Hansard, 1967-10-31

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 periods stated: - Dr Goh Keng Swee (Kreta Ayer), Minister for Finance - from 16th September to 14th October, 1967. Mr Tay Boon Too (Paya Lebar) - from 13th October to 20th November, 1967. Mr Lim Guan Hoo (Bukit Merah) - from 13th October to 20th November, 1967. Mr Lim Cheng Lock (River Valley) - from 7th to 29th October, 1967. Inche A. Rahim Ishak (Siglap), Minister of State for Education - from 9th to 31st October, 1967. Mr Lee Kuan Yew (Tanjong Pagar), Prime Minister - from 25th October to 7th November, 1967. Mr S. Rajaratnam (Kampong Glam), Minister for Foreign Affairs - from 25th October to 4th November, 1967. Mrs Devan Nair (Moulmein) - on 31st October, 1967. (P.COOMARASWAMY) Speaker, Parliament of Singapore

I have been informed by the President that, on the days stated, he assented to the following Bills:- 9th September, 1967: Criminal Procedure Code (Amendment No. 2) Bill. 12th September, 1967: (i) National Archives and Records Centre Bill; (ii) Ngee Ann College Bill; (iii) Moneylenders (Amendment) Bill; (iv) Public Authorities Protection (Cessation) Bill; and (v) Development Fund (Amendment) Bill. 14th September, 1967: Vigilante Corps Bill. (P.COOMARASWAMY) Speaker, Parliament of Singapore

I have to inform hon. Members that, under the provisions of Standing Order No. 94, I did on the 16th day of October, 1967, nominate hon. Members to fill two vacancies in each of three Sessional Select Committees. The Committees and the hon. Members respectively nominated thereto are:-

Mr Barker, before I call the Questions, there is one Question addressed to you in your capacity of Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs. I propose to take it in its normal place, which would be after Question No. 13. Is that acceptable to you?

Yes, Sir.

asked the Deputy Prime Minister what measures are being taken to improve the technical facilities at the Singapore Airport so that it will acquire a reputation among international airlines as an equal to the safest airports in the world.

Mr Speaker, the Member for Joo Chiat need not really worry that Singapore Airport lacks a reputation as being a safe airport. The fact that there are 20 airlines operating through Singapore is eloquent evidence that facilities at Singapore Airport are acceptable to them. And, in fact, there is a Facilitations Committee which consists of my officials as well as representatives from the airlines which meets frequently to discuss what measures we ought to introduce at the Singapore Airport that will make commercial operations viable. The I.C.A., or the International Civil Aviation organisation, of which Singapore is a member, prescribes standards regarding airport operations. They include air traffic control, radio communications, air navigational and landing heads, fire and rescue services, meteorological and other aeronautical information services. As far as Singapore is concerned, we have complied with the prescribed standards, and the Member no doubt is referring to a newspaper article published sometime ago in which criticism was directed at all airports in Asia, excepting Hongkong. I would like to remind Members of the House that the approach to Singapore is free of hilly obstructions; neither do we suffer the disadvantage of having fog which interferes with the vision of pilots. Because we do not have these disadvantages, we must, therefore, use our common sense and discretion in equipping Singapore Airport. I might mention that once upon a time Singapore had housing by-laws which were taken wholesale from the United Kingdom building by-laws when Singapore was under colonial administration. One by-law insisted that the roofs of houses in Singapore must be built at an angle of 60° so that when snow falls the snow will slide off the roof. It was only in recent years that we removed this by-law as it was patently obvious that snow does not fall in Singapore. The moral that I would like to draw is that it would be foolish for us to insist on, or to have imposed upon us, the facilities and standards which are required only in those airports which face the perennial problem of fog or hazardous approach due to obstruction by hills.

asked the Minister for Finance the number of non-citizens in the Civil Service eligible for Singapore citizenship under the proviso to paragraph (c) of Article 57 (1) of the Constitution who have applied for citizenship and the number who have not.

Sir, the present policy is that only Division I and Division II Government officers are eligible for the reduced period of residential qualification to qualify for citizenship under the proviso to Article 57 (1) (c) of the Constitution. We do not recruit non-citizens into Division III and Division IV posts. There are a total of 697 officers in Divisions I and II who are non-Singapore citizens. Of these, 471 officers are eligible for Singapore citizenship under this proviso. 196 are not eligible and 30 are expatriate officers. Of the 471 eligible for citizenship, 387 or 82 per cent have taken advantage of the concession and have applied for citizenship. The 84 who have not applied comprise 47 officers in Division I and 37 in Division II. The 47 Division I officers are mostly medical and dental officers. The majority of the 37 officers in Division II are teachers.

Sir, what does the Minister propose to do about the 47 Division I officers who do not wish to apply for Singapore citizenship?

In my answer I said that the majority of these 47 Division I officers are medical and dental officers. They are performing technical duties and are not concerned with policy-making decisions, and I propose to do nothing about it.

Sir, should there be available Singapore citizens who can take over these posts, would the Minister consider replacing the non-citizens with local citizens?

When we get the situation where we have more doctors than we need, I think we will consider that particular proposition.

(In Malay): What about the 37 Division II officers, most of whom are teachers?

I will give them more time to consider the offer.

asked the Minister for Finance whether he is aware that Mr H. F. 0. Leembruggen in a letter to the Straits Times published on 2nd September, 1967, stated that the reasons given to the House by the Minister of State, Prime Minister's Department, on 29th June, 1967, in reply to a Question on Mr Leembruggen's resignation from the Civil Service were not correct and whether he will clarify the matter.

I am aware that Mr Leembruggen in a letter to the Straits Times published on the 2nd September this year stated that the reasons given to the House by the Minister of State, Prime Minister's Department, regarding his refusal of promotion and subsequent resignation from the Civil Service were not correct. Mr Leembruggen might have other reasons known only to himself. Those given in the reply to the House were the ones determined from him at that time and were also consistent with the circumstances of his case.

asked the Minister for Finance (a) what was the amount and percentage of income tax collected in 1966 from foreign artistes; (b) if he is aware that the present income-tax assessments of foreign artistes and the mode of collection are discouraging talented overseas musicians, dancers and actors from performing in Singapore; and (c) as the performances of such artistes can be a means of fostering the progress of the performing arts in Singapore, if he will consider liberalising the allowances and modes of assessment and collection of income tax from foreign artistes as an incentive to talented overseas performers to come to perform in Singapore.

Sir, this is a question in three parts, and my answers are as follows:-

asked the Minister for Finance whether and when a census of the population of Singapore will be conducted; and whether it will be similar to the 1957 census.

A census of the population will be carried out in 1970. I hope that it will be an improvement on the 1957 census.

asked the Minister for Finance if he will make a statement on comparative prices of non-luxury goods (including food-stuffs) imported into Singapore from India, China and Japan and those imported from America, the United Kingdom and Germany.

