Hansard, 1968-05-09

2.31 p.m.

"to amend the Development Loan (Local) Ordinance, 1959 (No. 50 of 1959), the Development Loan Ordinance, 1961 (No. 7 of 1961), the Financial Procedure Act, 1966 (No. 13 of 1966), the Development Loan Act, 1967 (No. 1 of 1967) and the Currency Act, 1967 (No. 5 of 1967)", 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 the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.

"to authorise the raising of loans outside Singapore, to provide sums required for the purposes of the Development Fund or for the repayment or amortisation of external loans, and to make general provision with respect to external loans", recommendation of President signified; presented by Dr Goh Keng Swee; read the First time, to be read a Second time on `the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.

"for making Supplementary Provision for the Public Service for the year 1968", recommendation of President signified; presented by Dr Goh Keng Swee; read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.

"to amend the Development Loan Act, 1967 (No. 1 of 1967)", recommendation of President signified; presented by Dr Goh Keng Swee; read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.

"to establish the Jurong Town Corporation and for purposes incidental thereto", recommendation of President signified; presented by Dr Goh Keng Swee; read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.

"to provide for the establishment of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies and for matters connected therewith", presented by the Minister for Education (Mr Ong Pang Boon); read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.

"to amend the Singapore Telephone Board Ordinance (Chapter 107 of the Revised Edition)", presented by the Minister for Communications (Mr Yong Nyuk Lin); read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.

"to amend the National Library Ordinance, 1957 (No. 31 of 1957)", presented by the Minister for Culture (Mr Jek Yeun Thong); read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.

"to provide for the administration of Hindu religious and charitable endowments and to repeal the Muslim and Hindu Endowments Ordinance (Chapter 271 of the Revised Edition)", presented by the Minister for Social Affairs (Inche Othman Bin Wok); read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.

"to provide for the recovery of possession of premises for development purposes where the premises are subject to control under the Control of Rent Ordinance (Chapter 242 of the Revised Edition), for the establishment of a Board to hear applications for recovery of possession of such premises and to assess the amount of compensation to be paid to tenants and sub-tenants on account of such recovery of possession and for purposes connected therewith", 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 the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.

"to provide for the granting of compulsory licences in respect of specified classes of patented inventions and in respect of the making, using, exercising and vending of patented inventions concerned with food or medicine or a surgical or curative device and to provide that the rights conferred by a patent shall not be infringed by the making, importation or obtaining by or on behalf of the Government of any patented medicine or drug for distribution and use in Government hospitals or institutions", recommendation of President signified; presented by Mr Barker; read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available silting of Parliament, and to be printed.

"providing for the extradition of fugitives to and from Commonwealth countries and foreign States and repealing certain Acts and Ordinances and for matters connected therewith", presented by Mr Barker; read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.

"to amend the Constitution of Singapore", recommendation of President signified; presented by Mr Barker; read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.

"to amend the Medicines (Advertisement and Sale) Ordinance, 1955 (No. 19 of 1955)", presented by the Minister for Health (Mr Chua Sian Chin); read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.

2.43 p.m.

