of technicians and skilled workers, and by gearing training to the industrial promotion programme, we can quickly enter into a more sophisticated stage of industrial development. National Productivity Drive The second area of action lies in re-doubling our efforts towards high quality and lower production costs. This is because the international market is becoming increasingly competitive. Young industries take time to mature and yet meet fierce competition from the start. With the co-operation of the National Trades Union Congress, the Singapore Manufacturers' Association and the Singapore Employers' Federation, we jointly drew up in 1965 a Charter for Industrial Progress. It is recognised by all parties that high productivity brings better wages and working conditions, lower prices for consumers at home, and a wider market abroad and, finally, adequate investment returns, continuing expansion of production capacities, and full employment. To translate this basic policy into concrete action, practical steps have been initiated. The Singapore Productivity Centre, under a Governing Council with representation of all parties concerned, will come into operation in January 1967. The Centre will be entrusted with the responsibility of launching a national movement directed to further labour-management co-operation, and to improve the operational efficiency of every enterprise in the Republic. Export and Investment Incentives I come now to the third area of action. Clearly, the success of our development training programme and the national productivity drive depends ultimately on the continuing expansion of our exports and the rapid growth of our industrial sector. To achieve both objectives in the shortest possible time, we need many more entrepreneurs, much more managerial capabilities and technical knowledge, and especially much more international marketing "know-how". We have therefore to attract the types of export industries which buy raw materials and sell their products on a world-wide basis and which can make full use of the high quality of our labour force, our geographic advantages, and efficient infrastructures. International manufacturers of this type have more or less free choice in selecting their plant location. Singapore, therefore, has to compete with other countries in all parts of the world for such enterprises. This means that our fiscal incentives must be as attractive as, if not more than, those offered by other countries. To all industries, pioneer or non-pioneer, which are prepared to play an active role in our export-orientated programme and to make a positive contribution to this new phase of our industrial development, the Government will grant, with effect from 1st January, 1967, the necessary incentives for export and investment, for expansion as well as for encouraging rapid technological advancement. This means the incentives will apply to export profits earned in 1967, and will generally be taken into account for the year of assessment 1968. Specifically, for export and investment, the Government will grant approved enterprises the following incentives: First: Tax on interest earned by non-residents from deposits held in an external account in a bank in Singapore will be reduced from 40 per cent to 10 per cent. Second: Interest paid from Singapore sources and received by persons or enterprises overseas is generally liable to tax in Singapore. Such payments made on approved loans advanced to approved enterprises in Singapore for the purchase of capital equipment from abroad will be exempted from tax. Third: Profit on export of manufactured goods for both existing and new manufacturing industries and deep-sea fisheries, but excluding processing, will be taxed at the equivalent of one-tenth of the normal company tax rates. This concessionary rate (4 per cent) applies to all limited liability companies where the profits derived from export are at least 20 per cent of their total profits, and export sales (f.o.b.) amount to not less than $100,000 per year. Qualifying firms with pioneer status will be granted this concessionary rate for a period of not less than 10 years from the date of expiry of their pioneer status. The concessionary period for qualifying non-pioneer firms will be not less than 15 years. Modern industries cannot afford to stand still. They must be encouraged to expand their productive capacity in order to achieve high volume and low cost of production, thus enabling them to compete successfully in the international market. For existing industries which expand, the Government will offer the following incentives: In the case of plant expansion through the increase of funds by an approved enterprise, it will be granted tax exemption, from the date on which the newly added equipment thereof starts to operate or to render services, in respect of the income increased as a result of such expansion, on a basis similar to that applicable to pioneer industries, provided that at the time of closing of accounts for the year the expansion has resulted in a 30 per cent or more increase in its productive capacity over the appropriate existing capacity applicable prior to such plant expansion. It is appreciated by the Government that the development of many modern sophisticated industries such as petro-chemicals, pharmaceuticals, electronics and specialised branches of engineering industries incur high initial investments in research and pilot plants or in specially designed tools and equipment, which become obsolete in a comparatively short period. In order to seek continuing advancement of the technological level of our industries and to speed up the process of development, the Government will give the following encouragement: Tax on royalties, licences and technical assistance fees, and approved contributions to develop and research costs payable overseas by approved enterprises may be reduced from 40 per cent to 20 per cent, provided that such concession would not result in transfer of any tax liability to the resident countries of the recipients. Further, the Government may exempt such payments in special cases if the national interest would be thereby served. Foreign recipients who derive royalties, licences and technical assistance fees from Singapore and convert such payments into equity of the manufacturing firms operating in Singapore may be exempted from tax liability. Existing Incentives In addition to these new incentives, we have already provided for powers whereby the Government may approve on application special accelerated initial depreciation up to 100 per cent in one year and a three-year write-off for plant, equipment or machinery utilised in the manufacture or processing of goods and materials. Besides, approved manufacturers are now also entitled to double deduction on expenditure spent on advertising or market development. Investors will, of course, also continue to enjoy the benefits of pioneer tax exemption. Urban Redevelopment Incentives Members of the House are no doubt aware of our programme to renew and redevelop our city and urban areas. Clearance and demolition of the 135-acre Outram and 90-acre Crawford precincts are progressing satisfactorily. Part of these areas will be marked out for development by the private sector and private investors may also redevelop other city areas on their own. Such development must, however, be sufficiently comprehensive to make full use of the land and to provide for better traffic circulation, pedestrian bays, parking and other facilities. In order to stimulate private participation in redevelopment of the city, the Government has decided that with effect from next year, the rate of property tax for properties erected in areas designated for urban redevelopment will be 12 per cent as against the present rate of 36 per cent. In addition, during the period of construction, there will be a waiver of property tax on the land for an initial period of six months, plus an additional month for every storey of the building to be erected on the property. For example, a 10-storey building will receive a waiver of 16 months of property tax on the vacant property while construction is going on. Singapore has over the last six years achieved a unique position in the provision of low-cost housing and it is hoped that the Government's plans for urban renewal with private participation will achieve equal success. Development Outlook For private industry to respond fully to the new fiscal incentives, it will be necessary for the entire Government machinery to have a forward and enlightened outlook. The administration must be infused with enthusiasm for development and be intelligently flexible to facilitate it. Experience in many countries shows that unnecessary rigidity, officiousness and delays will nullify the effects of incentives and frustrate promotional efforts. What we want are results - not red tape. We are giving high priority to a review and examination of existing Ordinances and administrative rules for their relevance to the development effort. We must ensure that those who respond receive full co-operation and support at all levels and sectors of the Government complex. General Review of Revenue and Expenditure in 1966 I now come to a review of revenue and expenditure in 1966. It was estimated that the budget for 1966 will yield a small balance of approximately half a million dollars. The objective was a balanced budget without having to run down reserves. I am pleased to report that from performance up to now, the position is expected to be slightly better than originally estimated and it is likely that we shall close the year with a balance of about $5.7 million. Revenue receipts for the year are likely to come out at $537.3 million. A sum of $401.3 million has been collected by the end of September. The balance of $136 million is expected to be collected in the last quarter of the year. Expenditure up to the end of September came to $354.5 million, including a sum of $23.3 million paid to the International Monetary Fund and a sum of $1 million to the World Bank, being Singapore's membership subscription to these two world bodies. Expenditure for the last three months of the year is estimated at about $177.1 million inclusive of a transfer to the Development Fund of $30 million. Total expenditure for the year should then come out at $531.6 million. With a total revenue of $537.3 million and a total expenditure of $531.6 million, the surplus will amount to $5.7 million; in other words, about $5 million better than anticipated. Revenue 1966 Total revenue for 1966 is as estimated, with short-falls from some heads compensated by increases in others. Revenue from customs duties on liquor will probably be $0.8 million less than anticipated, due to a fall in consumption of imported malt liquors. Revenue from imported petroleum products will be $25.5 million less than estimated, but this will be more than offset by an increase in revenue from petroleum products, locally refined, amounting to $33.2 million. Revenue from sugar is expected to be $3.1 million less, because of duty exemptions to manufacturers. Income tax collections will probably exceed the estimate by $12 million, due in part to natural growth and in part to more efficient administration. Television does not seem to have adversely affected other forms of entertainment, as entertainment duty is likely to bring in $2.1 million more than estimated. Excise duty on liquors is expected to exceed the estimate by $3.8 million, due to increased consumption of locally brewed liquor. Receipts from tobacco duty are likely to yield $2.7 million more, due to greater use of dutiable raw tobacco in local cigarette manufacture. Motor Vehicle Ad Valorem Registration Fees and Road Tax are expected to exceed the estimate by $1.6 million and $0.6 million respectively. Receipts from property tax in the city area are expected to come up to the estimate, but receipts from the rural area are expected to be $2.5 million more, reflecting the trend of greater development there. Other important increases are sales of Goods and Services from current operations, which is likely to be $0.9 million more, and an increase of $1.9 million from interest on the Republic's investments. A number of lesser import duties were re-appraised during the course of the year. They were found to be of no value or unnecessary in protecting local manufacturers and have been abolished. These duties related to certain categories of spa and aerated waters, non-aerated beverages, non-alcoholic beverages, and compounds of alcoholic preparations. Import and excise duties on certain types of lubricating grease have also been