My difficulty is that I do not know what the hon. Member means by "non-luxury goods", and no doubt his definition, if he attempts it, will differ from mine or anybody else's. We import no less than 1,470 different items from the countries he mentioned, and they are worth $1,521.3 million last year. So I am afraid that unless the hon. Member narrows considerably the scope of his question, I would not know what is the information he is seeking.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I can give an example -for instance, footwear. The footwear we import from China as compared with the footwear we import from the United Kingdom, Germany, or America.

No doubt, Mr Speaker, Sir, footwear imported from China will be much cheaper than footwear imported from Germany, the United Kingdom or America. But I hope that the hon. Member, as a patriotic citizen of Singapore, will only buy locally-made Singapore footwear.

Is the Minister aware that a certain brand of locally-made footwear can be purchased at a cheaper rate from Johore Bahru than from Singapore? Mr Ho See Beng rose -

Mr Tang, I do not think that is a supplementary question. Mr Ho, did you have a further supplementary?

No.

asked the Minister for Finance (a) whether he will look into the question of arbitrary price increases by large and monopolistic commercial firms, in particular the giant petroleum companies; (b) what steps he proposes to take to save the public from having to shoulder the burden of any possible increase in freight charges in respect of petroleum brought to Singapore for refining; and (c) whether he will consider introducing legislation imposing limits on advertising expenditure in art effort to reduce the prices of petroleum products in Singapore.

There are no arbitrary price increases by large and monopolistic commercial firms in Singapore where market conditions are generally highly competitive. We are, in fact, one of the few remaining outposts of free enterprise in the world. The oil companies have decided not to increase the prices of their products. Though the oil companies at one time tried to increase the prices of their products, they finally decided not to do so. For some time they were considering how much of the increased freight could be passed on to the consumer and how much could be absorbed by them. Shell Company were in continuous touch with the Government, and they finally decided to meet the whole of their additional freight costs and retain existing prices. The other oil companies decided to do the same. I think they did the right thing in taking a long-term view of the situation. As regards the third part of his question, the hon. Member assumes that reducing advertising expenditure would lead to lower prices. I do not think everyone would be as confident as he is about this. My own inclination is to allow free competition to settle market prices. Once you start fiddling with the market mechanism, you will find that one thing leads to another, and before you know where you are you have landed yourself in an unholy mess.

Does the Minister agree that in regard to petroleum there is no such thing as a free market in Singapore? The price is fixed by the oil companies themselves.

There is what is called non-price competition. Prices are agreed, as the hon. Member has suggested, but there is an immense amount of competition in getting a share of the market at those agreed prices. So in this sense we can say that there is free competition in the oil market, though it is not competition in terms of price cutting but competition in terms of non-price, that is, advertising, getting more retail outlets and that sort of thing.

Can the Minister give us the figures of the expenditure on advertising in respect of the oil companies?

I am afraid I cannot.

asked the Minister for Finance if he will ascertain and inform the House (a) the total amount of capital invested to-date by the oil refineries which were given pioneer status and various incentive benefits; and (b) breakdown figures of (i) the number of employees newly recruited, locally and from abroad, by the various oil companies for the refineries; and (ii) the number of employees transferred from the various departments of the oil companies to the refineries.

The total fixed capital investment of the oil refineries which were given pioneer status to date amounts to $124,814,575.

00. To date the employment of the oil refineries given pioneer status numbers 398, and of these 56 were transferred from other departments and trained for the refineries. The local employees number 378 and foreign employees 20.

Is the Minister aware that despite the pioneer status given to the Shell Group, they are preparing early retirement for some 400 employees which may ultimately lead to their retrenchment?

Sir, I am not aware of that. The fact that a company is given pioneer status does not mean that it is not entitled to reduce its staff if it finds that it has excessive staff for the work and for the market that it has to serve.

Will the Minister support the Shell Company in the event that there is a manpower exercise which leads to the dismissal or retrenchment of 400 or so employees? And in the event that the company is willing to compensate all those affected employees, will the Minister support the Company's policy for this retrenchment, if the company can pay sufficient compensation to the employees?

I am not quite sure what the supplementary question is. I do not think I am called upon to support or oppose any action taken by a private firm in respect of its own staff. All private firms have the right under the law to increase or to reduce their staff according to what they think is in the interest of their business. One hopes, of course, that employers will not retrench staff unless there are over-riding reasons for so doing. In the case of Shell Company, I have always known them to be very good employers paying good wages, and in the event that they find it regrettably necessary to reduce or retrench staff, they have always paid very handsome retrenchment terms.

Sir, I thought pioneer status was given to companies to help reduce the unemployment market?

No, Sir. Pioneer certificates are given to companies for producing pioneer products. And when they produce a new product or establish a factory, it follows that they will give more employment to people. In the case of Shell Company, it could well be that they have found that they have got an excessive number on their establishment. If this is the case, then in the interest of efficiency and higher productivity, it is quite open to them and it is only right that they reduce their staff to the number that they think they need to carry out their work efficiently.

asked the Minister for Finance (a) how many factories are now in operation at the Jurong Industrial Estate and how many workmen are employed by them; and (b) how many such factories have closed down or ceased operation.

There are 94 factories in operation in Jurong employ, ing 8,800 persons. No factory in Jurong has closed down or ceased operation.

asked the Minister for Finance if he will consider relaxing the quotas on the import of foreign goods where the local production of similar goods is insufficient to meet the local demand, as a relief to importers who are experiencing a decline in their trade because of quotas.

Sir, where local production is inadequate to meet local demand for a particular commodity which is subject to quota licensing, a relaxation of quota restrictions is allowed. For instance, the quota on matches was immediately liberalised in December last year from one per cent of 1964 imports to 75 per cent when it was found that there was a shortage of this commodity in the market. There were many other occasions when similar action was taken. The quota on builders' hardware was completely removed in March this year when it became clear that the local factory was going to shut down because of various difficulties. During the Middle East crisis some time this year, quota restrictions on a number of commodities, such as electrodes, cables, galvanised wire and calcium carbide, were immediately lifted to ensure that importers had sufficient stocks to meet demand. Moreover, where there is evidence that a local manufacturer is trying to exploit consumers by either arbitrarily increasing prices or by deliberately reducing production to create an artificial shortage of a commodity, import restrictions have also been relaxed. Undergarments are a case in point. It was discovered that the price of imported garments had been increased, but the local factory did not increase its production. Similarly the quota on wire nails was increased from 10 per cent of 1963 imports to 50 per cent early this year when the two local factories arbitrarily increased their prices. The hon. Member is, of course, aware of Government's action in granting a licence to import 10,000 tons of cement, duty free, when a temporary shortage developed in September. In issues such as these, the paramount consideration is the welfare of the consumer and not the earnings of importers. I have repeatedly informed our business community - and this includes importers - that where we can produce a commodity which we have previously imported, we shall do so. Importers who know the product and the local market are in a good position to enter into a manufacturing venture to produce the commodity. If they fail to do so and suffer a decline in income as a consequence, they have nobody but themselves to blame for not having taken seriously Government's declared policy on industrialisation.