Mr Speaker, Sir, we of the P.A.P, have been given a mandate as great as the responsibility that goes with the task. We shall do our best. Singaporeans are a hard-headed people. If we maintain group discipline, if everyone contributes his fullest share of physical and intellectual effort to the fulfilment of our plans, we shall not fail. We can and we shall build up an adequate defence force before the 1st of January, 1972. We can counter recession, expand our economy, train and educate artisans, technicians and the technocrats of our growing industrial and servicing sectors. In the next few years, as British forces withdraw and leave Singapore and Malaysia to make their own arrangements for security, we shall find out whether, as a community, we are like a creeper or a tree. Both the creeper and the sapling need support. But unlike a creeper, a sapling does not need support as it grows older and stronger. It will grow into a tree and dispense with the supporting stake. No amount of aid and assistance, grants and loans, technical assistance and training can do the job which we must do for ourselves. A people who are by nature creepers must, when the stake they have been leaning on is removed, fall and crawl on the ground. If we are that sort of a society, then even with all this brave talk by leaders and encouraging noises by observers and commentators, and all the fine words of comfort and promise of aid, we will still find ourselves crawling on the ground. However, the manifestations of the last decade point to a sapling growing sturdier and stronger as it matures into an upright tree. The stake, which the British presence provided, has enabled sapling Singapore to grow straight and tall without being too buffeted by the winds while it is still young and fragile. We must have that spirit of self-reliance and self-respect as a community if we are to be compared to a tree. To join the growing numbers of countries who beg for alms from the developed countries, would destroy our pride and undermine our self-confidence. Quite a number of countries, after gaining independence, have failed economically and collapsed socially. They lacked one essential quality: self-discipline, either in their leaders, or more often both in their leaders and their people. It requires self-discipline to budget and live within your means, when you can just print more money. It requires self-discipline to maintain the integrity and efficiency of government and administration and to punish and keep down corruption, especially in high places. Self-indulgence would soon lead to personal wealth and security for the few, the political leaders, the military chieftains, and the principal administrators. Whatever the evils of British, French, or Dutch colonial administrations, they provided firm, rigid frameworks within which constructive endeavour was rewarded. Seldom were colonial budgets ever in deficit. They invariably spent less than what they got out of each colony, for colonies were intended to provide profits, not incur losses. They kept stern discipline and stable conditions, sound currencies, good sanitation and healthy conditions. It is sad to see how in many countries, national heroes have let their country slide down the drain to filth and squalor, corruption and degradation, where the kick-back and the rake-off has become a way of life, and the whole country sinks in self-debasement and despair. If the political leadership ever allows Singapore to degenerate into these conditions, then we shall perish. For we have not got that agricultural base where you can scatter seed on the ground, and the soil, the rain and the sun will produce you the rice, the corn and the fruits with which to feed yourselves. On the other hand, with imaginative and intelligent leadership and stiff standards of honest and just administration, we can make maximum use of our resources which are not all that slender. We have not often underlined these valuable resources. Let me enumerate them: First, we have more than average human intelligence, diligence, skills, knowledge and expertise. Second, our superb geographic location at the southernmost tip of the continent of Asia, straddling the route between the Indian and the Pacific Oceans, the northern and the southern hemispheres. We have been important for 150 years as a great sea junction. And for the last 20 years we have also grown in importance as a great air junction. Hon. Members may remember the Maltese Labour leader, Mr Born Mintoff, visiting us in December 1967. A Rhodes scholar, he does not lack perception or articulation. After a few days in Singapore, he said, privately and publicly over radio and television, that Singapore was better off than Malta because Singapore did not have to face the stiff competition that the Maltese face from their neighbours. In other words, the Italians in Naples and Genoa, the Greeks in Athens and the French in Marseilles, all have higher skills and work harder and so take business away from Malta. Changing the passive into the active tense, it means that we work harder, are better organised, and more efficient than many others in the neighbourhood. We sell the same things cheaper, we do the same job for a lower price, and we offer to buy the same produce at better prices than anywhere else in the region. Our third asset is the accumulation of 150 years of infrastructure and experience, in commerce, industry and communications. This does not mean just the physical buildings, the ports, airports, warehouses, roads, banks, shops, power stations, water-works, telephones and cables. More important are the invisibles, the accumulations of knowledge and expertise; how to run the port and the airport economically and efficiently; how to keep up to date with containerised ships and jumbo jets; what banking, money, finance, stocks and shares, bills of lading, and insurance are about; how and what to buy in bulk from the industrial countries and break bulk to retail in the area, and conversely how to buy retail and package in bulk for export to industrial countries. This requires a well-trained professional, managerial and executive elite, supported by a well educated, skilled and industrious working population. Nothing can more emphasise the importance of these three factors than if hon. Members were to consider what would happen if Singapore did not have these three assets: the human resources, the strategic geographic location, and the built-up infrastructure both physical structure and the know-how. Imagine what would happen if we towed Singapore out and left it in the middle of the South Pacific. Instead of two million active and vigorous Singaporeans, you have South-sea Islanders with flowers in their hair, dancing to languorous tunes. Also, instead of having the enormous sea and air traffic, and the stimulus of people bringing new ideas, we have South-sea Islanders lounging on the beach, watching the occasional cargo ship drop anchor. Then we would never have developed what we have: three deep-sea harbours, Tanjong Pagar, with berthing alongside for 30 ships, Sembawang, servicing what was up till very recently one of the greatest navies in the world, the deepwater berth at Jurong, not to mention Telok Ayer Basin, Collyer Quay and Kallang Basin, the earliest harbours in the days of the sailing ships. We would not have four airfields, Paya Lebar, Tengah, Changi and Seletar. Nor a network of roads, probably amongst the best maintained in South Asia, telephones and telecommunications that link us up with one another and with all the major cities of the world, and soon a satellite receiving station. In short, if Singapore were in the South Pacific, populated by South-sea Islanders and not Singaporeans, it would not be able to feed a population of even 20,000 people. But we are not in the South Pacific, nor are we South-sea Islanders. We do not put flowers on our ears, either as decorative ornaments or as fads like the flower people in the West. These assets constitute our inheritance. We must maintain and improve upon what we have inherited. Bustling commercial and administrative centres have been known to sink into disrepair for lack of self-discipline, often starting with the leaders, but invariably infecting the whole population. We have a stable economic and political situation. We maintain sane, orderly and healthy conditions. There was a time not so very long ago, particularly in 1964 and 1965, after the riots when discipline broke down, when it looked as if we might slither down the slippery slope. Organisation and administration became tangled and discipline slackened amongst our workers. Cows roamed the streets in the city, leaving dung all over the place. Some people died driving their cars into cows long before they could die through disease as a result of the filth. Stray dogs, sick, mangy and wild, were becoming a nuisance, a menace. We had the laws changed and enforced. Cows found in the city limits provided food for our welfare homes. Stray dogs were eliminated as efficiently and humanely as possible. We shall not just maintain standards of public health and cleanliness. We must go further and make this the cleanest and greenest city in South Asia. If we want high morale, we must have high standards. If we want high standards, the law must be enforced fairly and firmly. There will be no squatters or beggars sleeping on our pavements doing their ablutions in our drains. People will be housed and cared for. Hawkers will not clog up the main streets. There will be thorough and proper cleansing every day of the year. Laws will have to be passed to help rid us of the malpractices that have crept into our work force. Only a year before last, malingering and shirking and sabotage to create overtime and treble, pay for public holidays was a way of life. Discipline and efficiency must be re-established. Our children will grow up in healthy and clean homes, with adequate ventilation, sunlight, water, electricity and modern sanitation. Many will go to kindergartens even before they begin primary education. All will have at least six years of primary education plus another two years of vocational training. Of the total number admitted to Primary I every year, over 50 per cent go on to complete four years of academic or technical secondary education, over 10 per cent reach University entrance standards; over 5 per cent of the best go on to University and other tertiary institutions. No other community in South Asia offers its people these standards. Nobody believed that Singapore could make it, except Singaporeans. Nobody believed that we had the gumption and the nous. And we are proud of being Singaporeans. And that pride and patriotism will grow over the years as we add to our inheritance: improved and higher efficiency in our harbours and airports, modernisation in containerised facilities and landing aids for longer runways to take the jumbo jets; better housing and more home ownership for our workers, better schools, clinics, community centres, gardens, libraries for their children; more factories and better jobs. We shall build up our defence capacity. We should be able to make arrangements for continuing security in conjunction with those with similar interests. There are possibilities for greater economic growth. The sea offers limitless prospects, some of which we have already grasped in ship repairing and ship-building. They will grow and expand as we develop our skills and expertise, and as our reputation spreads throughout the world. We shall build and run a merchant fleet. We shall go for deep-sea fishing and eventually save about $30 million we spend every year