removed. This is in keeping with our policy not to hinder trade, where possible. Expenditure 1966 In the course of the year, supplementary estimates totalling $7.8 million were approved as follows: (1) $6.3 million for the Telecoms Department; (2) $1.45 million for the Ministry of Labour; and (3) $43,000 for the Trade Division. Supplementary estimates of $610,000 are being sought for the Head of Expenditure "Public Works Recurrent", making total supplementary estimates of $8.4 million for the year. Provision for this Head was found to be inadequate, i.e. "Public Works Recurrent". This was on account of the large number of Government buildings which had to be renovated during the year. During the period under Malaysia, practically no maintenance was carried out on the buildings which were Federal responsibilities. This resulted in a larger than normal number of buildings requiring urgent maintenance and repairs. The other Heads of Expenditure are expected to keep within the provisions voted. With the addition of supplementary estimates of $8.4 million, total estimated expenditure for the year would now be $545 million. However, in view of savings in certain departments, actual expenditure for the year is expected to be in the region of $531.6 million, which is $5 million less than the sum of $536.6 million provided in the Estimates. Review of Development Expenditure in 1966 As for development expenditure for 1966, the public sector development comprises projects undertaken directly by Government ministries and departments as well as schemes which are implemented by the various statutory authorities. The tentative public sector allocation for 1966 was $430.5 million, made up of $149.6 million proposed expenditure by Government ministries and departments, and $280.9 million to be spent by the statutory authorities. Allocation for Government ministries was subsequently increased by a supplementary estimate of $27.2 million, to make a total of $176.8 million. Based on actual performance up to date this year, it is likely that public sector expenditure for the full year will reach $284 million. Compared with actual expenditure of $250.6 million in 1965, this represents an increase of 13.3 per cent. Expenditure by Government ministries will amount to $113 million as compared with $67.2 million spent in 1965, reflecting an increase of 68.2 per cent. However, nearly $20 million of 1966 expenditure arose from payments for the SEACOM project as well as purchase of the assets of Cable & Wireless Ltd. Land reclamation and urban re-development have also shown rapid progress. Expenditure by the statutory authorities is estimated to amount to $171 million, which is about 6.6 per cent less than the $183.1 million spent in 1965. The fall in expenditure here is due mainly to a reduction in the expenditure of the Economic Development Board, largely because the major portion of the costly infrastructure development has been completed. Expenditure by the other authorities was about 10 per cent higher in 1966 compared to 1965. Sectoral development is likely to be: economic development $191 million; social development $79 million; public administration and defence $14 million. Ordinary Estimates 1967 The financial outlook for 1967 continues to be fair. Total revenue is estimated at $590.5 million and total expenditure at $590.2 million, including a transfer of $30 million to the Development Fund. This gives a small surplus of $0.3 million. The estimated expenditure of $590.2 million for 1967 is higher than the sum of $531.6 million expected to be spent this year by $58.6 million. Fortunately, this increase is matched by a corresponding rise in estimated revenue. The estimated revenue of $590.5 million is $53.2 million higher than the revenue of $537.3 million expected to be collected for 1966. Thus, in spite of the rather steep rise in expenditure, it is possible to have a balanced budget for next year. The highest increase in estimated expenditure is, as always, in respect of the Ministry of Education. For 1967, expenditure for Education is estimated at $143.7 million, which is $14.5 million more than the sum of $129.2 million provided for this year. The main reason for the increase is because of the expenditure on secondary schools. This is required to accommodate the large number of students taken into the primary schools during the past few years and who would now move into secondary level. The next highest rise is in respect of servicing the Public Debt. This is a statutory expenditure and shows an increase of $11.2 million. With more loans being floated with the years to finance development, the rise in this expenditure is expected to continue. The normal expansion of our Police and Defence Forces results in a rise of estimated expenditure of the Ministry of the Interior and Defence by $4.9 million. The establishment of missions abroad in keeping with our new independent status is expected to result in a rise of $1.4 million in the expenditure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In addition, a provision of $5 million has been included under the Ministry of Finance head of expenditure for the purpose of acquiring property abroad for our foreign missions, and $1.0 million under the Contributions and Charitable Allowances head of expenditure for contributions to international organisations. For reasons which I have mentioned, the estimates for the Telecoms Department for 1967 show an increase of $6 million, This increase was covered by supplementary estimates in 1966. The estimates for the Postal Department show a rise of $2.2 million. Of this, $1.5 million is on account of a change in book-keeping procedure to conform to Financial Regulations in respect of the mail conveyance vote. Hitherto, receipts were credited to revenue only after deduction of expenditure. This has been changed to paying in gross receipts and meeting the expenditure involved from an expenditure vote. The net result is the same as both revenue and expenditure will be increased by the same amount. The balance of $0.7 million of estimated increase in the expenditure of this Department is due mainly to the separation of the Postal Department from the Malaysian Postal Department. As a result of the separation, the Postal Department will have to set up new sections to deal with certain functions previously discharged by the headquarters at Kuala Lumpur. The head of expenditure "Public Works Recurrent" shows an increase of $1.4 million. This is mainly due to the increase in the number of roads which leads to an increase in expenditure on their maintenance and on public street lighting. The increases I have mentioned make up a total of $47.6 million. The balance of $6 million is made up of small increases of the other heads of expenditure on account of normal expansion, such as about half a million dollar increase for the Hospital Division and $400,000 for Parks and Recreation. Revenue 1967 Revenue from most of the major taxes are expected to increase next year in the normal manner, resulting in a total collection of $590.5 million. Income Tax is expected to yield $114.0 million. Excise and Entertainment Duties are expected to yield $73.6 million. The major increases under this group are from Entertainment Duty, liquors and petroleum. Excise duties from petroleum products, locally refined, will yield aim additional $34.0 million but, as against this, it is estimated that there will be a fall from revenue on duties of imported petroleum products of about $24.8 million. This reflects the effect of our industrial policy and shows that with three refineries operating in Singapore we are now depending less and less on imported petroleum products. Normal increases are expected in tobacco duties, property tax and other revenue items. Driving licence fees are being increased from $5 to $10 per annum, and this item is expected to bring in an additional $1.8 million. During the course of the year a review has been made of miscellaneous licence fees and fees for services which have remained unchanged for periods varying from 10 to 30 years, and this is expected to yield an additional $2 million. Cable & Wireless Ltd, was acquired by Government in 1966 and the revenue from the telecommunications (External) Service, and this new item of revenue is expected to yield $8.9 million. Singapore's share of Currency Profits will amount to $12 million. New Basis for Road Tax Licence fees on motor vehicles have hitherto been collected on the horsepower rating of the vehicles. This is an obsolete method of taxing motor vehicles for use on roads. It is now proposed to change this to follow international practice by prescribing fees according to the cubic centimeter cylinder capacity of the vehicle. The new Road Tax will be 10 cents per cubic centimeter. The revised fee is expected to yield an increase of $5.5 million. Care, however, has been taken to minimise the incidence of the tax on the public transport sector. This is done by reducing the seating fee of $5 per passenger per month to $3.50 for licensed taxis and $4.20 for buses. Therefore, there should be no increase in bus or taxi fares. Taking these and the normal increases in other revenue items, it is anticipated that the 1967 revenue figure will amount to $590.5 million. 1967 Public Sector Development Programme The public sector development programme for 1967 will amount to $411 million. The distribution between the Government sector and the statutory authorities will be $151.3 million and $259.7 million respectively. The allocation by the various ministries and statutory authorities is as follows: 1967 Provision Government Sector $ million (1) Deputy Prime Minister's 12.7 Office (2) Ministry of Interior and 12.3 Defence (3) Ministry of Education 26.5 (4) Ministry of Health 4.1 (5) Ministry of Finance 2.3 (6) Ministry of Culture and 4.4 Social Affairs (7) Ministry of Law and 88.7 National Development ----- Total 151.3 ===== Statutory Authorities (1) Economic Development Board 45.0 (2) Housing and Development 75.0 Board (3) Port of Singapore Authority 43.8 (4) Public Utilities Board 83.0 (5) Singapore Telephone Board 12.9 ----- Total 259.7 ===== Total Public Sector: $411.0 million Deputy Prime Minister's Office The allocation for the D.P.M's Ministry will be $12.7 million. A large claim on the provision will be for telecommunications development. It accounts for $5.7 million of the total. The major project here is the installation of the Automatic Telephone Switching Exchange which will be in operation before the end of 1967. This will not only bring in more revenue for Singapore, but will also maintain our position as the premier international telephone switching centre in this part of the world. The Telex services for both domestic and international communications continue to grow. With the completion of the SEACOM cable next year and the growth of commercial and industrial activities in Singapore, the volume of traffic on the telex services is expected to rise substantially in 1967. For this reason $600,000 has been provided in the Estimates for the purchase of more subscribers' teleprinter 12.7 machines. The other projects of the Telecommunications Department are designed to expand radio services and to develop trunks and junctions to keep pace with the ever-increasing demand for telecommunications services. The Civil Aviation Department is expected to carry out a number of projects to improve airport facilities. $6 million has been provided for 1967. For the safety of aircraft operation the runway will be re-surfaced next year. The Instrument Landing System and Visual Approach Slope Indicators will be installed to assist pilots bringing aircraft in to land especially at night and during bad weather. The parking aprons and hangar facilities will be expanded to cope with the growth of international airline traffic to Singapore. A start will also be made to extend the runway by 1,000 feet to 10,000 feet. Ministry of the Interior and Defence When the Government's policy of requiring newly recruited civil servants to undergo military training is implemented as from next year, it will be necessary to increase the number of training depots and training camps. Some of the battalion camps of our regular units are in bad shape and will need to be rebuilt. Vehicles available to the regular battalions as well as to the People's Defence Force are at present grossly inadequate. It is necessary to acquire more vehicles as well as to provide for a centre for maintenance and repair of vehicles. A capital expenditure of $12 million for 1967 has therefore been provided for the expansion of the People's Defence Force and the Police.