(In Mandarin): According to the Minister, of course, this is very good. But for the local factories which are not producing enough, I hope the quota system will be more liberalised in order to meet the demands of the consumers. Ours is a trading city and we should enable the traders to do their business under better conditions.

Sir, that is precisely the point I was making.

Does the Minister agree that there is always a time lag between the increase in price and the relaxation of quota restrictions during which the consuming public will suffer and the manufacturers will benefit? Will the Minister, in such circumstances, consider introducing more stringent regulations to penalise unscrupulous local manufacturers who take advantage of the special protection given to them by the Government to exploit the consuming public?

Sir, I think it is possible to exaggerate the extent of this problem. There has been a very substantial increase in our domestic manufactures, and the number of instances where shortages developed is very small in proportion to our production. On the whole, I would say that our manufacturers have acted with great responsibility and it is only the odd persons, either deliberately or otherwise, who have caused a shortage of supply. There must be a time lag surely. Otherwise we would have acted before there is any increase in price and we could hardly justify our action under such circumstances.

Will the Minister assure this House that if a time lag arises, he will do something to restrict local manufacturers from exploiting the consuming public? There has been a lot of talk that the public always has to pay double the prices of goods which we used to import in the past, but which are now being manufactured locally. And if this thing is not stopped, I think the public will have no confidence in Singapore manufactured goods.

Sir, I am astounded that a leader of the trade union movement has expressed such sentiments. Is he not aware of the thousands of workers given employment in new industries, or does he want to see these compatriots of his thrown out of work? As for local products costing twice the imported products, I challenge the hon. Member to mention just one product and quote chapter and verse where the local product costs twice the imported product.

asked the Minister for Finance whether he has any proposals to assist the wholesale trade in view of the importance of that trade to the economy of Singapore and in view of the decline in that trade, a situation which is not eased by the practice whereby some local manufacturers do not distribute their goods through wholesalers but sell direct to retailers.

Sir, trade in Singapore, far from declining, is, in fact, on the increase. For the 12-month period ending July 1967, external trade totalled $7,783.3 million which exceeds the volume of trade in 1959, a record year. In the last 12 months, i.e., August 1966 to July 1967, imports have increased by 9.7 per cent and exports by 10.8 per cent over the similar period August 1965 to July 1966. Prospects are therefore very good that 1967 will register the highest ever volume of trade done in the history of the Republic. Reflecting the increase in trade is the amount of cargo loaded and discharged in Singapore. Thus for the 12-month period ending in July 1967, cargo discharged amounted to 17.9 million freight tons. Cargo loaded was 11.4 million freight tons, which exceeds the annual volume of cargo handled in the past eight years. There is therefore no need to give assistance to trade or in any way interfere with the free competition in our trade.

(In Mandarin): Sir, what I asked in my question is about manufacturers selling their goods to retailers direct, which is not the correct way of doing business. Will the Minister answer to the point?

I beg your pardon, Sir.

Dr Goh, if I may paraphrase the Member's supplementary. He would like to know if you will do anything to ease the situation for wholesalers, a situation which is aggravated by local manufacturers selling direct to retailers and not through wholesalers. The Member's apparent concern is in the last three lines of his question.

I see no reason to help wholesalers because if a local manufacturer can cut out one stage in the circulation of his goods, that means the consumer gets his goods at a cheaper price. Therefore, wholesalers who suffer from this should change their occupation to other lines which are more in keeping with their usefulness to the economy.

(In Mandarin): Sir, I do not quite understand what the Minister has said. What I asked is that manufacturers should sell their goods to the wholesalers and not direct to the retailers. I would like the Minister to pay attention to this point. The reason is that manufacturers are producing in large quantities. If the goods are not sold to the wholesalers or the agents, then the wholesalers and the agents will not have any goods to sell to the retailers and consumers. If the manufacturers sell direct to the retailers, what are the wholesalers or agents going to do?

Dr Goh, can you repeat your answer?

Sir, if the manufacturer sells direct to the retailers and does not make use of the wholesalers, it means the services of the wholesalers are unnecessary. There is no point in making use of unnecessary economic services and paying these people. Therefore, if they are out of job, they should go and do something else.

(In Mandarin): Sir, allow me several minutes more to ask another question.

Order. Mr Lee, if you have a supplementary, please ask it. I cannot allow a debate. If you are not happy with the Minister's answer, there are other devices whereby you can criticise the Minister, but you cannot do by way of a supplementary that asks no question.

(In Mandarin): Thank you, Sir. We should look into this situation where many manufacturers are now selling their products direct to the retailers. The manufacturers ought to sell their goods to the wholesalers or agents so that they may make a living. If the manufacturers sell direct to the consumers, to me or to you, how are they going to make a living? They must sell to the wholesalers. It should be the case for manufacturers to sell to wholesalers.

Sir, those who are in the manufacturing business are there in business. They are not charitable institutions to support families of wholesalers.

asked the Minister for Finance how many of the firms and companies that were assisted by the Government when they were affected by Indonesian confrontation and had to lay off workers have since resumed operation; and the extent to which such resumption of operation has affected the employment situation.

The Government did not assist any firms or companies affected by confrontation. Assistance was given not to businessmen but to workers who lost their jobs as a result of confrontation. It is only possible for me to give the total number of firms and companies directly affected by confrontation and brought within the scope of the Economic Defence Scheme established in 1963. All in all, there were some 40 industrial establishments and 18 shipping companies brought within the scope of this scheme. Today 17 of the 18 shipping companies have resumed normal operations, while one shipping company - a small company with only one ship - has closed down. Of the 40 industrial establishments, 18 closed down during confrontation and have not resumed business since. However, new firms have been established in this field. The exact number is not known. In March this year, returns made to the Labour Ministry show that there have been one new shipping firm and eight new industrial firms established in the field of business with Indonesia. As regards employment, these nine new firms employed 776 in March as against 2,063 employed by the 19 firms which closed down.

asked the Minister for Finance in view of the widespread interest aroused by the exchange of trade delegations between Singapore and Indonesia, whether he will make a statement on (a) the latest position in regard to such trade and, (b) the snags, if any, in implementing the trading arrangements agreed upon by the two countries.

The answer to the first part of the question is that, as a result both of the exchange of trade delegations between Indonesia and Singapore and the progress made in normalisation of our relations which has recently resulted in the raising of the respective Missions to Embassy level, trade between Singapore and Indonesia is steadily increasing to our mutual advantage. The answer to the second part of the question is that, from the point of view of Singapore, we do not see any snags and indeed we are implementing whatever arrangements have been agreed to by us. Differences of opinion such as those relating to shipping agreements are being discussed continuously by both sides, both at the commercial and governmental level. In the nature of things, trade relationship is essentially dynamic and we hope to be able to discuss and solve problems as they crop up so as to ensure maximum mutual benefit from such relations.

asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the Government's stand on Vietnam.