in buying fish from abroad. Our economic growth will be accelerated if we provide ideal conditions for the siting of the headquarters of international industrial, commercial and servicing enterprises. But the quickest way to reduce unemployment is the greater inflow of tourists, for tourism is labour intensive. With Singapore clean and green, exotic and efficient, with good and courteous service, and shops filled with the good things of life, the tourists will flow in from America, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and even Europe, as they do the circuit Hongkong, Angkor, Bangkok, Singapore, Bali and beyond. In the two and a half years since separation, some 35,000 people have moved from Malaya, or West Malaysia, to Singapore, as against some 6,000 from Singapore to Malaysia. If our economy had stalled, this could not have happened. Mr Speaker, Sir, there has been a great deal of uninformed talk about work permits. It is not, and has never been, our intention to withdraw work permits from professional, skilled, or even unskilled workers who do the hard jobs. These people help to increase our Gross National Product. Of the 45,000 work permits, more or less evenly divided between Malaysian and Indian citizens, there are about 6,500 permits for what we call the "easier jobs", namely, the jobs not requiring either special skills or much physical effort. We need these jobs for our own citizens who, as a result of past education policies, are now not suitable for training to become skilled workers. They include a large proportion of our Singapore Malays. They have in the past been educated in schools like Malay primary schools or the Arabic schools without being taught the subjects that are necessary to enable them to be trained as artisans or technicians. But they can do these easier jobs which are now being done by non-citizens. Over the years, through the operation of open market forces, employers may find it more attractive to employ our citizens for these easier jobs. For only citizens are entitled to public housing, medical treatment, and health facilities, social benefits and so on. If we keep up the momentum, far from going down, in the next five to ten years we will not only provide jobs for our unemployed, but also be able to take in a controlled flow of the professionally and technologically trained, the skilled and even those unskilled workers prepared to do the hard and heavy jobs. This has been the experience of all the countries where, with higher education and higher expectations of their own population, immigrant labour was necessary to fill in the lower echelon of their work force, whether it is in Japan with Formosan and Korean workers or in Germany with Spanish, Portuguese, Greek and Turkish workers, or in Britain with all the innumerable problems that Britain now faces as a result of this process of going up the social ladder. I do not believe we will face any of these difficulties, because the people we are allowing in are more or less already very much like ourselves. Sir, we shall have a prosperous, thriving and multi-racial Singapore. And nothing is more infectious than success. In the longer run, it will be the light from Singapore that will radiate hope throughout the region for similar success of other multi-racial communities not unlike us. By example and precept, our success will influence the formulae others are seeking to transform old-fashioned communities into modern, industrialised and affluent societies. Sir, history is a long and unending process. History bears witness to the ascendancy of the more fit and the more adaptable. Otherwise today man, whether he is European, Asian, American, Russian, British, French or Chinese, they would not have fathomed the secrets of the atom and be reaching out for the moon and the stars and beyond. The capacity to learn has played an important part in the ascendancy of man over all other living beings on this earth. It is the brain in man that gave him supremacy over larger creatures. But from time to time in the history of human civilisations, more civilised, more cultivated societies, with higher standards of living, have been over-run and subjugated by barbaric and less advanced groups. So the Roman Empire fell. An so successive Chinese and Indian civilisations were conquered by virile warrior races, who were socially and culturally of a cruder order, and less sophisticated in their social organisations. We must be on our toes all the time. We must never allow this to happen to Singapore through our growing self-indulgent and soft. No one can predict what will happen around us in the region. No one knows what will be the world balance of power in the late l970s or l980s, or whose influence will prevail over South and Southeast Asia. But whatever happens in South and Southeast Asia and in the wider world beyond, we must use the time given us to grow sturdy and strong. Our people have in abundance the capacity to learn and to adjust to changing circumstances. The future belongs to the most adaptable, the most intelligent, and the best organised. We can be counted amongst them. Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move the motion* standing in my name. * The motion reads as follows: That the following Address in reply to the speech of the President be agreed to:- "We, the Parliament of the Republic of Singapore, express our thanks to the President for the speech which he delivered on behalf ofthe Government at the opening of the First Session of this Parliament". Question proposed. 3.12 p.m.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I speak in support of the motion moved by the Prime Minister. In his speech, the President described this Parliament as a "Parliament which is faced with problems of more than usual magnitude" and he finally exhorted hon. Members "to speak in forthright terms to reflect and more important to lead thinking and feeling in the country". And to leave our Republic more flourishing and secure at the end of this Parliament. I am positive and optimistic that we all will give of our best. For this is our country. The people have almost unanimously voted for all the 58 candidates of the P.A.P., of whom 51 were returned unopposed on Nomination Day, to make this Parliament a one-party Parliament! This is not only unique in the history of parliamentary democracy at work; but more important still, it manifests to the world the demonstration of absolute unity on the part of the people in a multi-racial nation of two million to be a people, to be a nation and to survive as one as long as time, in this part of turbulent Southeast Asia. Sir, the Addendum to the speech by the President and also the series of talks given by the Ministers clearly portray the crucial years ahead and what positive steps the Government will be taking to resolve them. Also, what the people and country will have to face in the next five years or more. With the absence of an Opposition, it does not necessarily mean that this Parliament will not make any contribution; in fact, it shall at the end of its life leave Singapore more flourishing and secure. Since there are many hon. Members in this Chamber who will be making solid and constructive comments on the President's Speech, I shall on my part traverse a few topics and leave the rest for my colleagues to deliberate. In this respect, I hope, Mr Speaker, Sir, you will allow me latitude and bear with me if I were to be a bit too specific and detailed in the course of my speech, because details are sometimes necessary to illustrate and emphasise a point. It is reassuring to note that a comprehensive Employment Bill will be introduced and that some of the Ordinances like the Labour Ordinance of 1955, the Shop Assistants Employment Ordinance of 1957 and the Clerks Employment Ordinance of 1957 will be repealed. In other words, the proposed Bill will cut across all sections of the `so many schemes or agreements of employment and will establish one single comprehensive form of employment Ordinance that will regulate and curtail employment benefits. Inevitably, more employment opportunities would result to take in a good number of the unemployed. It is, therefore, opportune and timely to introduce such a form of employment legislation, as Singapore will have to face and live up to the crucial years ahead. The order of the day will be "sacrifice and more sacrifice" and every worker must put in a full day's work for a full day's wage. It is both a commendable and ambitious scheme and can only succeed when the people bravely live up to `the challenge. I am positive we will. However, neither the number of jobs to be created nor the percentage of the total unemployed to be reduced by this piece of legislation is indicated in the Addendum to the President's Speech. I am of the opinion that the trade sector will be unable to take in a considerable number, say, for example, the white-collar jobs. Admittedly this sector will not be a good job-provider. This point has already been explained by the Finance Minister in his Budget Statement in the last Parliamentary Budget session. Therefore, if the introduction of the Bill were to bring about more job opportunities in the fields which I have mentioned earlier, then it might prove inadequate to resolve the unemployment situation. But I do not think the Government is so naive as to introduce a Bill to serve a particular purpose only. As has been briefly described, it is to "increase productivity and promote more industrial growth", therefore the scope would cover a wider field definitely, and this must rightly be so. But again there is the question of how fast can industrial growth be generated or accelerated in order to provide jobs for the thousands of already unemployed and, at the same time, for some 20,000 secondary school-leavers who will be entering the labour market each year. Therefore, industrial growth must take a new dimension if we are to reduce this staggering figure of the unemployed to a manageable number. In other words, this figure must somehow be reduced through industrial growth to manageable proportions so that social discontent and instability may not result. I am particularly happy to see that with the expanding hotel and catering industry, courses will be organised to train people in the know-how of this particular industry. But again I would imagine that only a certain number would benefit. I am no economist, and I do not profess to be one either. However, looking at the ever-increasing number of unemployed in spite of the vigorous efforts the Government has consistently put in, I would be credulous if I were to believe that unemployment could be solved that easily. This has been proved in countries which are both more highly industrialised and well developed. However, given the right thinking and approach, I am optimistic that unemployment will be greatly reduced if real sacrifices are made and everybody plays his part well. In a small way, if the retirement age is limited to 55 years instead of the present 60 years, the chances of job opportunities would increase, though not considerably. Bearing in mind that more than half our population is below the age of 21, this would help ease, to some extent, the unemployment situation if both the private and public sectors retire workers who reach the age of 55. With the younger workers replacing those retired, recurrent expenditure by way of salaries and other emoluments would be reduced. This is a possibility well worth looking into. Mr Speaker, Sir, the Minister for Finance, over radio and T.V, on 30th March this year, talked on "How to beat the slump". He clearly