4.50p.m. Ministry of Education The Ministry of Education will have a budget of $26.5 million next year. This is 68 per cent higher than the 1966 expenditure of $15.8 million. Of the total provision, $22.5 million will be for the School Building Programme. 1967 will see the completion of Government's programme of expansion of primary school building and emphasis will shift to secondary schools. Thereafter, primary schools will be built only in newly developed housing estates such as Toa Payoh. To meet the need for skilled workers and technicians for industry, Government will build two new vocational institutes - one in Jurong for the teaching of engineering trades and the other at Queenstown for manual and applied arts. The Singapore Vocational Institute at Balestier Road will also be extended to increase its intake of students. A sum of $580,000 has been provided for the expansion of vocational education in 1967. Ministry of Health The Ministry of Health will spend $4.1 million on its development projects in 1967; this is a threefold increase over the expenditure of $1.5 million in 1966. The main project is the establishment of the institute of Medical Specialities and the Radio Therapy Isotope Centre - a joint project between the University of Singapore and the Ministry of Health. Structural works on the proposed 9-storey building will begin next year. The disposal of city refuse is becoming an acute problem. The Kolam Ayer dumping ground is no longer available for refuse disposal as it is now part of the Kallang Basin Reclamation Scheme. Of the 600 tons of refuse collected in Singapore every day, over 500 tons are from the City alone. There is an urgent need to divert city refuse to the rural dumping ground at Tampines. To do this, more garbage and ancillary vehicles will be required. A provision of $800,000 is being made for the purchase of these vehicles. In the meanwhile, detailed planning is under way to construct an incinerator at Redhill for the disposal of part of the city refuse. Ministry of Finance The total allocation to the Ministry of Finance is $100.6 million. Of this sum, $85 million represents loans to the Public Utilities Board, the Economic Development Board and the Housing and Development Board. Of the balance, $10 million is to set up a Contingency Fund for development purposes and $3 million will be a loan to the Government Officers' Co-operative Housing Society. The remaining $2.6 million will be spent on the expansion of the Customs Service. The projects envisaged in 1967 will contribute to the improvement of facilities for the control and prevention of smuggling. Ministry of Culture and Social Affairs The allocation to the Ministry of Culture and Social Affairs for 1967 is $4.3 million, which is less than its expenditure of $7.6 million in 1966. This is mainly because the major portion of television and radio facilities has been provided in 1966 or earlier. Only minor expenditure will be incurred in the Broadcasting Division in 1967 for the completion of projects. For parks and recreation facilities, 10 children's playgrounds and 2 public parks will be built in 1967, while the Changi beach resort will continue to be developed at a cost of $100,000. A new branch library will be constructed at Queenstown next year to meet the demand for more library facilities. The National Library now has a total readership of 106,300, which is more than it can cope with. The Library in Queenstown will be the first of a series of branch libraries to cater for our people. A Junior Approved School will be built in 1967 to house and rehabilitate delinquent boys under the age of 16. To cope with the rapid growth of Jurong New Town, a fire station will be constructed there. Ministry of Law and National Development The total provision for the Ministry of Law and National Development will be $88.8 million next year as compared to the expenditure of $55.3 million in 1966 - a 61 per cent increase. This Ministry has the highest share of the 1967 Development Estimates and accounts for more than 50 per cent of the total Government development expenditure for 1967. The special projects undertaken by the Housing and Development Board acting as agents of the Government, namely, the East Coast and Kallang Reclamation Schemes, Urban Redevelopment and Resettlement will cost $38 million in 1967. These are continuing schemes initiated even before 1966. They have a long gestation period. The benefits and services which the schemes will bring will only be fully realised in 5 to 10 years, or even 15 years, particularly in the case of urban redevelopment. However, they are bold and imaginative schemes worth pursuing. On completion, the East Coast and Kallang Basin Reclamation schemes will make available 2,000 acres of valuable land, most of it in the city area. The land will be available for the development of industrial and housing estates, schools, highways, commercial buildings, and holiday resorts with hotels and recreational facilities for tourists. The economic benefits in terms of income and employment generated consequent on the completion of these schemes will be substantial. Visible progress of urban redevelopment is evident when travelling along Chin Swee Road and Sumbawa Road. Vast areas in Precincts S.1 and N.l, which together comprise 225 acres, have been cleared. Earth works and the construction of flats, shops and schools have already begun. While the acquisition of land and properties and the clearance and resettlement of people are a slow process, once completed, construction work can proceed rapidly. For this reason, expenditure on urban re-development in 1967 will be $15 million, which is more than twice the amount spent this year. The Ministry of National Development has two other large projects in hand for 1967. They are the National Sports Stadium and the Erskine Hill office building. These schemes were initiated this year and work on them will continue up to 1968 or 1969 for their completion. The National Sports Stadium will cost $18.5 million and it is proposed to reimburse the cost from the proceeds of the Singapore Sweep. As the Sweep was only launched in October this year, it may not be possible to derive sufficient funds from the Sweep to meet necessary payments in 1967. For this reason, it is proposed to vote $3 million in the Estimates for the project next year and to recover it from the Sweep in subsequent years. The Public Works Department will have a development budget of $34.8 million in 1967, which is about a third higher than the department's actual expenditure of $26 million in 1966. For roads and bridges a sum of $9.0 million will be spent, for drainage and flood alleviation $3.1 million, and for sewerage works $9.3 million. Although substantial investments have gone into the opening up of new roads, the widening and improvement of existing roads into dual carriageways, and the introduction of one-way traffic systems, the problem of traffic congestion, especially in the city, still remains. This is evident from the frequent traffic jams along main roads leading into the city. The P.W.D. has recently set up a Special Traffic Unit to study this problem, and 1967 will see the beginning of changes in road development. As part of the new scheme of things, the construction of some flyovers will begin in certain main junctions, notably the one at Woodsville Circus where Serangoon, Upper Serangoon, MacPherson and the New Toa Payoh Roads meet. Another flyover will be constructed at the junction of Whitley, Thomson and the New Toa Payoh Roads. The major project under drainage and flood alleviation is the Bukit Timah Alleviation Scheme. This scheme, when completed in 1969, will remove the present serious flooding in the Bukit Timah area after heavy rain storms. In 1967, $1 million will be spent on the Bukit Timah project, which is expected to cost in all $6.8 million. Sewerage is an essential social overhead in any modern city. The expansion of sewerage facilities in Singapore needs to keep pace not only with population growth but also with urban redevelopment and the development of new housing and industrial estates. In 1967, the major schemes to be launched or continued will enable an extension to be made of sewerage facilities to Kallang Basin, Jurong and the urban redevelopment precincts. Expenditure on treatment works will also be substantial in 1967 because of the need to increase their capacity in step with the expansion of sewerage facilities. Economic Development Board The Economic Development Board proposes to spend $45 million in 1967, which is nearly 20 per cent higher than the estimated expenditure of $38.0 million this year. Industrial financing will claim $25 million of the total, while infrastructure investment for the expansion of Jurong and other industrial estates will account for the balance of $20 million. Housing and Development Board In 1967, the Housing and Development Board is expected to complete 12,000 housing units and shops. The major development will be at Toa Payoh and Kampong Tiong Bahru where it is proposed to build 10,000 units. In urban redevelopment areas, about 2,000 units of flats and shops will be completed before the end of next year. Port of Singapore Authority The Port of Singapore Authority plans to step up its expenditure programme for 1967. It proposes to spend $43.8 million next year, as compared to the estimated expenditure of only $5.0 million this year, an eightfold increase. The main scheme under port development will be the construction of four deep-water berths at the East Lagoon which began this year. On com pletion of this scheme in 1968-69 the turn-round of ships at the Authority's wharves will be speeded up. The construction of godowns and ancillary works will also be undertaken to cope with the growth in the number of vessels and the volume of goods handled at the Authority's wharves. Public Utilities Board The Public Utilities Board proposes to spend $83 million in 1967. Under Electricity, the main project is the Jurong Power Station Phase I, the first two units of which will be commissioned during the Plan period. Preliminary work on the project has already begun. Construction work will be pursued expeditiously next year. The expansion in generating capacity is justified on two grounds: firstly, the expectation of increase in power consumption by industries, and, secondly, to meet the growth in domestic consumption due to population growth and the extension of supplies to rural areas. With the expansion of generating capacity, substantial investments are necessary to extend the network of electrical transmission and distribution lines. In fact, capital investment in the distribution network will be $31.0 million next year, which constitutes two-thirds of the total budget of the Electricity Department. Phase I of the Johore River Scheme will be completed next year and this will increase the reliable yield of water supply by another 30 million gallons a day, bringing the total reliable yield from the various sources to 87 million gallons a day for Singapore. The average yield will go up to over 130 million gallons per day. The Gas Department will have a budget of $3.5 million which will be spent mainly on the extension of the distribution network to bring gas to Toa Payoh, Bartley and Upper Serangoon areas as well as to Telok Kurau and Bedok areas. Singapore Telephone Board The Singapore Telephone Board will spend $12.9 million next year. Its major expenditure will be for the purchase of exchange equipment to extend the capacity of existing telephone exchanges, especially those serving the Katong and Bukit Panjang areas where population has increased. To complement these schemes, the underground cables and plant will be installed to link the exchanges with subscribers. It is expected that 6,000 new lines will be in service next year, while the total at the end of this year will be 70,000. Sectoral Allocation of Public Sector Development Programme The proposals of ministries and statutory authorities for 1967 in economic classification are as follows: million $ Economic Development 234.2 57.0% Social Development 148.1 36.1% Public Administration 28.7 6.9% and Defence ----- ------ Total 411.0 100.0% ===== ====== The lion's share of the allocation goes to economic development which is consistent with the objective of promoting rapid economic growth. The provision for social development ranks second in the Budget and will be sufficient to maintain and improve the already high standard of social services in Singapore. 1967 Development Estimates I will now turn to the financing of the Development Expenditure for 1967. Out of the estimated expenditure of $259.7 million by the statutory authorities, it is expected that $174.7 million will be from their own resources or external loans, the balance of $85 million will come as a loan from the Government. Development expenditure by the Government is anticipated to be $151.3 million. This, together with the loan of $85 million to the statutory authorities, a loan of $3 million to the Government Co-operative Housing Society, and a transfer of $10 million to create a Contingency Fund, give a total of $249.3 million to be provided for on Government account. Financial Resources for the Estimates Although the 1967 Estimates total $249.3 million, the anticipated expenditure is estimated at $211.4 million, or about 85 per cent of the total provision. We will now examine the position of the Development Fund, which is the source of finance for the Estimates, to determine how it will meet this anticipated expenditure. The balance of the Development Fund at 31st December, 1965, was $179.7 million, while the inflow to the Fund this year (1966) is expected to be $171.3 million, giving a total of $351 million. The total expenditure from the Fund this year is now estimated at $212.9 million, which means that the balance in the Development Fund at 31st December, 1966, will be $138.1 million. The inflow into the Fund in 1967 is 57.0% expected to be $180.0 million. As the anticipated expenditure from the Fund for 1967 is $211.4 million, the balance in the Fund at the end of 1967 will be around $106.7 million. The Government proposes to obtain loans from the World Bank and other financial institutions, as well as from friendly countries, to finance its development programmes. Hitherto, World Bank loans have gone to traditional projects such as power generation, water supplies and port development. The Government will continue to encourage the statutory authorities to seek loans for such "bankable" projects, as well as for new schemes such as electricity and water transmission and internal telephones. Such loans will enable the statutory authorities to reduce their dependence on the Government for financing. In the Government sector loan applications will shortly be submitted to the World Bank for education, roads and sewerage development. As Singapore has an excellent record of well-planned and executed development programmes, there will be a strong case for additional loan financing from the World Bank. The World Bank has financed similar schemes in other countries. On the whole, the balance in the Development Fund will be quite satisfactory. Mr Speaker, Sir, though we are making progress, it is not fast enough to be self-sustaining nor is it of the magnitude required to solve our unemployment problem. We must never forget that Singapore has no agricultural base. We do not have what the economists call primary income. Our earnings are from services rendered, processing and refining of raw materials and manufacturing -the last growing in importance. Therefore, if we want to live well and improve our standard of living, it is imperative that we should be more efficient than others. This calls for the closest co-operation between Government, the entrepreneurs and labour and each must give of its best to bring about ever-increasing efficiency. The Government has given all the incentives necessary to attract investment and to provide both the necessary infrastructure as well as a stable political climate to make investment possible. It is now left to our entrepreneurs to show that they have inherited the verve, resilience, drive and skill of our forefathers and take advantage of the facilities and incentives available. The Productivity Centre will help labour achieve greater productivity and thereby contribute to our efforts to industrialise and compete successfully. Responsible trade union leaders know that it is through greater productivity that wages can rise, for any increase in wages without corresponding increase in output will very quickly blunt our industrial drive and add to our army of unemployed. As I have stated before, the Government, apart from providing the basic facilities already enumerated, will hold a fair balance between management and labour. While seeing to it that there must not be any exploitation of labour, we must also ensure that entrepreneurs get a fair return for their investment. Without profits there will be no investment and therefore no employment. At the same time our society rightly expects work for wages paid. The fact of the matter, Mr Speaker, Sir, is that without primary income we have no buffer to fall back on. If there is a deterioration in the services we are rendering or, worse still, a breakdown in the provision of such services, inevitably this would lead to a collapse of our economy. It is the duty of the Government to see that no section of the population endangers the standard of efficiency, either through misunderstanding of the situation or through irresponsible behaviour, such as malingering and restrictive practices, which we see creeping into the system. Prompt and effective action will be taken to stop the rot wherever it is found. It is ironic that the first full year after a separation we did not seek was better than the first full year of a merger and Malaysia we sought and worked for so long and arduously. For the first full year of Malaysia was the first full year of confrontation and saw our annual growth rate of 8.5 per cent go down to 2 per cent. This has not been so with the first full year of Independence after we were suddenly separated from Malaysia. Although the percentage increase of our Gross National Product is not as yet available, the figures show an increase of between 9 per cent and 12 per cent in trade and revenue - cause for quiet confidence. But this confidence must not lead us to smugness and complacency. It must not lead our people, whether entrepreneurs, or trade unionists, into believing that the world owes us a living and that things will always be all right. They will be all right only if we are constantly alert, efficient and striving. For ours is not any ordinary economy like that of many other countries in this region. Our future is at once fraught with peril and yet bright with promise, depending upon how things work out in Asia as a whole. If big power conflicts are contained and the smaller countries turn to constructive pursuits, then we shall thrive and prosper in peace. If not, we must inevitably be embroiled in grievous strife, with big powers exploiting the petty feuds, jealousies and rivalries. But these are matters beyond our dispensation. What we can see clearly is into the 70's for, barring the unexpected, we can assume a relatively quiet and secure situation in this corner of South-East Asia. But we have lived long enough to learn that the unexpected does often happen and we are learning to make contingency provisions for such accidents. It has been my good fortune as Finance Minister for two successive years not to have had to raise revenue by increases in the rates of taxation. This year, the only change is in the method of computing the motor-vehicle tax, which will bring in a small increase of $5½ million in revenue, a step we are taking more to establish sound principles of taxation than the need for the $5½ million. But Singapore cannot assume that the expanding cost of education, health and social services, plus added burdens of our separate defence expenditure, can always look after themselves. On the one hand, my officials have had to do their unpopular duty of using the pruning knife whenever they feel that an item of expenditure was extravagant in relation to our own economic capacity. On the other hand, our entrepreneurs and workers must give of their best to keep this economy humming and thriving, so that the increased economic activity will always give an increasing revenue. Provided there is a clear appreciation of the elementary facts of life in our lean society, and provided that each and every sector plays its part, there is no reason at all why we should not be able to achieve our goal of a better life for all. Our people have got what it takes to make Singapore prosper. What is required now is an awareness of the problems before us and a concerted response made to meet the challenge of our separate destiny. Together we should be able to surge forward to a better and brighter future. Sir, I beg to move.