Mr Speaker, Sir, the Singapore Government bases its foreign policy on the principle that every nation should have the right to select its own political, economic and social system and its own way of life free from any outside interference or pressure. We believe that mutual respect, non-interference and equality among all nations are essential principles underlining the creation of a stable and peaceful international order. The tragedy of Vietnam is that the conflict between North and South has drawn in also the big powers, so that the war has come to be regarded as confrontation between the big powers themselves. We believe that all those who feel for the sufferings of the Vietnamese people, whether they be in the North or in the South, are anxious that the war should be brought to a speedy end. Many countries, Asian, African and European, have made efforts to mediate in the war but to no avail. If that is so, Sir, I need not add that there is precious little that Singapore can do to help bring the war to a peaceful conclusion. All we can hope is that the outcome can be settled at the conference table and not by enlargement of the war. This calls for restraint and patience on the part of all those directly and indirectly involved in the war in the name of Vietnam.

The following Question stood in the name of Mr Ng Kah Ting - 14. To ask the Minister for Education whether all students who pass the Primary School Leaving Examination this year will be given places in secondary schools; whether he is aware of the many cases in previous years where students were posted to secondary schools far away from their homes; and what steps he will take to prevent a similar situation this year.

Mr Ng has asked that Question No. 14* be stood over. Mr Ho Kah Leong. (* This Question appears as Question No. 2 in cols. 306-10.)

asked the Minister for Education whether he will consider revising the salary scale of teachers who hold foreign university degrees which are not recognised in Singapore and who have completed the two-year training course at the Singapore Teachers' Training College.

Mr Speaker, Sir, the recognition of foreign university degrees lies with the Public Service Commission and not with my Ministry. The provision of the two-year training course at the Teachers' Training College is to enable these hitherto untrained teachers to obtain professional qualifications and thereby become better and more effective teachers. Professional training for this category of teachers is optional.

asked the Minister for Education whether the Government will consider setting up a "South-East Asian Study and Research Centre" to do constant research into the ethnological, cultural, political and historical aspects of the South-East Asian races and people.

Mr Speaker, Sir, the Government has decided to set up an Institute for South-East Asian Studies to carry out systematic research into affairs of South-East Asian countries, their history, geography, ethnography, economics, political science, culture, etc. The site of the Institute and its library will be located near the University of Singapore.

asked the Minister for Health whether he will consider reducing hawkers' licence fees from $10 to $6 in respect of day stalls and from $20 to $12 in respect of night stalls.

Mr Speaker, Sir, it is not possible to consider reducing hawkers' licence fees from $10 to $6 in respect of day stalls and from $20 to $12 in respect of night stalls. The fees referred to apply to day stalls and night stalls in the public streets in the city areas and apply to pitches for the sale of goods, drinks and sundries. They were imposed many years ago and represent nominal charges. Considering the average volume of business transacted at such stalls, this is not an unduly high rate. A review is being undertaken, in conjunction with the Ministry of Finance, of various fees which are charged in respect of all stalls in all markets, street pitches, open pitches, etc., both in the city and rural areas. No piecemeal decision can be taken without having regard to all related fees being charged. It is, however, not likely that a reduction can be effected.

Can the Minister say how many hawkers' licences have not been paid for now?

I require notice of that question.

asked the Minister of Defence whether he is aware that documents submitted to the Immigration Department by applicants for passports have sometimes been returned undesirably folded up, if not torn; and whether he will review the present procedure of handling such documents to prevent this happening.

Mr Speaker, Sir, the documents submitted by applicants for Singapore passports are usually not folded except the marriage certificate, as the present marriage certificate is of larger size than the application form. Before the marriage certificate is folded, prior permission is obtained from the applicants by the counter clerks. A new system has been adopted whereby all documents are recorded on the application forms immediately on application and the documentary evidence returned to applicants immediately.

asked the Minister of Defence (a) how many students, who had been expelled from secondary schools because of their anti-national activities, have been admitted to the National Youth Leadership Training Institute; (b) what is the syllabus and the content of courses of instruction arranged for them; and (c) whether they are satisfied with the reformative course.

Mr Speaker, Sir, of the students expelled from secondary schools because of their anti-national activities, 15 were admitted to a special course at the Institute on 14th August, 1967. The course of instruction includes the study of Communist ideology, systems and organisations, and methods of subversion. In addition, provision is made in the syllabus for physical and cultural activities, and tuition in secondary school subjects. The students are satisfied with the reformative course. This is substantiated by the collective statement produced by them on 11th October, 1967, whereby they renounced Communism, expressed gratitude to the Government for giving them a second chance in life, and pledged loyalty to the Republic.

Can the Minister assure us that they will not be detrimental to the National Youth Leadership Training Institute?

Mr Speaker, Sir, in my reply, I have indicated that they have finished their reorientation course and they are going back to school. Some may be seeking employment. Therefore, the chance of any damage to the Institute does not arise.

(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, can the Minister state why courses on subversion should be taught to these students?

The answer is very simple. It may have been due to their ignorance that they have been exploited by the Communists. For that reason, they have been given a chance to study the course.

asked the Minister of Defence what is the number of registered political parties and whether he has any knowledge as to how many of them are active.

Mr Speaker, Sir, there are a total of 12 registered political Parties of which nine are active. The active political Parties consist of the People's Action Party, the Barisan Sosialis, Partai Rakyat Singapore State Division, the Singapore Chinese Party (formerly M.C.A. Singapore Branch), the Malaysian Indian Congress, the Alliance Party Singapura, the Pertubohan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura (formerly U.M.N.O.), the Angkatan Islam (formerly P.M.I.P. Singapore), and the Persatuan Melayu Semananjong (Peninsular Malays Union). The three inactive political Parties are the United People's Party, the Workers' Party, and the United Democratic Party (Partai Kesatuan Ra'ayat).

Members who have *Questions Nos. 21 to 23, 24 to 27, and Question No. 29 have indicated their desire to have these questions be stood over to Thursday, 2nd November, 1967. That concludes the Questions. (These Questions appear respectively as Questions Nos. 5 to 7 (in cols. 314-7), Nos. 9 to 12 and 13 (in cols. 319-26).) Dr Toh, a Ministerial Statement.