elucidated that the gradual withdrawal of the British defence commitments would mean a reduction in military expenditure to the tune of $900 million between now and 1971. He then went on to explain in general detail how the Government proposes "to prevent this recession". And in his subsequent talk on 16th April on "Economic Growth", he laid emphasis on the increase of economic growth through the entrepot trade, tourism, shipping and the manufacturing industry. These two talks clearly present the complexity and magnitude of the crucial years ahead of us. As I have pointed out, Sir, I am no economist, so I will turn to the next heading "Central Provident Fund". I welcome the proposal to increase the range of contributions towards the Central Provident Fund by including both those employed in the Government and the Statutory Boards as a necessary measure to mobilise domestic savings to be employed to counter recession strategy. This move is both sound and wise. Not only will it bring about an equitable sharing of responsibility by both the employer and the employee to make a must of compulsory saving, but in this case the Government is realistic enough to realise that, by introducing such a move, both the Government and people will benefit directly and indirectly. Directly, it takes shape in the form of compulsory savings that will be reserved for the member-contributor until he reaches retiring age when he will have at his disposal a considerable sum that will continue to ensure him a more secure future in spending his years of retirement. Obviously, he may turn to voluntary social service to the Republic despite his retirement. This is the direct benefit the employee, whether he is from the private sector or public service, will get. Indirectly, with the contributions, of both the employee and employer, the Central Provident Fund will be able to mobilise the use of such funds to counter the recession strategy and promote industrial growth. Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to suggest further that with the introduction of such a proposal, the question of payment of other forms of benefits. In the public service, like gratuities, be abolished. In the field of public service, a civil servant on top of getting his pension also gets his gratuity, the amount of which will depend on the number of years of service he has put in. And if he should be made to contribute towards the C.P.F., then he will benefit in three ways for his services, namely, pension, gratuity and C.P.F, contributions. This should not be the case. Therefore, a scheme will have to be worked out whereby all those already emplaced in permanent service may be allowed to draw a pension upon their retirement and made to contribute' towards the C.P.F, up to their retirement age; maybe a smaller proportion of the gratuity will be paid to them; also those on probation will be made to contribute, say, 73 per cent to 10 per cent of their salary or total emoluments to the C.P.F, and the Government, as employer, will do likewise. Upon his retirement, the employee will receive a lump sum instead, and this will, of course, be bigger than the gratuity that he would have received if he had not contributed towards the C.P.F. I hope this suggestion will deserve consideration in that not only will it help economic growth, but it will also enable a compulsory saving scheme to' materialise in which every employee is made to be a contributor to the C.P.F. With this, Sir, I now come to the problem in which the gap between "the' haves and the have-nots", though considerably reduced, has as yet to be bridged. In other words, the perspective, as I look at, is the provision of social amenities in the rural constituencies like Jalan Kayu and Tampines, or Punggol for that matter. Although much has been provided for them by way of electricity and water supplies and better roads and drainage, I am of the opinion that a lot more will have to be done so that the facilities as such that are being enjoyed by the urban population will by the best possible means be also made available to the rural population. In this respect, I propose to deal with the problem by items: - I refer first to electrification scheme. No doubt a good part of Punggol has been electrified; there are, however, certain remote areas where the population is sparse and for which such supplies are not available. As I understand it, it is because of the heavy costs that will have to be incurred that they are prevented from enjoying this facility. I suppose that several million dollars are needed to electrify these remote villages or kampongs in the various rural constituencies. But if I may ask, what is several million dollars compared to spending fifty million dollars to build a National Sports Stadium complex as Kallang where I am sure, Sir, not all the two million people will benefit. Therefore, I would plead that the Government do consider my point, as many requests have been made and some have yet to be acceeded to. I now turn to water supplies. I wish to make a similar plea on supplies of water. A national exercise is being carried out to remove as many public standpipes as possible. This, I understand, resulted from public wastage and indiscriminate use of water and the Government has to pay as much as $1.5 million to $2 million worth of water consumed at these standpipes each year. But before the standpipes are removed, plans will have to be prepared for the laying of water mains to the kampongs and connection of water supplies to the homes will have to be encouraged. Again, Sir, I must emphasise that such supplies should also be made available to the remotest kampong. For example, I have in my constituency several remote kampongs which up till today have yet to have such supplies, let alone having a stand-pipe to share. Why is this so? [Interruption] That is because the hon. Member's constituency is urban and he does not need standpipes. In my area it is much larger; probably ten Stamford parliamentary divisions can be put into Punggol. Sir, it is simply because laying a water main to these remote areas would entail high costs. Therefore, how long have these people to wait before they are given the supplies? However, it is indeed reassuring to note that with the commissioning of the Johore River Waterworks and the commencement of the Seletar Project, water supplies will be immensely increased. It is thus my hope that the rural folks in such areas will not have to wait too long and that their needs will not be forgotten. I would go on to suggest that a scheme be drawn up with a view to ensuring that water supplies be made available to the remotest village or kampong in any rural constituency, probably Choa Chu Kang, as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance, was trying to catch my eye. Now that he is on the Government Bench, he finds it difficult to bring up such matters. This scheme or project may not sound workable in view of the high costs, but if it is carried out, it will close the gap between the "haves and the have-nots" by a step closer. Primary production takes my attention next. It is also reassuring to note that the farmers will continue to be taken care of through the provision of services and advice to enable them to increase their farm products and reduce production costs. It appears vague in the Addendum, Sir, and I would like to know how this is to be done. As land availability is limited, intensive and diversified farming becomes essential to sustain this part of our economy. Maximum utilisation of the land available for farming activities to increase farm products must result. The outmoded form of farming must give way to modern techniques. The building of more farm schools in centrally-located farming areas for the training and teaching of correct farming techniques is essential. Otherwise, farming as a means of livelihood will not attract those handicapped educationally, so to speak, to take to farming. And in that case the dependence on farm products from the countries outside the Republic will become greater. Sir, it is becoming more apparent that more and more land which were once zoned for agricultural purposes are today fast disappearing, for many an area has given way to other forms of development. If such is the case, there will come a time when farming will cease altogether. I hope this will not come about and that every possible step will be taken to preserve such lands for farming activities, for their products have been helping our national economy in no small measure. That the fisheries industry is being catered for and that considerable efforts are being made towards the training of a new generation of fishermen both off-shore and deep-sea fishing deserve some comment. At present off-shore fishing is carried out mainly by otter-trawlers ranging from five to 15 tons and manned by crews from five to 10 persons. Whilst noting that steps are being taken in this direction, I find again in the Addendum no safeguards or protection for our trawlers; simply because marine patrols are lacking and neighbouring countries have extended their territorial waters from three to 12 miles. Therefore, some form of arrangement should be made between these countries to allow free passage of our trawlers in their fishing pursuits, not forgetting that Singapore is a small State surrounded by water and also surrounded by other countries. This is a "fishy" problem, because we have neither a Navy nor adequate marine patrols to patrol satisfactorily our territorial waters to give the necessary protection for our trawlers and fishermen when they go out to the open sea to make their living and to make a safe return. Hon. Members in the last Parliament will remember the occasions when it was brought to light that a number of our trawlers and fishermen had been apprehended or held to ransom by pirates just outside international waters. What then would be the safeguards and measures the Government will take to ensure our fishermen a free- from-hindrance fear when they take to sea? This is the crux of the problem. Providing the necessary know how, technique and training for a new generation of fishermen is not so much of a problem; the real problem lies in what I have just pointed out. Under the heading "Primary Production and Urban and Rural Services", the second paragraph outlines the expansion of the fishing industry. It is interesting to note that a Fisheries Wharf and Central Fish Auction Market are being constructed to provide a system of fish landing, marketing and distribution at Jurong. To date, Sir, I would like to know of the number of deep-fishing companies set up and the total capital invested. Also, how are we to make full use of the facilities in attracting larger fishing vessels to discharge their catches here? In other words, what depth of study in this particular field has been made and what proportions would it benefit us? I am not being pessimistic about the project. As we are in the process of training a new generation of fishermen for both off-shore and deep-sea fishing which no doubt will ultimately help in the economic growth, we will continue to have to depend largely on the import of fish and maybe fishing vessels from other countries to discharge their catches at Jurong. If this is the case, then we may envisage the need to build a fish-canning factory near the market. Mr Speaker, Sir, since I have mentioned the National Sports Stadium earlier, I would like to obtain some form of assurance and information regarding this complex. I understand that $50 million will be needed to put up and complete this complex. Once it is put up, I hope I can be ---