The Question is, "That Parliament approves the financial policy of the Government for the year 1967." In accordance with paragraph (1) of Standing Order 82, the debate now stands adjourned. Debate to be resumed, what day, Mr Minister?

On the 14th of December.

I think it is now a convenient time to suspend the sitting. I suspend the sitting now and will take the Chair again at 6 p.m. Sitting accordingly suspended at 5.20 p.m. until 6 p.m. Sitting resumed at 6.00 p.m.

Order for Second Reading read.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." This Bill makes a number of significant amendments to the Women's Charter, 1961. The Explanatory Statement to the Bill sets out in detail the reasons for the amendments, and for this reason and also because it is proposed to refer this Bill to a Select Committee if its Second Reading is approved, I do not propose to deal in detail with the amendments proposed. I shall only confine myself to a few of the amendments which affect the principle of the legislation. The purpose of the Women's Charter, 1961, was to bring all marriages (other than Muslim marriages) solemnised in Singapore within the ambit of the Charter, so that all such marriages in Singapore will be solemnised and registered under the Charter. This clearly has not been achieved, for there are still a large number of Chinese customary marriages which appear to be solemnised outside the Ordinance. It is, therefore, proposed to amend the Ordinance to make it clear that Chinese customary marriages will come within the provisions of the Ordinance and that they must be solemnised and registered under the provisions of the Ordinance. Let me at once say that it is not the intention of the Government to prevent such customary marriages from taking place, as it is not the intention of the Government to prevent Christian or Hindu marriages from being solemnised in Singapore. All that will be required will be that a person, before going through a Chinese customary marriage, should comply with the provisions of the Ordinance relating to freedom to marry, age and consent. All persons will be required to obtain a certificate for marriage under the provisions of the Ordinance, but once he has obtained this, he is free to have his marriage solemnised or performed or carried out in any way he likes. The second major amendment in the Bill relates to the rights of married women as regards their property. The Bill seeks to make it clear that married women may deal with their property in the same way as men. The Bill next seeks to bring the law relating to divorce in line with recent legislation in other Commonwealth countries. When the Women's Charter was enacted, the provisions of the Divorce Ordinance were incorporated in it without any substantial amendment. The law relating to divorce has, however, moved forward and the tendency in many countries is to recognise what is known as the "breakdown" principle - that is, that if a marriage is broken down and the Court is satisfied that the parties can no longer live with each other, then it is right that the marriage should be put an end to. This principle, Mr Speaker, Sir, which has been accepted in Australia and New Zealand and in many European countries, is adopted in the amending Bill. The Bill also seeks to provide more opportunities for reconciliation before a divorce is decreed. The Bill also provides that the children of void or voidable marriages should be regarded as legitimate, as it is not their fault that their parents have contracted the void marriage. It is hoped that the Bill will be welcomed as a further step in the improvement of the position of women and children in our family law. The rationale of the Bill is that the happiness of the family should be fostered by the law, but when all efforts fail, it is better for the parties to part rather than to be forced to live together in unhappiness and strife. Sir, I beg to move. Question proposed.

(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, the Women's Charter was formulated in 1961 and passed in that year. By its enactment, we can understand that the purpose is to enhance the position of women in Singapore, to enable them to secure their rightful place in society - equal to men - and to enjoy the same rights and privileges as men. Since its introduction and during the period of its enforcement, we have found that certain provisions in the Ordinance cannot give effect to the purpose that we intend. As these provisions do not achieve the purpose, it is, therefore, proper and correct that the Minister should introduce amending legislation. But there is something in this amending Bill which I regret very much. The Minister has omitted a point which is more important than what he has said. This is in relation to the representation which the previous Minister received from the Women's Section in the P.A.P. The representation stated that the Women's Charter, in addition to enabling women to secure their equal and rightful place in Singapore, should also eradicate the practice of polygamy - the practice of having three wives and four concubines - which has caused disharmony in the family and disturbance and disquiet in our society. According to the law then prevailing, certainly if any one wanted to marry he had to register under the Women's Charter to get his marriage legalised before it was recognised by the law. Then would the practice of monogamy be effected. But we have found that there is a big loophole. This is in regard to the definition of the word "mistress". A man can have many mistresses outside his family. If he does not register, then in the eyes of the law he cannot be punished, and this invariably constitutes a system of polygamy. From the time when the Women's Charter was enforced up to now, we have found that the number of divorces has been quite high. This has been due mainly to such a practice as I have said, that is to say, though women have nominal protection under the law, the law has, in effect, not provided actual protection for them, because their husbands could cohabit with many mistresses outside their homes. As a result, it leads to disharmony in the family which in turn leads to divorces. All this is because of the definition of the word "mistress" which is not clear. I would like to point out something about clause 28 in the amending Bill before us today. This appears on page 8, line 35, in which connection the Minister has mentioned divorce just now. When a couple have been married for some time and find that they cannot live together, they separate. During their period of separation, they may hope to resume their harmonious relationship and live together again. But this amending Bill provides that if after seven years of separation they cannot hope to be united again, then their separation can be confirmed. Arising from this provision, the pretext, "I am not satisfied and cannot live happily with my wife," can be used as an excuse for divorce to marry someone else. During this period of separation the law does not provide the couple with any means to reconciliate or to be reunited. So I feel that this provision in the Bill is not quite satisfactory, that if a husband, whose marriage was registered under the law, finds that he cannot live together with his wife again after a period of 7 years, he could ask for a divorce. Why should a period of seven years be provided? That is not quite correct. We should have a proper and more effective provision in the law to prohibit or restrict the man from getting more mistresses outside the home. As it is, the Women's Charter will be ineffective. In other words, we want to implement the law to protect women and enhance their position in society, and generally to improve society as a whole. This amending law is providing men with more opportunities to evade their rightful duties to their wives, which will worsen the women's position. Is this in keeping with the P.A.P. policy as promised to the electorate in 1959? I do not agree with this provision in clause 28, and I hope the Minister will reconsider it when the Bill is in Select Committee, in the hope that women can enjoy their rightful place in the new society now that Singapore has advanced from self-government to independence. In this new era women should be enabled under the aegis of the Government to develop their strength and ability to serve the country and contribute to the betterment of society. 6.18 p.m.

Mr Speaker, Sir, although I am physically occupying a seat customarily reserved for the Opposition, let me assure you that my heart is with the Government. In this respect, I am sure I speak for all my colleagues on this side of the House. It is fitting that I should now rise to support the Government on this Bill. The Women's Charter is one of the noted pieces of social legislation introduced by the Government. It seeks to protect the rights and interests of women and children in the Republic and to abolish polygamy. When it was introduced in 1961, it demolished, as it were, by a stroke of the pen, the polygamous haven that was Singapore, no doubt to the regret of many a polygamist! The Charter has been in existence for the last five years, and during this time certain loopholes were discovered. It is appropriate that the Government should now take stock of this piece of legislation and try to bring it up to date. I was rather surprised just now when I heard the hon. Member for Delta criticising one of the clauses in the Bill. This clause seeks to permit the dissolution of a marriage after separation for seven years, during which time all attempts at reconciliation have been unsuccessful. It would appear, from what she has said, that once a marriage is contracted, it should never be dissolved. That, Mr Speaker, I cannot agree to and I do not think it is in line with present day sociological trends. Mr Speaker, the basic unit of a country is the family. Whether a country is happy or progressive depends upon whether this basic -

(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, can I clarify in a few sentences? Just now I have clearly pointed out that the Minister in this amending Bill has provided one redundant clause, namely, clause 28. I do not mean that once a person is married he or she should not be allowed to divorce for proper reasons, because the law clearly and specifically provides that when a couple have registered under the Ordinance for two years, any one party who has been cruelly treated, or has any dissatisfaction or has sufficient reasons, could petition for a divorce. Then why have this redundant clause saying that after seven years they can petition for a divorce? Since they are already allowed, after two years, to petition for a divorce, why should you now add seven years? This would encourage a husband to leave his wife to get a new wife.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I have no experience in matters matrimonial, but I can assure the hon. Member for Delta that seven years is a long time to wait, and if I were -

Mr Tang, are you speaking with the experience of a bachelor of seven years' standing?

I am speaking, Mr Speaker, Sir, as a bachelor of 34 years' standing! Mr Speaker, Sir, as I was saying before the interruption, whether a country is happy or progressive depends upon its basic unit, that is, the family. As I see it, Mr Speaker, Sir, there is no point in keeping two persons together who cannot agree with each other and who hate the sight of each other and are at loggerheads all the time. It would not then be a holy wedlock but it would be a wholly deadlock if the hon. Member for Delta had her way! I am glad that the Government is committing this amendment Bill to a Select Committee and no doubt representations from the public, especially from organisations connected with children and women, will be made to this Committee. I wish the Select Committee well in its deliberations. Mr Speaker, Sir, I support this amendment Bill in principle.

(In Tamil): Mr Speaker, Sir, in connection with clause 28 of this amendment Bill, if a man has been separated for seven years, what will happen to his life? The period of separation is not proper, because if a man and a girl want to live properly, then the number of years of separation should be reduced. Only then will their future be happy. My request is that the period of separation should be reduced or deleted.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I do not propose to say more at this stage as the Bill will be committed to a Select Committee. However, I would like to assure this House, particularly the Members for Delta and Anson, that the Select Committee will be happy to receive and consider constructive suggestions.

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

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the Bill be committed to a Select Committee consisting of Mr Speaker as Chairman and seven Members to be nominated by the Committee of Selection.

Question put, and agreed to. Resolved, That the Bill be committed to a Select Committee consisting of Mr Speaker as Chairman and seven Members to be nominated by the Committee of Selection.