Mr Speaker, Sir, a White Paper on the Report of the Electoral Boundaries Delineation Committee has been presented to Parliament as Command 22 of 1967. The Government has decided to accept all the recommendations made by the Committee with regard to the sub-division of ten large constituencies and the creation of eight new ones with consequential adjustments to three constituencies. It has also decided to merge the electoral division of Southern Islands with the electoral divisions of Jurong, Pasir Panjang and Telok Blangah. The number of electoral divisions will be increased from the present 51 to 58. The Singapore Parliament Elections Ordinance (Chapter 53) provides that each electoral division shall return one member to serve in Parliament. The Constitution of Singapore stipulates a Parliamentary membership of 51 unless it is varied by law. Accordingly, a Bill entitled the Parliamentary Membership Bill will be introduced at the present sitting of Parliament in order to increase the number of electoral members of Parliament above the present membership of 51. This increase will come into effect as from the next general elections. However, for the purposes of the next general elections, it is necessary to publish a Gazette Notification under section 8 of the Singapore Parliament Elections Ordinance specifying the names and boundaries of the 58 revised electoral divisions and to prepare for public inspection the 1967 registers of electors under section 10 of the same Ordinance. In order to enable these steps to be taken, the Parliamentary Membership Bill, 1967, will be introduced at this sitting of Parliament. Another Bill, entitled the Singapore Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill, 1967, will also be introduced. This Bill will amend the Ordinance to provide for the preparation of the first registers of electors from the register maintained by the Commissioner of National Registration and to include in such electoral registers the names of all entitled persons who were, on the first day of July 1967, citizens of Singapore and to whom identity cards were issued. The present registers of electors were first compiled nine years ago in 1958. In the past, any person who possessed an identity card which shows his place of birth as Singapore, or who is ordinarily resident in Singapore on the first day of February in any year and not less than 21 years of age on the first day of July in that year, was automatically included in the registers of electors. It is obvious that with Singapore's independent status only citizens can be given the right to stand for election and to vote. In the recent re-registration campaign of persons, it was discovered that a number of identity cards had been forged. Also, a number of persons with identity cards showing their place of birth as Singapore were not given citizen's identity cards due to lack of adequate proof of Singapore citizenship. For these reasons, fresh registers of electors have to be compiled. The fresh registers of electors will be-compiled from the records of citizens maintained by the Commissioner of National Registration and will include only those persons who produced satisfactory evidence of Singapore citizenship and who, on the first day of July 1967, were entitled to have their names entered in the fresh registers of electors. After the Singapore Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill has become law, a Gazette Notification will be published to specify the names and boundaries of the 58 revised electoral divisions. I will only add, Mr Speaker, Sir, that it is my intention today to introduce only these two Bills and to defer debate on them when the Second Reading comes up on the 14th of this month.

3.24 p.m.

"to amend the Printers and Publishers Ordinance (Chapter 196 of the Revised Edition)", presented by the Minister for Culture and Social Affairs (Inche Othman Bin Wok); read the First time, to be read a Second time on Tuesday, 14th November, 1967, and to be printed.

"to amend the Singapore Parliament Elections Ordinance (Chapter 53 of the Revised Edition)", presented by the Deputy Prime Minister (Dr Toh Chin Chye); read the First time, to be read a Second time on Tuesday, 14th November, 1967, and to be printed.

"to vary the number of elected Members of Parliament", presented by the Deputy Prime Minister (Dr Toh Chin Chye); read the First time, to be read a Second time on Tuesday, 14th November, 1967, and to be printed.

"to amend the Income Tax Ordinance (Chapter 166 of the Revised Edition)", recommendation of President signified; presented by the Minister for Finance (Dr Goh Keng Swee); read the First time, to be read a Second time on Tuesday, 14th November, 1967, and to be printed.

"to amend the Minor Offences Ordinance (Chapter 117 of the Revised Edition)", presented by the Minister for Law and National Development (Mr E. W. Barker); read the First time, to be read a Second time on Tuesday, 14th November, 1967, and to be printed.

Order for Second Reading read. 3.30 p.m.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Over the last few years there has been an increase of unauthorised hawking within the numerous Housing and Development Board Estates, where they ply their trade without order or control, thereby causing health nuisances, litter and obstruction to traffic. Uncontrolled hawking is a menace to the health, sanitation and cleanliness of our city, and in many cases is a traffic hazard. To assist in the more effective solution of the problem, laws have to be updated. In February 1964 a new Hawkers Code was announced and registration of hawkers for the whole of Singapore was initiated. In the first phase, 11,000 pasar malam hawkers were registered followed by the registration, resiting and control of hawkers in the various constituencies beginning with Cairnhill, River Valley and Stamford in 1966. This year a re-organisation of the Cleansing Department was started to control the environment. This involves a four-pronged attack on problems of hawking, public cleansing, mosquito control and general sanitation. With the experience gained in Geylang West, the programme has been extended to three other constituencies, in Anson, Tanjong Pagar and Telok Ayer. The aim of the present Bill is to enable statutory bodies which have hawkers plying within the limits of their estates to exercise powers and control normally vested in the Health Authority. This will enable effective and expeditious action against those who are plying their trade without order or control in these estates. These powers are vested in the Director of Medical Services and his officers, and the proposed amendments are to enable the Director of Medical Services to delegate powers to control hawkers and stalls to a statutory body or statutory bodies as and when it is found necessary. Two sections only of the Ordinance are amended, i.e., section 77 which relates to stalls, and section 78 which relates to itinerant hawkers. These two sections of the Ordinance empower officers to arrest, serve notices and impound properties and articles which are put up for sale by unlicensed stall holders and hawkers. The important amendment is given as an additional subsection (15) to section 78 which extends the definition of public officer, for the purposes of these two sections, to include "any officer of a statutory board or body". In this way any officer of a Statutory Board, such as the Housing and Development Board, can exercise control of stalls and hawkers in their premises or properties. The other amendments made to sections 77 and 78 in each of their subsections (10) are similar to each other. The amendments will enable an officer to impound or seize property or goods of unauthorised stalls or hawkers not only in police stations or Government depots, as provided in the existing sections, but to any "such other places" as may be approved by the Director. These amendments will enable officers of the Housing and Development Board, for example, to impound such seized properties within the Board's own premises. Obviously, Mr Speaker, Sir, it would be impractical if the seized goods have to be carted to a police station or a Government depot. The amendments proposed, therefore, relate only to hawking in the properties of Statutory Boards and do not affect the general authority of the Director or his policy-making powers in the control of hawkers. 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.

3.37 p.m. Clauses 1 to 3 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill. New Clause - "Amendment of Subsection (5) of section 184. section 184 of the Local Government Integration Ordinance, 1963, is hereby amended by deleting the words "five hundred" appearing in the fifth and sixth lines thereof and substituting therefor the words "one thousand five hundred".".-[Mr Lim Kim San] Brought up, and read the First time.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the clause be read a Second time."

Question put, and agreed to. Clause read a Second time and added to the Bill.

It is intended that this new clause be inserted immediately after clause 3. Bill reported with an amendment; read a Third time and passed.

Order for Second Reading read. 3.40 p.m.