For a rugged society!

Once it is put up, I hope I can be assured that it will not turn out to be a "white elephant". Also what contribution will this National Stadium make in the field of sports? How often will it be used, and how will it help towards the building of a more robust and rugged society, as has just been mentioned by the Member for Changi? Therefore, justification must be made "to get full value for every dollar spent". May I, Sir, now come to my last point. I refer to the last paragraph in the Addendum sub-titled "Family Planning" under the Ministry of Health. No doubt it is a short paragraph but if one were to read it carefully, one finds that "family planning will be prosecuted with greater vigour". I have already expressed my views on this matter when I commented on the Government's White Paper on family planning and this is contained in the Hansard, Vol. 24, No. 4, dated 15th December, 1965, in columns 171 to 173. I am astounded to know that "family planning will be prosecuted with great vigour" and will be "augmented by the . .legislation to legalise abortions and the voluntary sterilization of persons". I am not in favour of it and I shall reserve my comments until the Bill is introduced. Finally, Mr Speaker, Sir, I have earlier stated that I shall deal with only a few topics and leave the rest to my colleagues, the Backbenchers. I have also pointed out at the beginning of my short speech that we are one people, determined to face the future in spite of the crucial years ahead and to be a nation. I am confident that we will continue to survive, come what may. 3.53 p.m.