Order for Second Reading read. 6.27 p.m.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Mr Speaker, Sir, this Bill re-enacts the provisions of the Insurance Act, 1963, of Malaysia which was extended to Singapore in January 1965 and which after separation is still operative in Singapore until repealed. Hon. Members of the House may ask why it has been found necessary to re-enact the provisions of this Act. This is due to the following main reasons: (a) Statutory deposits in respect of insurance companies operating in Singapore are kept by the Malaysian Accountant General and can no longer be called upon to cover liabilities of Singapore insurers. (b) By virtue of the fact that Singapore is no longer a part of the Federation of Malaysia, Singapore securities are now automatically excluded from the schedule of approved assets. (c) It is desirable that some amendments which have been made to the Malaysian Act since separation should also be incorporated in the Singapore legislation. Briefly the Bill is a comprehensive piece of legislation designed to control and supervise the conduct of all types of insurance business. The basic objective of the Bill is to prevent the repetition of unscrupulous practices like those of mushroom insurance companies and to encourage the growth of healthy insurance business. Turning now to the contents of the Bill, I would like to elaborate on the more salient clauses. Clause 2 of the Bill classifies insurance business into two main categories, namely, life insurance and general insurance. Clauses 3 and 4 lay down the minimum conditions of operations of insurance companies in Singapore. These are registration with the Insurance Commissioner and lodging a statutory deposit of $300,000 for each type of insurance business conducted. In addition, the Commissioner must be satisfied that an insurer applying for registration must have a surplus of assets over liabilities of not less than $1 million if he proposes to carry on one type of insurance business, or a surplus of assets over liabilities of at least $l½ million if he proposes to carry on both types of insurance business. Clauses 7 and 8 of the Bill specify the type of assets that may be accepted as statutory deposits. These are cash, approved securities listed in the Second Schedule to this Bill, bank covenants, or a combination of any of these items. As the statutory deposit can be regarded as a final safeguard of the interests of policy holders, it logically follows that the securities deposited have to be of the soundest type, and it is for this reason that the Minister has been given discretionary powers to refuse acceptance of securities which are considered not satisfactory for the purposes of a statutory deposit. With this objective in mind, I shall be introducing an amendment to clause 8 during the Committee Stage of the House which will enable the Minister to limit the amount of statutory deposit lodged in the form of bank covenants. Clause 10 of the Bill requires insurers to establish and maintain an insurance fund for each type of insurance business conducted for the purposes of meeting liabilities of Singapore policies.

Mr Lim, could I just interrupt you to ask for the co-operation of Members on this side to turn off the speakers that are close to them? There are some speakers that are on and they are rather distracting. As Mr Lim continues to speak, perhaps Members may be able to detect them. Yes, Mr Lim.

Clause 11 stipulates that a minimum of 55 per cent of the assets of the fund must consist of approved securities which are listed in the Second Schedule to this Bill. As assets in the Second Schedule are local in character, this provision makes it necessary for insurers to keep in Singapore, local assets to match at least 55 per cent of the liabilities they have contracted. It has been found that, with regard to some general insurance companies, outstanding premiums and agents' balances comprise a disproportionately large percentage of the total assets of their insurance funds. This is clearly undesirable as the solvency of the fund is dependent on the extent to which such premiums and balances can be collected. Clause 11 (2) of the Bill therefore limits such balances and premiums to l2½ per cent of written premiums. To allow insurers to achieve this percentage smoothly and with minimum difficulty, a 2-year transitional period is allowed during which insurers are required gradually to reduce the amount of outstanding premiums and agents' balances held as part of their insurance funds until the target of 12½ per cent is achieved. Again I wish to state here, Sir, that during the Committee Stage of the House, I will be proposing an amendment to this clause which will allow the Minister to increase the minimum percentage of 55 per cent and to specify the minimum or maximum amount of this 55 per cent that may be invested in any one or more of the items listed in the Second Schedule. Clauses 15 and 23 relate specifically to life insurance companies. Clause 15 provides that premium rates charged by life insurance companies must be approved by qualified actuaries, whilst clause 23 makes it necessary for regular actuarial investigations to be made into the financial condition of the life insurance companies. Under the provisions of clause 22, all insurance companies are required to lodge annual returns with the Commissioner. The Commissioner can request insurers to furnish him with information related to their business if the information is required for the proper discharge of his functions under the Bill. Clause 27 lays down the conditions under which the Commissioner may institute an investigation into the whole or part of the business of an insurer. Among these conditions are failure on the part of the insurer to comply with any provisions of this Bill relating to insurance funds, and if it appears to the Commissioner that the insurer is likely to become unable to meet his obligations. Clause 29 relates to winding up of insurance companies. Clause 32 provides for transfers of business. Clause 35 provides for the appointment of an Insurance Commissioner by the Minister. The Commissioner would be responsible for administering the Bill and would exercise the functions conferred upon him by this Bill. The Commissioner is required to submit an annual report to the Minister, a copy of which is to be presented to Parliament. Under the provisions of clause 45, the Minister may make regulations for carrying into effect the objects of this Bill. The First Schedule to the Bill lists the definitions of insurance terms; the Second Schedule lists authorised Singapore assets for the purposes of statutory deposits and insurance funds; the Third Schedule relates to deposits required to be lodged by associations of underwriters; and the Fourth Schedule specifies documents to be lodged annually by insurers. Mr Speaker, Sir, apart from the amendments to clauses 8 and 11 which I have mentioned earlier, I propose to suggest a few other minor amendments to the Bill during the Committee Stage. Sir, I beg to move. Question proposed. 6.37 p.m.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I think this Bill is a good one. It is designed to control and regulate the insurance industry in Singapore. My only criticism of this Bill is that it is not comprehensive enough, especially in regard to motor insurance. The law with regard to motor insurance at present requires compulsory third-party insurance. But third-party insurance, unfortunately, does not include passenger liability. I would request the Government to consider including passenger liability possibly in an amendment to the Third Party Risks and Compensation Ordinance as third-party liability. Under the existing law, Mr Speaker, Sir, an insurance company can still avoid liability with regard to third-party risks in certain circumstances. This may be just in respect of the insured, but it definitely works an injustice towards the injured third party. To overcome this, possibly Government can consider setting up an insurance compensation fund. This could be contributed to by the insurance companies undertaking motor insurance business. The alternative is to require insurance companies to insure drivers with regard to third-party risks rather than insuring cars. Let me give the House an example. Many of our Government Front-benchers are accomplished golfers. I understand the Minister concerned with this Bill is one of them. A golfer should insure himself against third-party liability, in case he hits the ball into somebody instead of into the hole. The present position of insuring cars instead of insuring drivers is as absurd as insuring the golfers' clubs rather than the golfers themselves against third-party liability. Yet we think nothing of that. May I recommend the Minister in charge of this Bill to spend a few thoughts on this point, possibly between golf shots? Also clause 8 of the Bill enables an insurer to get out of the deposit by getting a bank covenant. No doubt the primary object of requiring the $300,000 deposit is that there should be enough money to pay any compensation when compensation is payable. But surely there should be a secondary object, that this amount of money should be invested in securities, especially securities of local industries. So this requirement of a $300,000 deposit would kill two birds with one stone. It would also oblige insurance companies to invest their money locally. As I have said just now, Mr Speaker, Sir, this is a good Bill on the whole, and with the exception of these minor criticisms, I support it.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I am most grateful to the hon. Member for giving me food for thought in between my golf shots! This is the initial step that we are taking to control insurance. I am sure, as we go on, we will do everything that is desirable to make this Bill as fitting as is possible for Singapore. The points that he has put up are of a technical nature, and I am sure much thought has been given to them by other countries. It would be the duty of the Commissioner so appointed to bring all the salient features of insurance business all over the world to our notice, and it would be our duty to keep on improving the Ordinance as time goes on. But for our purpose now, since we are repealing the Malaysia Insurance Act, as an initial step I would request that we allow this Bill to go through.

Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. -[Mr Lim Kim San] Bill considered in Committee.

6.46 p.m. Clause 1 ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 2 -

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, In page 2, line 39, after "Ordinance", to insert "or organisation registered under the Mutual Benefit Organisations Ordinance, 1960,". The reason for this amendment is to exclude the application of this Bill to mutual benefit organisations. Amendment agreed to.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, In page 2, line 40, after "society", to insert "or organisation". This amendment is necessary as a result of the first amendment. Amendment agreed to.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, In page 2, line 44, after "society", to insert "or organisation". As in the case of the previous amendment, this is also a consequential amendment. Amendment agreed to.

There is a note, In page 2, to insert marginal note "Ord. 42 of 1960." against "Mutual Benefit Organisations Ordinance, 1960.". This will be done. Clause 2, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clauses 3 to 7 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 8 -

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, In page 8, after line 34, to add - "Provided that the Minister may, in his discretion but subject to the provisions of subsection (1) of section 7 of this Act, specify in writing the sum to be covenanted for under the provisions of this subsection.". As mentioned earlier, Mr Speaker, Sir, statutory deposits must be of the soundest and best securities, and with this objective in mind, this amendment is being introduced to clause 8 in order to enable the Minister, if necessary, to specify the amount of the statutory deposit that may be covenanted for. Amendment agreed to.

A consequential amendment is necessary, In page 8, line 34, to leave out the full-stop and insert a colon. Clause 8, as amended, ordered to stand stand part of the Bill. Clauses 9 and 10 ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 11 -

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, In page 12, after line 37, to add - "Provided that the Minister may, in his discretion by order published in the Gazette -

There is a consequential amendment, In page 12, line 37, to leave out the full-stop and insert a colon. This will be done. Clause 11, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clauses 12 to 15 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 16 -

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, In page 16, lines 14 and 15, to leave out "After the end of six months from the date of the coming into operation of this Act,". This amendment is being made as it is not necessary to provide for a period of grace for putting into operation sub-section (4) of section 16. Amendment agreed to.

There is a consequential amendment, In page 16, line 15, to spell "no" with a capital N. This will be done. Clause 16, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clauses 17 to 42 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 43 -

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, In page 39, lines 34 and 35, to leave out "shall be deemed to have come into operation on the 1st day of July, 1966, and". Mr Speaker, Sir, I wish to move the next amendment to this clause before giving the explanation as these two amendments are related.

Will the Minister make his speech on the first amendment before moving the second one, and then just move the second amendment without making a speech on it?

This amendment is made as it is not necessary to back-date the coming into effect of Clause 43. Amendment agreed to. Amendment made: In page 39, line 36, to leave out "then in force.".-[Mr Lim Kim San]. Clause 43, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clauses 44 to 47 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill. 7.00 p.m. Clause 48 -

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, In page 42, after line 35, to add -"(2) The provisions of subsection (1) of this section shall not affect the obligation under the Insurance Act, 1963, of Malaysia, with regard to the lodgement of returns for the accounting period immediately prior to the initial accounting period under this Act. (3) The provisions of the Insurance Act, 1963, of Malaysia, shall continue to apply to any insurer carrying on business in Singapore until such insurer is registered under this Act." These two sub-clauses are saving provisions which will cover the transitional period when the present Act is repealed and a period of grace is given to insurers to register under the new Act. Amendment agreed to.

There is a consequential amendment, In page 42, line 33, after "48.", to insert "-

Order for Second Reading read. 7.05 p.m.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Sir, the Entertainments Duty Ordinance provides that the rates of duty to be levied on different types of entertainment have to be approved by a resolution of Parliament from time to time. This is administratively inconvenient in that if it is desired to vary the rate of duty for any particular entertainment, it cannot be done without reference to Parliament. Clause 2 of the Bill seeks to repeal section 4 of the Ordinance and provides the Minister with the power to levy different rates by order published in the Gazette. This allows for greater flexibility and is in keeping with the powers of the Minister in other fiscal legislation, for example, in the Customs laws. As the law now stands, there is no provision for the Minister to exempt any class of entertainment from the payment of entertainments duty. Clause 3 seeks to grant the Minister powers to exempt any particular case from the payment of entertainments duty subject to such conditions as may be imposed. Permissive powers for the Minister to prescribe different rates of duty and to exempt any particular case will allow for administrative simplicity, especially in cases where it is desired to stimulate particular types of sport which may need assistance. Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Mr Lim Kim San] Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.