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 Medicines (Advertisement and Sale) Ordinance, 1955. In the past few years there have been numerous complaints of undesirable advertisements appearing chiefly in the Chinese newspapers concerning medicines or unqualified persons claiming cures for a wide range of conditions such as sexual weakness, infertility, delayed menstruation, etc. Such advertisements are generally deceitful, misleading, and constitute a danger to the public. Prosecutions under the two Ordinances which may control such advertisements, namely, the Medicines (Advertisement and Sale) Ordinance, 1955, and the Indecent Advertisement Ordinance (Cap. 142), have been difficult and unsuccessful as advertisers have got round the restrictions by using homonyms and synonyms or by claiming medical skills. Careful consideration has been given to this problem before it has reached the present stage of presenting an amendment Bill to Parliament. As far back as 1962, a Committee was appointed by the former Minister under the chairmanship of Dr Gwee Ah Leng, one of Singapore's prominent physicians, to examine the problem and to suggest measures of control with the following terms of reference: - "to study the current undesirable and unethical `cures' and `advertisement of cures', and to suggest measures of control." This Committee made certain recommendations for amendments to the Medicines (Advertisement and Sale) Ordinance to prohibit advertisements of medicines for various ailments and advertisements claiming specific personal medical skills. Subsequently, in the second half of 1966, the Committee was resuscitated under the same chairmanship but with wider terms of reference. I quote the terms of reference, Mr Speaker: - "to study the current unethical, dishonest and undesirable advertisements pertaining to treatment, cures, and to the medical skills of unqualified persons and to suggest measures of effective control." The unanimous conclusions of this Committee extended the recommendations of the previous Committee by reviewing and adding to the list of diseases prohibited for general advertising and by recommending a ban on all advertisements pertaining to medical skills. The Committee also made certain recommendations for the effective control of labelling and importation of drugs. However, these proposals are being dealt with separately by the Controller of Imports and Exports as they relate to his control measures. I would like now to elaborate on the Bill clause by clause. Clause 1 sets out the Short Title and commencement. Clause 2 amends section 4 of the Ordinance by substituting a Schedule in place of the list of conditions and diseases mentioned in respect of which advertisements are prohibited. The Schedule may be amended by notification in the Gazette. This arrangement is obviously less cumbersome than having to amend the Ordinance whenever circumstances make it necessary to amend the list. Clause 3 creates a new section aimed at prohibiting advertisements relating to medical skill or service. Medical practitioners of the Western school are forbidden to advertise by their ethics and this is controlled by a disciplinary body of the profession itself, namely, the Singapore Medical Council. The Chinese Physicians' Association have also officially declared its stand in public against advertisements by medical practitioners of the Chinese school. However, in their case, they are handicapped by the lack of a disciplinary board. The amendment in this section will, therefore, reinforce the hand of the medical practitioners of the Chinese school who will now be able to see their stand reinforced by law. This prohibition will financially affect a number of publications in the Chinese medium, but public interest must supersede private interest, however much we may regret the loss of income to these establishments. Clause 4 amends section 5 of the Ordinance so that the prohibition of advertisements on articles relating to abortion is extended to prohibit advertisements referring to medical skill or service relating to abortion. Clause 5, which amends section 6 of the Ordinance, is consequential on the preceding sections. It tidies up the references made to the various prohibitions so that these are correctly referred to. As part of the tidying-up process, a new subsection is added to provide for reference to the new prohibition of advertisements referring to medical skill or service within this section which sets out provisions as to offences under the preceding sections. Clause 6 amends section 7 of the Ordinance so as to clarify that where the required disclosure of composition of a medicine is written in a language other than the English language, such disclosure must be made in the English language as well as in any other language that may be used in addition to the English language. Clause 7 creates a Schedule of diseases and conditions in respect of which advertisements are to be controlled. This Schedule reviews the list of the various diseases and conditions mentioned in section 4 of the Ordinance. The list is now extended to include insanity, menstrual disorders, sexual function, infertility, impotency and frigidity. The study by the two Committees under Dr Gwee Ah Leng has indicated that the diseases and conditions mentioned in the Schedule constitute the happy hunting-ground of those unscrupulous advertisers who seek to "get rich quickly" by preying on the anxiety and desperation of the unfortunate victims of these diseases and conditions. There are a number of parties likely to be interested in the proposals contained in this Bill, such as doctors, physicians, pharmacists, dentists, importers of Chinese drugs and advertising agencies. It has therefore been decided that this Bill be referred to a Select Committee, if the Second Reading is approved, so that wider consideration might be given to the suggested amendments. Finally, may I say that we owe a duty to the people of Singapore to protect them from further ruthless exploitation of this kind which makes money out of the sufferings and despair of those unable to judge wisely. These amendments will translate an universally accepted principle in the medical code of ethics into a provision in the law of the land. I am confident that the hon. Members of this House will give me their support for the enactment of this proposed legislation. Question proposed. 3.49 p.m.

(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, I fully support the amendment Bill now before us. This is because the introduction of this Bill aims at controlling undesirable and immoral medical advertisements and stopping quack doctors from profiteering and deceiving those people who are suffering from various diseases. This will, of course, give an impetus to those fully qualified doctors and other persons who are professionally qualified to serve our sick people and to promote public health. Mr Speaker, if you turn to the Chinese newspapers, every day you will see from the advertisements that there are so many undesirable advertisements relating to various diseases. There have been a lot of quack doctors blowing their own trumpets in the advertisements to show how efficient they are and that they can turn a sick man into a healthy, robust person. There are gullible people who fall for these advertisements. They not only lose their money, but some of them even lose their lives. So we can see the extent of the harm done by these undesirable advertisements. As a matter of fact, Mr Speaker, we are quite satisfied with the code of ethics of our medical profession and we must also take legal steps to ensure that this code of ethics is observed so that the interest of the public together with that of the medical profession is upheld to the exclusion of those undesirable and unscrupulous quack doctors who poison our people with all sorts of drugs. In this way, Mr Speaker, we can see to it that the good reputation of the medical profession is not damaged, and the health of the public is not jeopardised. Mr Speaker, in point of fact, the rise of these medical advertisements can be attributed partly to the newspapers themselves. They should have some moral responsibility towards their readers. They must know what is right and what is wrong, and cannot do things merely with a view to profiting at the expense of their readers who constitute the public. In my own humble opinion, this amendment Bill will certainly receive the support of the doctors and the professional bodies in the medical field. It will certainly promote the medical profession in our Republic so that the services and medicines prescribed by qualified doctors will be given attention to, without the quack doctors fishing in troubled waters. In this way, we will certainly become a country in South-east Asia with the highest standard in the medical profession. Mr Speaker, I fully support this Bill. 3.55 p.m.