Mr Speaker, Sir, the workers of Singapore are fully aware of the crucial years that are coming ahead. There will be a lot of problems to be solved. We are confident that the workers will be able to face these problems and to co-operate with the employers and the Government to solve them. Everyone is aware that the British Government will be withdrawing their military forces from the Singapore Base by the end of 1971, thereby causing a lot of unemployment. About 30,000 of the workers there will lose their jobs. In addition to that, thousands of our young school-leavers are still seeking jobs. In other words, the unemployment problem will be more acute and more complicated, and unless the workers, the employers and the Government co-operate with each other, it will be very difficult to solve this problem. In view of all these difficulties and problems that are coming ahead, the Government is introducing a comprehensive Employment Bill. Of course, the object of this Bill is to standardise and regulate the terms and conditions of employment of all employees, to standardise working hours of 44 hours per week for all employees, to regulate overtime work, to enable a wider spread of employment, to limit certain fringe benefits, to lessen abuses, increase productivity and promote more industrial growth. All these objectives are quite acceptable. What we hope, before the Bill is passed, is that representations from the workers' side will be seriously considered and accepted so that no one side will be favoured. The workers in Singapore have, during the past few years, been very co-operative with the Government. Industrial relationship between workers and employers has been very good and we are determined that this good industrial relationship should carry on so that it will be beneficial not only to the workers but to the employers as well. Sir, we appreciate the importance of greater economic growth, higher productivity, elimination of restrictive practices and abuses of fringe benefits and more efficient management. We agree that, in the national interest, the workers should sacrifice as much as possible. Also, we expect the employers to make sacrifices as well. The N.T.U.C., at its last Annual Delegates' Conference on the 7th of April this year, unanimously passed a resolution to give our full co-operation to the Government. In other words, we are very sincere and we openly agree to co-operate with the Government, especially with the coming of this new Employment Bill. But we are surprised that at this very moment the employers' side is still keeping very quiet. We hope they, the employers, will be able to come out with a public statement that they will co-operate fully with the workers as well as with the Government. I think it is a well-known fact that the abuse of fringe benefits, or whatever they may be, lies not only on the side of the workers. Employers also abuse the fringe benefits. In other words, not all employers are saints and not all workers are angels. Just because of a small percentage of workers who deliberately abuse the fringe benefits, I hope this new Employment Bill will not be taken as a punishment to the rest of the good workers. I sincerely hope that the increase in working hours to a standard 44 hours per week, will help employers increase productivity and at the same time enable them to engage more workers. I hope that, with the workers agreeing to the increase in working hours, employers will not take advantage by retrenching employees, because in every company, there is a limited number of workers and some employers may take advantage of the new situation. With regard to increase in productivity, it is not merely a question of increasing the working hours. There are other necessary factors to achieve increased productivity. For example, there must be good industrial relationship between employers and employees, good wages and conditions of employment, good management, personnel and efficient supervisors. One of the best ways to achieve increased productivity is to give certain incentives to workers, like incentive bonuses. In the last few years of the N.T.U.C, leadership, industrial relationship between workers and employers has been very good. There are more enlightened, intelligent and responsible trade union leaders who are able to settle industrial disputes and negotiate for good collective agreements by knowing the capacity of the employers to pay. The old techniques of slogan-shouting and wild-cat strikes are now out of date and not practised by enlightened trade union leaders. The workers fully support regulation of overtime because it is not good for some workers to score so much in over-time while there are many people who are unemployed. So I sincerely hope that by regulating overtime, employers will be able to engage more workers so that there will be less people unemployed in Singapore. We now have a scheme to train workers in all the services in view of the withdrawal of the British military forces. I hope that this kind of training can be extended to a selected number of unemployed people, because a good number of them are still unable to get jobs, although they have registered their names in the Labour Exchange for years. In giving them a chance to join the training programmes, a person registered as a clerk may perhaps be able to be trained as a technician and get a job as such. We now come to the question of fringe benefits. For a number of years, union leaders have struggled for and managed to get whatever fringe benefits we now have. With the coming of the new Employment Bill, we hope that there is a possibility of leaving as they are whatever agreements there are between employers and employees if there is mutual agreement on both sides. It is painful that after struggling for so many years we have to sacrifice many of the fringe benefits. I would like to say that it is most welcome to know that the Government intends to encourage workers to own their own homes. In view of the increase in contributions to the Central Provident Fund, I hope that most of the workers in Singapore will take this opportunity to own their own homes. Mr Speaker, Sir, we have been told by the Prime Minister that we have to establish a very good industrial climate in Singapore to attract foreign investors to establish their business here so that more people will get jobs and our industrialisation programme will be more successful. Of course, the new Employment Bill will be passed in due course subject to discussions between employers, employees and the Government, and after hearing the views and recommendations of all parties concerned. With the passing of the new Employment Bill, we hope that more foreign investors will come here and engage workers in Singapore. I think it is known throughout the world that Singapore is the best place for investment due to its good and incorruptible government. There is political and economic stability. There are intelligent and sensible trade union leaders. There are facilities available, such as shipping, banking, insurance, communications, etc. Such facilities, to a certain extent, will attract foreign investors to Singapore. Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to conclude by giving the assurance that the workers in Singapore will fully co-operate with the employers and the Government to build a happy and prosperous Singapore. The people of Singapore have the will, determination and capacity to succeed in spite of whatever difficulties that may arise. We are sure that we will be able to succeed. Mr P. Govindaswamy (Anson) rose -