Order for Second Reading read. 7.11 p.m.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Currently the Government Contracts Ordinance, 1949, of Malaysia applies to Singapore. The purpose of the Bill is to repeal the Malaysian Ordinance and substitute it with the Government Contracts Act, 1966. The Bill seeks to enact with suitable amendments the provisions of the Government Contracts Ordinance, 1949, of Malaysia. Under this Ordinance, any Minister may authorise a public officer to sign a contract. The new Bill before the House provides that authorisation of officers will be only by the Minister for Finance. As contracts invariably involve financial matters, it is desirable that the authority be from the Minister for Finance. In respect of contracts signed outside Singapore, this authority is also to be vested in the Minister for Finance. Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. -[Mr Lim Kim San] Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.

Order for Second Reading read. 7.15 p.m.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Sir, at present there is provision under section 37 (2) of the Income Tax Ordinance for the approval of an institution as "an institution of a public character" whereby an amount equal to the sum contributed to the said institution is an allowable deduction from assessable income for income tax purposes. Under paragraph (c) of the above sub-section "an institution of a public character" is defined as an institution or fund in Singapore under one of seven categories, including "a public or other benevolent institution not operated or conducted for profit". The phrase is ambiguous because of the word "other", so that this category is restricted to either public benevolent or other benevolent institutions not conducted for profit. As the provision now stands, its benefits cannot be extended to deserving public institutions which do not strictly fall within the legal definition of "benevolent". To give greater flexibility to approve a public institution not strictly benevolent, it is proposed that section 37 (2) (c) (ii) should be amended by deleting the word "other" in the phrase "a public or other benevolent institution". Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. -[Mr Lim Kim San] Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.

Order for Second Reading read. 7.19 p.m.

(In Malay): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." This Bill seeks to amend the Singapore Railways Ordinance to enable automatic half-barriers to be installed at five railway level crossings in Jurong. Under section 17 of the Ordinance, the Malayan Railway, which has extended its services to the Jurong Industrial Estate, is required to provide manned gates at level crossings. Owing to the prohibitive costs of operating manned gates, the Railway Administration has suggested the installation of automatic half -barriers, and at some of the crossings where traffic is not heavy, for such crossings to be declared open level crossings without any gates. The Economic Development Board supports the installation of automatic half-barriers as they are expected to provide more efficient services - costs of employing gate-keepers and provision of houses for gate-keepers would be eliminated and delay to road traffic curtailed. In order to allow the installation of automatic half-barriers, it is necessary to amend section 17 of the Singapore Railways Ordinance. The amendment will empower the Minister to exempt certain level crossings from the requirement to have manually operated gates. However, the Railway Administration will be required to erect warning boards alongside the public road as well as whistle signs upon the railway at suitable distances from the level crossings. Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. -[Tuan Haji Yaacob Bin Mohamed] Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.

Order for Second Reading read. 7.24 p.m.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." The amendments to the Nanyang University Ordinance, 1959, which this Bill seeks to introduce, were initiated by the Nanyang University Council. These amendments have been the subject of deliberations and consultation among Council members, officials of my Ministry, and the law officers of the Republic since June 1964, when the Special Liaison Committee of the Singapore Government and representatives of Nanyang University reached agreement on the reorganisation of Nanyang University. The House will recall that the Special Liaison Committee's agreement contained, among others, the following clauses. I quote: "(1) Nanyang University should be reorganised at an early date. The details of reorganisation to be left to the future Nanyang University Council using the Nanyang University Review Committee Report and the Nanyang University Ordinance as the basis for formulating measures for reorganisation. (2) After reorganisation, the Singapore Government will treat Nanyang University on the same basis as the University of Singapore so as to effect a reduction in student fees and increase in staff emoluments and further improvements in equipment and facilities. (3) After reorganisation Nanyang University must become a purely academic institution and should not be manipulated or influenced by any political or subversive activities." The agreement also provided for a new Nanyang University Council of 28 members, comprising 12 representatives, one each from the then 12 Malaysian States, six Government representatives, three of whom would be reserved for other State Governments of Malaysia, three representatives of the Senate, including the Vice-Chancellor, two representatives of the Guild of Graduates and five community leaders. However, before this part of the agreement could be implemented, Singapore was evicted from Malaysia. Consequent upon separation and the emergence of Singapore as an independent and sovereign Republic, it is only logical that Nanyang University, which has been financed largely by grants from the Singapore Government since 1964, should be controlled by Singapore members in respect of its policy and management.

7.28 p.m. During the past 2½ years, the Singapore Government has contributed $6,701,000 to Nanyang University, consisting of - Recurrent Expenditure $2,081,000 Upward revision of Staff 1,000,000 salaries Bursaries 1,250,000 Tution Fee Subsidy 370,000 New Library Building 1,000,000 Scientific equipment and 1,000,000 library books --------- Total 6,701,000 ========= This is only the beginning. As reorganisation gathers momentum, the Singapore Government's financial commitment towards the University will increase. Even now the cost of maintaining a Nanyang student is about $2,000 a year. Malaysian students who pay $720 a year in fee without any assistance from the Malaysian Government are being subsidised by the Government and people of Singapore at the rate of about $1,300 per student per year. At the same time, contributions from the private sector in support of Nanyang University have dwindled to negligible sums. In point of fact, the total amount of private donations collected since the establishment of Nanyang University is considerably less than what the public has been led to believe. According to figures published in the Nanyang University Tenth Anniversary Souvenir, the amount collected from 1963 to 1965 was only $12,070,000. This was the sum collected in dribs and drabs over a period of 13 years as compared with the $6.7 million which the Singapore Government has spent on the University during the last two and a half years. It is also significant that of the $12 million raised from the private sector, Singapore, exclusive of Government grants, accounted for 80 per cent of this $12 million, while others, including all the constituent States of Malaysia, accounted for only 20 per cent. In the circumstances, it is only right and proper that Singapore citizens should have the final say on how Nanyang University should be run. However, if, as reported in today's Eastern Sun, certain Malaysian parents of the expelled students believe that Singapore citizens who are paying for practically the whole cost of running Nanyang University should not have a dominant say in its affairs, then they can always set up their own university or persuade their own Government to set up a Chinese University in Malaysia, and the Singapore Government will undertake to refund every cent that the Malaysians have donated towards the establishment of Nanyang University. An hon. Member: Hear, hear!

Mr Speaker, Sir, clause 7 of the Bill before the House provides for a 21-member Council consisting of the Vice-Chancellor, 2 members elected from the Senate, 2 members from the Guild of Graduates, 3 members elected by members of the University from amongst themselves, 7 members appointed by the Council from persons prominent in the field of education, culture, industry or commerce, and 6 members appointed by the Government of whom 3 may be persons resident outside Singapore. In making possible participation of persons resident outside Singapore in the governing body of Nanyang, the present University Council and the Government are mindful of the support Malaysians have given to the University in the past and the sincere desire to preserve the sentimental link between Nanyang University and the Malaysian people who, we hope, will continue to support the University financially or otherwise. In order to provide for continuity in policy making, this Bill also seeks to extend the term of office of Council members from two to four years. The other amendments proposed in this Bill are of a minor character. Provision is made for the appointment of a Deputy Vice-Chancellor to assist the Vice-Chancellor in carrying out his onerous duties. Such an appointment has been found to be essential in most universities in the world. At the same time, the designations of some existing posts in the University as laid down in the Ordinance are to be changed to conform to designations currently used in the University.

7.36 p.m. As such, the office of the President as provided for in the Ordinance is to be changed to that of Vice-Chancellor, which has been the designation used since 1960. Similarly, the designations of Secretary and Treasurer are to be changed to Registrar and Bursar respectively. Finally, the existing Ordinance has two separate sections to provide similar powers to the University Council. Section 29 provides for rules to be made by the Council and section 32 provides for statutes to be made. In order to avoid duplication without curtailing the powers of the Council, this Bill seeks to enlarge the powers of the Council to make rules and remove its power to make statutes. This is accomplished by conferring on the Council the power to make additional rules governing the powers and duties of the officers of the University; the composition, powers, duties and procedure of the Senate and the Guild of Graduates, and the discipline and welfare of students. With this new provision all the matters at present dealt with by statutes will be adequately covered by rules, and section 32 providing for the Council to make statutes may therefore be repealed. With these improvements in the Nanyang University Ordinance, there is reason to believe that continued support for the University will be forthcoming not only from Singapore but also from Malaysia. Of the 1,678 students at present in Nanyang University, 840 or 50 per cent are from Malaysia. As I have said earlier, the Singapore Government has been subsidising each and every one of these students at the rate of $1,300 a year, and the cost will increase as reorganisation proceeds apace. Clearly the Government and the people of Singapore should not be expected to bear this burden indefinitely without assistance. On our part, Singapore will continue to welcome students from Malaysia provided they are here to seek knowledge, to acquire an education and to make use of our facilities; which are lacking in their own country. If, instead of doing this, as so many have done in the past, they become stooges of Communist front organisations and engage in subversive activities, then Singapore will have no alternative but to send them home. However, we are hopeful that the unhappy events of the past will not recur and that a new breed of students from Malaysia will join their brethren in Singapore at Nanyang solely for the pursuit of knowledge so that under the guidance of the new policy makers, the administrators and the teachers, the University will develop into a true centre of learning not only in Singapore but in the whole of South-East Asia. Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move. Question proposed.