(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, I do not propose to talk too long on this matter. As we all agree, this Bill has been introduced to safeguard the interest of the public and it also indicates that the Government is now paying great attention to this matter. With this amendment Bill I am quite sure that the people of Singapore will have greater protection medically, and they will have one more safeguard against the quack doctors. Another aspect of this Bill is that those who are really interested in the medical profession in Singapore will not have their business affected or jeopardised by the unscrupulous advertising of quacks in Singapore. In this way professionally qualified people will be able to serve the people better and will be able to improve themselves to serve the people. Mr Speaker, I wish to raise one point. The Minister has reiterated just now that the Bill will be enforced against that sector of the Chinese physicians who have resorted to medical advertisements. What I wish to point out is that this should not only be enforced against these Chinese physicians. There are also cases of Western-trained doctors who are guilty of some advertising. I think the enforcement should not be discriminatory. It is my hope also that the Bill will be referred to a Select Committee which will then hear views and representations from the Chinese physicians regarding the causes affecting their profession.

On a point of order, Mr Speaker, Sir. The Western-trained doctors do not advertise. According to the hon. Member for Delta, they have been advertising. No cases have been reported to the Medical Council about Western-trained doctors advertising. I wish the hon. Member will withdraw the remark.

(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, I did not refer to the doctors themselves as individuals. I referred to the pharmacists and the druggists who advertise extensively in the newspapers about the efficacy of their medicine. I think this should also be controlled. I did not refer to the medical profession as such.

The hon. Member was perhaps referring to advertisements in the English Press rather than advertisements by doctors trained in the Western system of medicine.

(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, I personally feel that the Bill should have been introduced a few years back. But it is not too late however. A few moments ago the Member for Delta said that there were extensive advertisements both in the Chinese medical profession and the Western-trained medical profession. As pointed out by Professor Yeoh, Western-trained doctors are not allowed to advertise and the position has been clarified. The main aim of this Bill is to protect the interest of the public, not to protect Western-trained doctors or Chinese doctors or Indian doctors for that matter. We admit that there are drugs advertised in the newspapers manufactured in the Western world. But I wish to stress that in so far as drugs manufactured in the West are concerned, after clinical experiments on them have been carried out and they are approved for use, they are not allowed to be advertised. So this is quite different from the drugs manufactured by the Chinese physicians. Of course, we do not deny the efficacy of some Chinese drugs. But there are cases in which quack doctors or businessmen who call themselves doctors or physicians have advertised in the papers for their own personal gain. The Member for Sembawang has also said that the rise of the medical advertisements should also be attributed partly to the newspapers. But in my own view, the position is not so had as he thinks. I know of one case where one paper was losing business to the extent of some $3,000 a month, and it was proposed by a quack doctor that advertisement to the amount of $3,000 would be given provided the newspaper accepted him as its medical adviser; but this was turned down by the newspaper. So it shows that the position is not so bad as the Member would think. Mr Speaker, as other Members have already pointed out, this Bill should be referred to a Select Committee for further consideration, because even at a random reading now, I can see that there are many loopholes in the present Bill, because some of these quack doctors may not advertise directly but may advertise indirectly. For example, one may say that he has been abroad to give lectures and has been given some award, so that when he comes back, he will be able to serve our sick people better. This is another aspect of advertising and should be given attention. 4.01 p.m.

(In Tamil): Sir, I wish to say a few words on this amendment Bill. Few people have supported it. If we are going to bring in a law on advertisements of medicines, it is not going to affect one group, whether they are Indians, Westerners or Chinese. If there is a law, it is going to affect everybody. The Member for Tampines and others have said that Westerners do not advertise like this. But the law is not like that. Maybe they do not do it today, but they may do it tomorrow. Whether they are Chinese or Indians, they have to obey the law. It is a law for everybody. They may not do it today but they may do it tomorrow. So we have to bring in a law to protect even for the future. It should benefit everybody. If we look into this, the people are cheated in many ways. They have spoilt themselves by taking many kinds of medicine. If we go through the list of diseases listed here, many people may be in favour of taking these medicines. Take, for example, diabetes. It is found in many people who are over 45 years of age. They are anxious to cure the disease and they are prepared to take any medicine, whether it is advertised in the papers or whether they hear of it from friends. I am also affected. That is why I am saying this. I am not taking medicines which are recommended in advertisements but I am taking medicines prescribed by doctors. Many people may be cheated by advertisements. So I appreciate the action of the Government in bringing forward this amendment Bill. It will stop many people from getting themselves spoilt. Even old people, including me, may want to feel younger as they grow older So I may look for a medicine to achieve this. But some people take the wrong medicine and get spoilt. This is an important law but it should not affect one particular group or race. It should be common to all the races.

I am glad we do not have a Standing Order that prohibits advertisement of one's own ailments! 4.05 p.m.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I think the consensus of opinion is that this Bill has great merits, and if at all there is any criticism, it is that it has taken such a long time to come to fruition. We hope that when it is in Select Committee, the Committee will work fast so that everyone will be satisfied.

Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time. Resolved, "That the Bill be committed to a Select Committee consisting of Mr Speaker as Chairman and the following Members: Mr Yong Nyuk Lin Mr Chor Yeok Eng Mr Fong Sip Chee Madam Chan Choy Siong Dr Chew Chin Han Inche Mohd. Ariff Bin Suradi, and Mr S. Rajoo." -[Mr Lim Kim San].

Order for Second Reading read. 4.06 p.m.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." This Bill is designed to incorporate the Rubber Association of Singapore (hereinafter called "the Corporation") as a corporate body. Since its inception in 1963, the Rubber Association of Singapore has been responsible for regulating transactions in the Singapore rubber market. Its responsibilities were inherited from its original sponsors, the Rubber Trade Association of Singapore and the Singapore Chamber of Commerce Rubber Association. The Association not only deals in the day-to-day operation of the clearing house, regulation of trading, shipping and fixing of prices, but also in the fields of contracts, arbitration, packing standards and disciplining of the market. The Association's income depends entirely on members' subscriptions, tender fees and commissions on auction sales. In recent years, the Association's income from these sources has declined. To enable the Association to function effectively and competitively and to maintain and approve the high standards of conduct of the Singapore rubber market, it is clearly necessary that the Association should have adequate finances. With this in mind, the Association approached Government with a proposal that it should be authorised to levy a cess on rubber exportation from Singapore and to use the proceeds of the cess to cover its expenditure. Since there were, however, legal objections to empowering the Association, as incorporated under the Societies Ordinance, to collect a cess, it was considered that the most appropriate means of overcoming these objections was to constitute a Corporation to replace the Association. The assets and property of the Association would then vest in the Corporation. This is offered under clauses 3 and 4 of the Bill. The principal objects of the Corporation are to promote sales and exports of rubber from Singapore, to collect a cess on rubber exports for this purpose, and make rules and regulations governing the marketing of rubber (clauses 4 and 14). The management of the statutory body is vested in a Management Committee, which consists of 15 members, seven of whom are nominated by the Rubber Trade Association of Singapore and seven of whom are nominated by the Singapore Chamber of Commerce Rubber Association. The remaining member is a public officer. It is proposed that this public officer will be the Director of Trade of the Ministry of Finance. This officer will not, however, be concerned with the day-to-day operations of the Rubber Association. The Chairman and Deputy Chairman will be appointed by the Minister from the 14 members of the Committee representing the two component associations mentioned above (clause 10).