Mr Govindaswamy, I think it is a convenient time to suspend the sitting now. I will take the Chair again at forty-five minutes past four o'clock. Sitting accordingly suspended at 4.11 p.m. until 4.45 p.m. Sitting resumed at 4.45 p.m.

Mr Barker, I believe you have a business motion?

Mr Speaker, Sir, may I seek your consent and the general assent of hon. Members to move a motion to suspend Standing Orders to enable Parliament to adjourn earlier than eight o'clock tonight, namely, at a quarter to seven?

I give my consent. Do I have the general assent of hon. Members for the motion indicated by the Leader to be moved? Hon. members indicated assent. Resolved, "That notwithstanding the Standing Orders, this Parliament doth adjourn tonight at a quarter to seven." - [Mr Barker].

Debate resumed. 4.47 p.m.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I am happy to join the Prime Minister in thanking the President for his speech. The Prime Minister and, indeed, several other Ministers have spoken of the crucial years ahead and that they cannot afford to be naive nor ingenuous. The President in his speech laid emphasis on three important points, namely, national defence, economic growth and national consciousness. In respect of the second point, that is, economic growth, both the Minister for Science and Technology and the Minister for Finance in their recent speeches stressed the need for managerial and technological advance in industry. I agree wholeheartedly with them. If these advances are to be fostered, it follows logically that we should harness the natural talents of our youths and provide them with the necessary training to become scientists, engineers, managers or technologists. Mr Speaker, Sir, I wish to draw the attention of this House to the large sums of Government money being spent on the training of medical personnel. It is generally known that, because of the status symbol of doctors and because of the lucrative income of the medical profession, the Medical Faculty of the University of Singapore has attracted and is continuing to attract the top layer of the cream of our H.S.C, graduates. The Medical Faculty takes in about 70 to 80 of our best H.S.C, graduates every year and we are spending on each student about $7,000 each year. This means that we are investing about $42,000 in every medical student if he graduates within six years. While I hold a good doctor in the highest esteem and while I agree that we need good doctors to maintain our high standard of health, I wonder if some of this top talent could not be better utilised in ship-building, engineering and other industries of top priority. Mr Speaker, Sir, unemployment is an urgent and serious problem that is constantly troubling our minds. Even before the British decided to withdraw their forces, we had tens of thousands of school-leavers joining the unemployment ranks every year. Now with the impending withdrawal of the British Forces from Singapore, this problem will become even more acute. In this respect, the Minister for Science and Technology has said that education must now be regarded as a means towards increasing one's usefulness in society and as a means of obtaining rewarding and satisfying employment. He has also said that emphasis should move from the white-collar to the blue-collar jobs. I agree entirely with him. But I would like to know how and when he is going to implement this change. Is he considering changes in the many adult education classes which are preparing students for repeat attempts in the School Certificate and the H.S.C. examinations? These classes are, in effect, producing more white-collar workers while the need is to produce blue-collar workers. Many of these classes are being conducted by teachers who are already engaged in day schools, thus providing earning opportunities to those who are already in employment, whi1st the number of unemployed persons is increasing by leaps and bounds every year. Besides that, the employment of full-time day teachers in the adult education night classes deprives younger children in the day schools of effective teaching, for full-time day teaching followed by extramural activities and then followed by night teaching hardly leaves the teacher any time to prepare his lessons properly. Further, Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to know whether the Minister, in his efforts to resolve the unemployment problem, is considering the withdrawal of married women from employment. If so, perhaps he should spare married women in the lower income bracket. I now wish to turn to the Finance Minister's speech on 30th of March, 1968, wherein he gave a clear analysis of how he intended to counteract the recession created by the impending withdrawal of the British Forces. I must congratulate him on his very careful and exact conclusions. However, although he was aware of the magnitude of the import leakage, he did not elaborate on how he could keep this to the barest minimum. Obviously he was mindful of the need to encourage the use of local products in place of imported goods. Although it is often said that the Singapore consumer market is small, yet the Minister disclosed that about 60 per cent of consumer expenditure leaves for places abroad. That is, it is spent on imported goods. This means that, despite spectacular capital investment in industry, ranging from $20 million in 1961 to $404 million in 1967, only 40 per cent of consumer expenditure has been captured. It, therefore, seems that there is still plenty of room for industrial expansion in consumer goods alone. But in order that locally-manufactured consumer goods can capture the local market, it is necessary that our local manufacturers should convince the public that their goods are comparable in quality to imported goods and that they are cheaper. Mr Speaker, Sir, I wish to stress that whereas the encouragement of local industry will conserve foreign exchange and create more employment opportunities, it is essential that prices be kept as low as possible. The profit margins of industrialists should be closely examined by the Minister. I am aware that investors in industries expect the best returns from their investments, but unless their profit margins are kept to reasonable proportions, the cost of living will go up and all our efforts in encouraging local industries would seem to benefit only the factory owners. The Minister for Finance on 16th April, 1968, disclosed his plans to develop economic growth in four main fields, namely, the entrepot trade, tourism, shipping and the manufacturing industries. His study of the tourist trade is most commendable and I wish him every success in his attempt to establish Singapore in the Pacific tourist circuit. Mr Speaker, Sir, there are two types of tourists coming into Singapore. One type is the American soldier from the Vietnam war theatre. He comes here to rest. For him a comfortable hotel, good food and good recreational facilities would be all that he would ask for. The other type is the average tourist who comes here for sight-seeing. I am aware that the Tourist Promotion Board has a fleet of sight-seeing buses to take tourists on conducted tours. But I would like to know if the advantages of our multi-racial and multi-cultural society and our natural vegetation, such as rubber plantations, pineapple plantations and coconut plantations, have been fully exploited and developed for sight-seeing to attract foreign tourists. Promoting tourism abroad is of no use, if, when a tourist comes to Singapore, he finds nothing to see. Therefore, the Tourist Promotion Board should concentrate their efforts on promoting more attractive facilities on our island for the tourists. Finally, Mr Speaker, Sir, I hope the Hon. Minister will take my remarks in good spirit, for I was indeed prompted by the Prime Minister in his speech here on Monday to speak my mind. May I once again endorse the Prime Minister's thanks to the President for his speech. 4.59 p.m.