(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, on the question of amending the Nanyang University Ordinance, I, as a graduate of Nanyang University, am particularly concerned with this Bill and I feel that it is necessary to speak my mind on it. In the first place, I wish to say in all earnestness that I support the amendments to the existing Nanyang University Ordinance, which is an Ordinance drafted and passed into law by the Lim Yew Hock regime before the P.A.P. came to power. This Ordinance came into operation on 27th May, 1959. Several years have elapsed and Nanyang University has developed. During this time we have discovered that the Ordinance has not been able to withstand the test of time. There are certain unsatisfactory features in it. For example, section 9 provides for a Register of members being kept by the Secretary. But in the subsection there is a provision regarding the withdrawal of membership and the letter of withdrawal is to be addressed to the Registrar instead of the Secretary of the University Council. All this is very confusing, and in implementing the Ordinance, we find many defects in it. So this is not ideal legislation. The existing Ordinance is unable to keep pace with the progress of Nanyang University and, even from the legislative point of view, it is far from closely knit. This was drafted some ten years ago, and even at that time it was found to be defective. And at the present moment, it is even more defective. I shall, therefore, support the amendments to the existing Ordinance. They must be made to meet the progressive requirements of Nanyang University. Otherwise, the Ordinance will be inadequate. For example, talking about the Constitution of the University, this is a statutory corporation. So its membership has statutory force, and this is the basis on which we must work. At the time when Nanyang University was first established, the sponsors, perhaps because of their desire to have more donations from people in all walks of life, welcomed all persons to be members of the University. But after several years of development, in so far as the members of the University are concerned, they must have a new attitude and a new outlook. It is not just a matter of accepting donations from the people. It is also a matter of administrative control and certain adjustments should be made to meet Nanyang University's developing requirements. From the existing Ordinance of Nanyang University, we can see that there are several grades of membership of Nanyang University. If a person donates $1,000, he can become a patron for life. If he pays up to $10,000, he can become a life member. All these provisions are very defective, because there are no detailed provisions of a comprehensive nature to keep pace with the development of the University. The grant given by the Government of Singapore to Nanyang University amounts to millions of dollars. As the Minister has already indicated, the question definitely arises as to whether the Government has become a permanent patron of Nanyang University. So even in law itself, there is a problem. According to, I think, Rule 13 of the Second Schedule to the Ordinance, when a patron is required to vote, he can have one vote. In the general meeting, the Government is also entitled to one vote in its capacity as a member. Perhaps we can try to solve this problem through legislative procedure or by adding certain provisions to the existing Ordinance. But this is not mentioned in the present amendment Bill. Another point is that under the existing Ordinance of Nanyang University, so long as a person donates $1,000, he can become a member, but there is no restriction on the membership, be he a resident, a criminal or a winner of a four-digit lottery! This is a situation which demands our attention, because if some people who are believers in Communism are rich enough to become members of Nanyang University, then they can organise themselves. They can have 2,000 persons paying $1,000 each, and they can then control the University under the existing Ordinance. This is a big loophole which can be exploited. We must therefore take steps to attend to this matter. Furthermore, members of the Nanyang University are not confined to Singapore alone. Some are in Hongkong, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. According to the Singapore Republic Independence Constitution, there is a provision concerning membership in statutory corporations. Any person or group of persons who want to become members of any statutory body, or any corporation of a statutory nature, must have their names approved by the President and gazetted. So I do not know whether some Malaysians, who are members of Nanyang University under the existing Ordinance, are still considered members. I would like clarification on this point. There is one question regarding the election of three members to the University Council at the general meeting. We all know that the members of Nanyang University are many in number. So any general meeting will be something like a mass rally. Some of the members are spread out over various places and it is difficult to hold a general meeting. Experience in the past few years has shown that a general meeting of Nanyang University is convened on the basis of a State representatives' general meeting. So if you consider this in the light of the provisions of the Singapore Independence Ordinance, you will realise that some of the members who are representatives will lose their membership, unless the President of Singapore has gazetted their names as members of a statutory body. Under these circumstances, how can we convene a general meeting? Does it mean that members in different places can elect representatives from among themselves and then attend the general meeting of representatives? Or shall we do something else? So this is a legislative detail which must be attended to, otherwise there will be a lot of trouble and difficulties. I wish that the Minister for Education can clarify the true position. On another point, Nanyang University, ever since its inception, has had a lot of problems over the appointment of - 7.52 p.m.

In view of the time and as there are many Members who would like to speak, it is obvious that it will not be possible to have a full debate today. The Minister for Law and National Development may wish to move adjournment of the debate in order to be able to move certain motions before the Moment of Interruption.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I move, That the debate be now adjourned.

The Minister has moved that the debate be now adjourned under Standing Order 24 (1) . This is not any curtailment of discussion but is, as I have said earlier, merely to enable the Minister to move two motions before the Moment of Interruption.

Question put, and agreed to. Resolved, That the debate be now adjourned.

Mr Ong, resumption of debate, on what date?

12th December.

The debate on the Second Reading of this Bill will resume on 12th December.

Resolved, "That at its rising this day Parliament do stand adjourned to 12th December, 1966." - [Mr Barker]

Mr Speaker, Sir, subject to the general assent of the House, I wish to move, That notwithstanding Standing Orders 18 and 20, the Questions for Oral Answer today which were not reached be set down for oral answer on 12th December, 1966, if Members who asked them give notice to Mr Speaker by the 8th December, 1966, that they so desire. Mr Speaker, Sir, you will remember that earlier today the Member for Choa Chu Kang was anxious to have oral answers to his questions which were mainly directed at my Ministry, and several of the questions directed at my Ministry were not answered today. I somehow feel that Members of the House, judging from today's happenings, are rather anxious to have many a supplementary question. So with that in mind, I am moving the motion. Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Firstly, do I have the general assent of Members to the Minister's motion? Hon. Members indicated assent.

Question put, and agreed to. Resolved, That notwithstanding Standing Orders 18 and 20, the Questions for Oral Answer today which were not reached be set down for oral answer on 12th December, 1966, if Members who asked them give notice to Mr Speaker by the 8th December, 1966, that they so desire.

The result, therefore, is that all Members who had Questions for Oral Answer today, which were not reached because of their anxiety over mosquitoes in the Anson Constituency, will please notify me before 8th December, 1966, that they want an oral answer when the House next sits on 12th December, 1966. So if no notice is received by me, the questions will be answered by written answer in the usual way.

There is one further formality. Mr Ong, can I ask you to move that Parliament do now adjourn to enable the Member for Sembawang to speak?

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That Parliament do now adjourn. Question proposed. 7.58 p.m.

(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, after attainment of independence, Singapore has made impressive and smooth progress in various fields, such as internal administration, foreign affairs, defence, economy, labour, education, culture, health, social affairs, industrial construction and trade expansion. To the two million people of Singapore, this is undoubtedly a great achievement to be proud of. Recently, however, in the field of cultural activities which are so very essential to the spiritual life of our people, some symptoms of decadence seem to have appeared. By cultural activities, I refer to the cinemas, the night-clubs, the dance troupes, books, newspapers and magazines, chain-picture story books, and the programmes broadcast over the radio and T.V. The problems I want to deliberate on today concern some unhealthy tendencies in the above-mentioned cultural activities. As we all know, culture and art constitute an integral part of the spiritual life of the human being, whose four necessities of material life are food, clothing, shelter and travel. Cultural life exerts a great influence on mankind as a whole. A good culture will not only substantiate their spiritual life but will also help foster a good and wholesome character. It will also spark off their wisdom and thinking, quite apart from stimulating their will and spirit to move upwards and towards goodness and nobility. This is the kind of good culture needed by our newly emergent independent Republic. 8.00 p.m. It being 8.00 p.m., the Motion for the Adjournment of Parliament lapsed without Question put.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I move, That the House do now adjourn. Question proposed.

Debate resumed.

Mr Teong, please continue.

(In Mandarin): Thank you very much, Mr Speaker, I shall continue. On the other hand, bad culture will paralyse the human mind, make a person pessimistic, despondent, torpid, and lead him to decadence and even ultimate destruction. This is the kind of bad culture which we must discard by all means. The bad culture I have mentioned refers to films, books, newspapers and magazines which contain licentious, indecent, corrupting, fantastic and immoral material. In the national language this kind of culture is described as Kebudayaan Chabul. This expression has a profound significance which connotes incest, promiscuity, immorality, the infringement of the proper code of conduct, sensual, adulterous and criminal behaviour. In Singapore at the present moment, what aspects of this bad culture have we? Let me give you a few examples. Our cinemas are still flooded with pictures depicting fantasy, monstrosity, shameless sex, murders, brigandism, hooliganism, and James Bond-ism. Rare indeed are there occasions when one is treated to film shows with good themes of an educative and meaningful nature. What educative effect will films of this undesirable nature have on our people? What bad influence will they exert on our youthful generation? In the world of night clubs, Rock-n-Roll and A-Go-Go is the rule, and in the dance troupes, excessive exposure of a sexy nature is the centre of interest used to attract an audience. What undesirable influence will this kind of culture have on our younger generation? Apart from this, they learn nothing but the art of jumping-jack and flirting and petting in their crudest forms. The streets of Singapore are flooded with chain-picture story books (Chinese comics) about monsters, goblins, and fantasies, in spite of the action Government took last month to ban the sale and circulation of such publications by 44 publishing houses in Hongkong. Extensive damage is being done to our school children, causing them to procrastinate in their studies and to dream of becoming flying heroes like Batman. In the fields of radio and T.V. broadcasting, apart from programmes on political talks, forums, and traditional dramas which are commendable, our radio and T.V, stations have hardly been able to offer anything new and meaningful. The films shown on T.V., except for a small number of good educational ones which are very few and far between, are mostly of a farcical nature. If we allow this kind of situation to develop in its own course, it will inevitably lead to the emergence of some serious social problem. It is, therefore, necessary to review the position with the utmost care and attention. The good and healthy culture which I have been talking about refers to those movies, radio and T.V. programmes, books and publications, etc., whose contents are such as to extol virtues and condemn vices, to cultivate an excellent character, to enlighten and educate people to be noble in their thought, to nurture and to bring about a keen sense of morality among the people, and to encourage them to strive for goodness and progress. At the present juncture, culture should serve the purpose of fostering the growth of national consciousness, the idea of loving one's country and a spirit of patriotism. I have said earlier on that all unhealthy culture, be it in the form of film shows, books, newspapers, magazines or chain-picture books, will definitely exert an undesirable effect on our people, especially our younger generation who will suffer even more harm, for, being young people, they are not quite mature in their thinking, are easily subjected to the influence of yellow culture which will corrupt their thought -

Mr Teong, could you please speak a little slower? The interpreters are having difficulty.

(In Mandarin): If I were to speak slowly, would I be restricted with regard to time?

You are obviously speaking too fast. Could you speak a little slowly and more distinctly, please?