4.10 p.m. All the powers of the Corporation are subject to the provisions of the Act and the rules made thereunder, vested in the Management Committee. The Committee will, subject to the directions of the Minister, control the Singapore Rubber Fund which is established under clause 13 of the Bill. All moneys received by the Committee, including the proceeds of any cess collected under clause 14, will be paid into this Fund and the Fund will be used to pay the expenses of the administration of the Committee and for carrying out the purposes of this legislation generally. The accounts of the Fund will be subject to audit. The Minister under clause 14, acting on the recommendation of the Corporation, has power to make orders for the imposition, collection, variation or cancellation of a cess on rubber exported from Singapore. Any orders made by the Minister under this provision are to be published in the Gazette and presented to Parliament. It is made clear in the Bill that all expenses incurred by the Corporation in the administration of this legislation shall be borne by the Corporation. The Corporation may, with the approval of the Minister, make rules for the purpose of this legislation. The Corporation may revoke, amend or add to the rules, but such revocation, amendment or addition will not be effective until ratified by the Minister and published in the Gazette (clause 17). It is intended that the existing Rules of the Association will, with certain modifications, form the basis of the rules to be made under this proposed legislation. This will ensure continuity. assist the Association in its transition to a corporate body, and cause the minimum of disruption to the rubber industry in Singapore. Sir, I beg to move. Question proposed. 4.13 p.m.

Sir, the Rubber Association of Singapore was originally formed by the Rubber Trade Association of Singapore and the Singapore Chamber of Commerce Rubber Association to represent most of the Chinese and European communities in the rubber business. Problems common to both the communities in the trade have to some extent been successfully dealt with by the Association in the past. This move to incorporate the Rubber Association of Singapore as a corporate body with perpetual succession is indeed timely. This intention to provide for the conducting of a rubber market in Singapore, the regulation of the rubber trade and to establish a Singapore Rubber Fund is very commendable in view of the importance of the commodity to Singapore's trade and of the importance of Singapore in the rubber business. But what strikes me most is that the matter does not seem to have been given more careful thought in the drafting of the proposed Bill. Under the present practice, one might become a member of the Rubber Association of Singapore only if he were sponsored by either one of the two component Associations and duly proposed by two existing members of the Rubber Association of Singapore.

4.14 p.m. The proposed Bill now provides for membership to the corporation as laid down in clause 7, whereby any person carrying on or intending to carry on business in such classes of the rubber trade or industry may be admitted. Members of the two existing component Associations of the present Rubber Association of Singapore are automatically members of the proposed Corporation. In view of the fact that under the Bill before the House membership is being thrown open to all and sundry in the trade in accordance with clause 7, I see no reason at all why any member of the Corporation who is admitted in accordance with clause 7 of the Bill needs to be nominated by either one of the two component Associations in order to be eligible to serve in the Management Committee. The proposed Bill sets up a corporate body with wider membership qualifications. It is to be a national body charged with the task of regulating the rubber trade to the best advantage not only to the trade itself but also to the national good. The proposed Bill provides that the Minister has the final say in all appointments. I fully support the Bill, but the fact still remains that members of any organisation should have the right and privilege to nominate from amongst its own members a Committee to manage the affairs of the organisation. I regret to say that clause 10 (2) of the proposed Bill denies members of this proposed Corporation this right and privilege which is rightly theirs. Sir, we are a nation in which every citizen is given equal opportunities. In view of what I have said, I see no justification in granting the Rubber Trade Association of Singapore and the Singapore Chamber of Commerce Rubber Association the sole right and privilege of nominating 14 out of a committee of 15 members to manage the affairs of a corporation which admits members from any one in the rubber trade. Sir, I now propose that paragraphs (a) and (b) of clause 10 (2) be deleted and substituted by the following paragraphs -

Order. Mr Lim, on the Second Reading, only the general merits and principle of the Bill can be discussed. In any event, to move amendments at the Committee stage, you should have given notice under Standing Orders. No notice has been given. Therefore, I am afraid that even it you try to move your amendment at the Committee stage, I may have to reject it. But there is no objection to your making the criticism that you want to make without attempting to move an amendment. Would the Member like to proceed with the debate on the general merits and principle of the Bill?

No, Sir, I would not like to proceed now.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I have listened to the criticisms made by the Member for Havelock. He should note that the Government wants the rubber industry to be run without any disruption and that we want continuity. That is why the present setup is continued in the new Bill. The hon. Member's criticisms will be looked into and considered in due course.

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 Ramaswamy]. Bill considered in Committee.

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

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, In page 2, line 25, after "of", to insert "any". This is a printing error. Clause 2, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clauses 3 to 9 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill.

In view of the matter raised by the Member for Havelock, I propose to give him a few minutes to consider the position. So although it is 4.25 p.m., I propose to take a 15-minute suspension at this stage. Thereupon Mr Speaker left the Chair of the Committee and took the Chair of the House.

I will suspend the sitting now and take the Chair again at 20 minutes to five. Sitting accordingly suspended at 4.25 p.m. until 4.40 p.m. Sitting resumed at 4.40 p.m.

Consideration in Committee resumed.

Clause 10 -

We have dealt with clauses 1 to 9. Clause 10, Mr Ramaswamy. Amendments made: In page 9, line 13, to leave out "Chambers" and insert "Chamber". -[Mr Ramaswamy]. In page 9, line 22, to leave out "Board" and insert "Committee". -[Mr Ramaswamy]. Question proposed, "That clause 10, as amended, stand part of the Bill."

Mr Speaker, Sir, clause 10 stipulates that -

Mr Ramaswamy, any reply? Mr Ramaswamy indicated none.

Question put, and agreed to. Clause 10, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clauses 11 to 20 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill. Bill reported with amendments: read a Third time and passed.

Resolved, "That Parliament do now adjourn." -[Mr Jek Yeun Thong]. Adjourned accordingly at Seven minutes to Five o'clock p.m.

Tuesday, 31st October, 1967

asked the Minister for Law and National Development whether the Government has a scheme for a Phase II Development of the Malay Settlement in the Sembawang Constituency and when it will be implemented.

There are no definite plans for the further development of the Sembawang Malay Settlement. In addition to the 108 sites already allocated in this Settlement, approximately 92 more house lots can be made available if the area is further developed. The estimated cost of filling, site preparation, drainage and roads in respect of the additional area is, however, around $100,000 i.e. more than $1,000 for each plot. The high cost of development, the limited funds available for social development, the need for most effective utilisation of the limited areas available and the number of applicants on the waiting lists have all contributed to cast doubts as to whether further development in the Settlements along the previous lines of individual house lots is in fact desirable. On balance, it would appear preferable if these areas could be more intensely developed by building flats so as to cater for all the many applicants requiring housing.