(In Mandarin): Yes, Sir. And make them despondent, daydream and go astray; worse, make them commit criminal acts. Many criminal acts that are taking place in society, such as fighting, robbery, theft, raping, etc., are mostly done by young people. To get down to the cause of all this, yellow films and publications are mostly to blame. Last month, a robbery took place in the Department of Social Welfare. The robbers first handed a letter to the victim. On opening the letter, it was found to contain these words, "This is a hold-up." Is not such a dramatic robbery learnt from and modelled on the style of Western films depicting robbery? The harm caused by these unhealthy films is, therefore, not a small problem. Mr Speaker, Sir, of course, it has been the consistent policy of our Government in the field of culture to uphold and promote the excellent cultural traditions of the various races and to curb all yellow culture. Hence, after our Party was voted into power to form the Government of self-governing Singapore, we immediately launched an anti-yellow culture campaign. Measures were taken to ban pornographic publications, close down massage parlours, and impose a more stringent film censorship. On the other hand, we have actively promoted a campaign for healthy culture, such as the holding of Aneka Ragam Rakyat in various constituencies which will help promote the interchange and flow of the cultures and arts of the various races, playwriting contests, the building of the National Theatre, the holding of the South-East Asian Cultural Festival and other activities. As a result, there is manifest in our country a lively, flourishing, healthy culture. Meanwhile, with the active encouragement of the Ministry of Culture, various artist bodies of our community have also been very active in recent years and our painters have also held many exhibitions of works with realistic themes. Therefore, except for those obnoxious phenomena I have mentioned, the cultural activities in our Republic are, by and large, developing towards the better side. But no matter how strict and stringent the Government may have been in its measures, the sex-mongers are still able to have their way in carrying on their nefarious activities. This is particularly so when the authorities concerned become lax, thus facilitating such yellow culture to invade our country, spreading its evil effects, and continuing to poison the minds of our younger generation. For instance, only last month 44 chain-picture story book publishers in Hong-Kong were banned from selling their publications in Singapore, but such publications had already been in circulation here for more than one year before they were found out and banned. I think it is necessary to find out why such phantom comics had been allowed in Singapore for one year before they were banned. Obviously this is ascribable to the laxity and negligence on the part of the censoring authorities. Apart from this, I would like to point out another aspect of the matter which is rather serious. There are huge cinema posters displayed at prominent places on the roadside and advertisements put up by dancing troupes in the newspapers. They all depict sex and love-making and excessive exposure. Similarly, advertisements by the cinemas and dance troupes appearing in the newspapers also contain pictures of excessive sensual exposure. It is obvious that posters and advertisements of such obscenity should not be allowed to be publicly displayed, for they will give rise to a chain of dangerous reactions, daydreaming, culminating in fatal traffic accidents and other mishaps. But what puzzles me is that, in spite of the fact that my colleague, comrade Chan Choy Siong, the Member for Delta, raised this question in this House last year and made criticisms of these obscene advertisements, so far no measures have been taken by the department concerned to curb such advertisements. Of course, Mr Speaker, by enumerating those phenomena of unhealthy culture, I do not mean to say that yellow and unhealthy culture is out of all control in our country. No. In fact, it is still under effective control. But while we are in the course of nation-building and bringing up a fine generation after us, while the country is engaged in the setting up of a disciplined society, and while our Prime Minister has again and again stressed the need actively to bring up a new generation with learning, scientific knowledge, strength and courage, we should prevent such poisonous culture from continuing its inroads into our country, bringing in its train harmful effects on our younger generation. Therefore, we should take early steps to prevent and wipe out the spread of such yellow culture, because it is against our aim and endeavour to nurture and bring up a fine new generation. If we tolerate its existence, it may even wipe out all our efforts. Mr Speaker, Sir, undoubtedly a fine and healthy culture will bring up and imbue a people with fine thinking and character. On the contrary, a bad culture will make a people decadent in thought and lethargic. Therefore, cultural construction is very important to the cultivation of character in the people and to the great task of nation-building. The renaissance of Europe in about the 14th century is a good example. In a multi-racial society such as ours, we must, first and foremost, develop and give expression to the inherent fine traditional cultures of the various races. Of course, I do not mean to do away with all Western culture or to impose the culture of one race upon the other races, as this is absolutely impracticable. In fact, being situated at the hub of South-East Asia and the cross-roads of Asia and Europe, Singapore cannot entirely escape from the influence of foreign culture. Even so, in order to look after the interest of our people, we still have to curb any foreign culture which has excessive poisons. Secondly, as an emergent independent Republic, we should create and enrich our own fine culture. Of course, our cultural mission should aim at the dual objectives of enriching the healthy and recreational life of our people and helping in the promotion of the task of nation-building. How to achieve these ideal aims? I feel it lies in the joint effort of our Government and the art circles. If pioneers and workers in our art circles will exert themselves, they will definitely be able to promote and enrich the cultural life of Singapore. Mr Speaker, Sir, finally, on the question of cultural construction, I would like to offer my ten-point suggestions for the Minister's reference: (1) A complete set of cultural policy be formulated to serve as guidance to all future cultural activities of the country. (2) A Cultural Consultative Committee be formed, comprising representatives from the Ministry of Culture, educational, arts, cultural, religious and journalistic circles and the N.T.U.C. to put forward to the Minister now and then views on cultural construction.

I want to assist the Member to make the best use of his time. At 8.20 p.m., if any other Member wants to speak, the Member for Sembawang will have to stop and the Minister may want an opportunity to reply. So the Member has got about two and a half minutes left,

(In Mandarin): (3) A National Film Studio be set up to take movie films of all national construction, and, where possible, to take one or two movies on a larger scale with contents rich in national consciousness and educational value. (4) A National Academy of Arts, to study the way to develop our culture and arts and further to study the arts and cultures of South-East Asian countries in order to enrich our cultural heritage. (5) A large-scale cultural festival be held annually, to afford an opportunity for comparison and mutual emulation between the fine cultures of the various races, so as to enrich the cultural life of the people and further promote progress in arts and culture. (6) A large-scale anti-yellow campaign be held annually, to be promoted jointly and in mutual co-operation with the People's Association and civic organisations. (7) Stricter measures be taken in the censorship of photographs, books, newspapers and magazines and all corrupting, unethical and immoral films and publications to be banned. (8) Stricter restrictions be taken in regard to cinema posters on hoardings on the roadsides and film and dance-troupe advertisements appearing in the newspapers, publicity of excessively sexy and indecent exposure to be banned. (9) Radio and television stations be stopped from broadcasting any sexual, monstrous, immoral and farcical programmes. (10) More programmes of healthy and educational content and significance be broadcast by radio and television stations. Mr Speaker, Sir, with this, I conclude my speech.

Mr Lee Khoon Choy. Inche Rahamat Bin Kenap rose and then resumed his seat.

Perhaps the Minister can make a short reply, and if he will restrict it to about five minutes, there will be five minutes left,

Mr Speaker, my reply will be more than ten minutes.

Under Standing Orders, I am afraid the House must rise at half-past eight, unless the Minister wants to make use of some other occasion to give a full reply. As we will be having many sittings in the course of the later part of the month, perhaps Inche Rahamat can address the House and the Minister can find some other opportunity to reply to both Members.

(In Malay): Mr Speaker, I wish to speak on how our national culture has deteriorated with the mixture of Western culture and dances, for instance, the Shindig, the Shake and the A-Go-Go. But I can conveniently describe them as mad dances. Such dances have affected our younger generation. They have become daydreamers. They have completely neglected their obligations towards society. They have become immoral as a result of these mad dances. They keep their hair long and wear tight trousers - this also applies to the girls - with the result that we cannot make out who are the girls and who are the boys! Some of them are still at school. With the spread of such dances we fear that the behaviour and conduct of our youths will damage our local customs which are respected by other nations. These youths will neglect their responsibilities towards the nation and society. Is the Minister for Culture prepared to condone such a state of affairs, or is it the intention to make such mad dances our national item? I cannot forget that in 1959, the Government banned the Rock-n-Roll and the juke boxes, which at that time were the craze of both boys and girls, to such an extent that they neglected their education and damage was done to their character. But these mad dances are worse than Rock-n-Roll. Is the Minister for Culture aware that Television Singapura is encouraging such dances through the Istana Pesta programme? The indications of this programme are that our children are under the influence of such yellow culture. I hope the Minister for Culture of Singapore will take steps to ban such dances so that our local traditions will be respected.

Mr Lee, you have to compress what you have to say.

(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, it is difficult to reply in 5 minutes to the matters raised by the Members, who took 25 minutes. But I shall endeavour to do my best. If I have longer time I shall give a more detailed reply. To sum up, Mr Speaker, the two Members have spoken generally on the so-called yellow culture prevalent in Singapore. The Member for Sembawang spent some 20 minutes on this matter. But to sum up his speech he appeals to the Government to take action to prevent the flood of yellow culture in Singapore, to take more restrictive measures against pornographic publications and films, and to take positive steps to promote a healthy cultural growth. In principle, Mr Speaker, the Government has since 1959 been implementing this policy. As a matter of fact, the Member for Sembawang himself has admitted, by the examples given by him, that the situation is not so bad. He says that yellow culture is not so rampant as to be beyond redemption. So, strictly speaking, the so-called unhealthy culture is still under effective control. That is what he says on his own admission. This is a fact, of course. Mr Speaker, before giving a point-by-point reply to the two Members, I shall let the House know briefly our national policy on culture. It is dependent upon the political system and the economic environment of the nation. It is determined by the economy and the politics of the country. In Communist countries where the national power is unlimited, even, as the Member for Geylang Serai has said, if your hair is too long or your shoes are not where they should be, or the hairdo of the women is considered improper, the nation has the power to interfere with your personal life and describe you as elements of yellow culture and even brand you as anti-nationals. In short, in a Communist dictatorship, the State has the power to interfere with the way of life of each and every individual in the country. But in the environment in which we live, which is a democratic country practising parliamentary democracy, we do not advocate the unlimited power of the State. We have certain limitations to the power of the State. Apart from looking after the necessities of the people, such as education, health, food and shelter, and security, we allow and respect certain individual freedom of a personal nature. Also, to judge others' standard of culture by your own standard, and to impose your own standard upon others, is against the spirit and principle of democracy. To illustrate this point. An African ballet troupe came to Singapore some time ago. Some members of the troupe were half-naked. If the Member for Sembawang were to see the show, he would not be able to sleep the whole night! But, generally speaking, from the artistic and aesthetic point of view, such half-nakedness was not provocative. It had an artistic effect. Even the folk dance of Egypt, the belly dance, which is a traditional dance, may be considered by some foreigners to be yellow culture. But in a democracy we must not adopt the views of a few Members and impose them on the people of Singapore in general and restrict them in their cultural activities. We will not force people to cut their hair short, because, by so doing we will be acting against democratic principles. Talking about the promotion of a healthy culture, I shall take this opportunity to say that ever since 1959, when we initiated the Aneka Ragam Rakyat, we have also taken steps to establish a council which plans to launch a purely local-orientated cultural festival to display the work of our artists in Singapore. We want our artists and other experts to study and to create new art forms in Singapore and we shall launch a new art festival next year. In the field of drama we shall encourage our playwrights to write works reflecting local life for our radio and television. Perhaps this is what the Member for Sembawang would like to have, but some matters would not be to his taste. Because of the limitation of time, I shall under more favourable conditions give a more detailed answer to his speech. The Question having been proposed at 8.00 p.m. and the Debate having continued for half an hour, Mr Speaker adjourned the House without Question put, pursuant to the Standing Order. Adjourned accordingly at Thirty minutes past Eight o'clock p.m.

Monday, 5th December, 1966 The following Question for Oral Answer stood on the Order Paper of 5th December, 1966:

To ask the Minister for Law and National Development what progress has been made in regard to the allocation of land for a Malay settlement at Ayer Gemuroh and when allocation will be made to the 290 applicants."

Pursuant to Standing Order No. 20 (2) , the Minister for Law and National Development supplied the following answer:- 22. "No allocation of land in the Malay settlement at Ayer Gemuroh has been made since 1959. The Government, taking cognizance of the acute shortage of land, has decided that the policy regarding such settlement should be reviewed in the light of our rapidly increasing population. In Ayer Gemuroh for instance, some 82 acres of land were set aside for a Malay settlement. This land, however, was not completely vacant as at the time of gazetting in March 1959 there were already 190 Malay, 16 Chinese and 5 Indian families living on it. In the same year, 8 new families moved into the area and were allocated one lot each. Hence, though in theory it would appear that there were many lots which still remain to be allocated, in actual fact not much land is available for allocation at the site. Further, some parts of this land are low lying and subject to floods, and to make these parts suitable for habitation will require considerable expenditure of public funds towards earthworks and the construction of a sea-wall as well as the provision of roads, drainage, water, electricity and other facilities. The cost of earthworks alone has been estimated at $40,000. In view of the heavy expenditure required to settle a few more families in this area, the Government considers that alternative means may have to be found to solve the housing problem of the applicants, as it is evident that the advantages to be gained from the expenditure of funds at Ayer Gemuroh will be very much less than if the same sum of money is spent on a planned housing estate."