Mr Speaker, Sir, may I express my warm support basically for the measures that this Government will implement in the crucial years ahead, as outlined in the President's Speech, in the addendum to the speech by the President, and in the Ministerial broadcasts entitled, indeed, "The Crucial Years". May I also, however, enter some observations on portions of the documents referred to, respectful as I hope I am of the President's injunction to speak in forthright terms. It is likely that my comments will focus themselves on particular details of implementation of Government's measures in respect of one or two Ministries, details which may have already suggested themselves to the officers of the Ministry concerned or the Ministers themselves; but I feel that certain problems must be underlined so that the fullest attention is given to them. I note, and I note with feelings of congratulation, that in education one of the targets of Government's attention will be a reorganisation of the secondary school system to divert a much larger number of students to technical education and vocational training. It is hoped that the selection of candidates, especially for vocational training, will be on the basis of a scientific assessment of their potential for this type of development. I make this point because customary attitudes in the past have resulted in drop-outs from the academic stream finding themselves saddled with vocational training as a rather poor and second choice. Such outcome has been somehow or other based on the dimly-conceived assumption that if one is no good for a white-collar occupation, then why not give training (or so-called training) for a blue-collar job a desperate bash? Mr Speaker, Sir, the country needs in the field of vocational training, as much as in the field of technical education, the optimum potential that it can recruit, not pupils who will enter their training tasks with a consciousness of their having failed in some other educational sector. We want our factories and industrial workshops manned by people assured of their capacities and confident of their skills - not by people who are apologetic about their academic short-comings. It is hoped, also, that the type of training given will be sufficiently flexible to allow our technical workers and technicians to be adaptable to quite certain scientific changes in the future. Confident as I am of the far-sightedness of our Government, I am sure also that the creative side of the development of our workers will also be seen to. So that not only do we adapt technically to changes imposed on us somewhat from the outside, but that we may initiate these adaptations ourselves for our own benefit. May I express my view that the new direction of emphasis in our educational policy (from the academic to the technical-vocational) will achieve the highly desirable result of largely removing from our educational system the unpleasant feature of many pupils being, in the final analysis, coached for failure in examinations. The diversification of our educational system will, I hope, provide opportunity for pupils of varying aptitudes to develop those capabilities which can be best developed to the satisfaction of the individual and the welfare of the State. In this connection, it should also be hoped that there will be such qualitative improvement of our examinations system as will not result in examinations being the principal, if neurotic, goal of classroom endeavour. I remember reading a speech several months ago by one of our Ministers who gave it as his opinion that certain subjects in the curriculum could well be removed from the compelling grip of the examination syndrome. In my opinion, this is a most fruitful line of thinking. Perhaps we could further exercise better control over the effects of our examinations policy if we conducted all our examinations ourselves, whenever we have, at all, to conduct examinations. If we were to apply a cost-benefit analysis to the suggestion that we have our own school-leaving examinations system in the English stream, and if we were to take all factors into consideration (and not only those particularistic factors pertaining to immediate financial expenditure and administrative convenience), we might find our own examinations system a more economic and educationally productive proposition. With regard to the question of bilingualism in schools, I endorse the principle outlined in the relevant sections under the heading "Ministry of Education", of the Addendum to the Speech by the President. I must emphasize, however, my view that knowledge of the principal medium of instruction must be carried to the highest standards of sophistication possible and desirable in relation to the appropriate levels of schooling. For example, Sir, one of the reasons why many of our English-educated youths are so hazardously exposed to the fads and blandishments of the mass-media in English is that their command of English permits them only to respond to base appeals in basic English. Many of such youths are not able to assimilate superior cultural notions that could come through the English medium simply because their ability to use this medium is just not adequate. On the question of quality at all levels of education, may I suggest that every encouragement be given to the setting up of an educational research organisation which, while it is in a responsible way sensitive to the needs of our educational situation, should be independent of administrative control by civil servants in the education sector. May I hasten to add that I have, in general, a profound regard for the professional competence of our educationists who are also administrative civil servants. And their expertise and experience would be valuable in research projects. But their resources should be made available for research purposes in an undivided fashion, and they should not be exposed to the possibility of bureaucratic considerations affecting the direction of their research recommendations. It may be feasible for our institutions of tertiary education and the Teachers' Training College to be jointly involved in this research enterprise, by way of an Institute for Educational Research, to which could be seconded officers from the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Science and Technology. A Cabinet Committee will now exercise supervision over crucial aspects of our education policy. Whatever the planning that is worked out, I must say, even at the risk of appearing trite, that it is basically the teachers in our schools who will be the human operatives on whose performance and contribution will depend the success of the plan. Mr Speaker, Sir, I wish to stress that I want to express myself as cautiously as possible, but I must say that it is my belief that not enough of the potential enthusiasm and zeal of teachers have been released towards the vigorous improvement of our educational system. When plans are laid, not enough of the opinion of the rank and file has been solicited. There are scarcely any devices or procedures whereby the feelings and views of those who are going to work the educational system are sought. Without discussion there cannot be that full and wholehearted commitment, that understanding zeal that is necessary to galvanise our educational system into ever-ready responses to the needs of our society. Whenever decisions are made, whenever plans are laid, we need more than a resigned acquiescence to these decisions and plans. We need the participation of our teachers in the thinking out of our problems. In the last few years I have had occasion to receive feedbacks about the quality of our teachers. I must say that where those of our teachers are concerned who have finished their training and have had experience enough to be matured in the process of exposure to the joys and tribulations of teaching, they are adequate in their knowledge, competent in their practice (where circumstances allow scope for pedagogical application), and potentially alert to the possibilities of improvement. In other words, our experienced teachers would compare favourably with their counterparts in other societies which have a more sophisticated educational set-up. We have achieved remarkable progress in the provision of educational opportunities for our children. This is a matter for profound congratulation. I am sincere and I do not wish to be taken as being condescending in this matter. In quantitative terms the target has been achieved, but in all the tremendous drive to achieve this physical triumph, have we jettisoned certain important psychological considerations pertaining to the need of teachers to feel that they are given adequate recognition of their role in the educational progress of our society? Do our teachers feel mere cogs in the educational machine that has been grinding out more schools, more laboratories, more equipment, more students even? Are they just being fed and perhaps fed up with directives and expected to respond to these impersonal instructions? It is possible that in the near future we may want to make further demands on our teachers, in the national interest. Let our planners enter into a dialogue with those who are going to implement plans. When an idea, for example, strikes our planners that senior members of the teaching profession require civic or political orientation, do not let these teachers be gathered indoors and lectured to for hours with little respite, and with even less respect for the fact that they are teachers who have been taught to make lessons interesting and pupil-centred - and here they are in a situation where scant consideration is paid to basic canons of teaching practice. If we wish to change attitudes, then we must have discussion. Exhortation, purely and simply as such, is going out of fashion even from the pulpit. Over the past two or three decades especially, studies in social psychology have very plausibly and, to my mind, quite conclusively indicated that when people participate in discussion, they are more ready to change their behaviour when they move out of this discussion context than when the channel of communication has been a one-way process. Because also in a discussion context, people have the opportunity for their human worth to be given recognition. Therefore, I say, Sir, let us structure devices and generate the mood and style, as a result of which our teachers can have opportunity for discussion among themselves, and transmit thoughtful proposals to our educational planners. I have already mentioned what I consider to be the necessity for an independent educational research institute. It may be possible for there to be attached to this institute an educational liaison council which would be responsible, on a continuing basis for the reception and processing of memoranda, which could ultimately indicate fruitful lines of practical and productive educational investigation. We wish all our citizens to be habituated to the democratic procedures of thoughtful discussion, wherein respect for the opinions and potential contribution of others may be a significant feature. Why not act with our teachers who are key people in the inculcation of healthy attitudes in our children? At the same time, measures should be taken to see that in the classroom our pupils are not simply being made recipients of information from their teachers. One aspect of education, perhaps not given sufficient consideration in the past, is the necessity to get our children to ask questions, and not simply lap up devotedly what the teacher says as the last oracular word. That discussion techniques seem to be notable rather by their absence from the educational scene has been brought home to me with some force on several occasions. When discussion time comes up, for example, in adult education classes, there is a vast sticky silence. On one occasion when I had a chat with some senior teachers and I suggested to them that perhaps they could institute certain discussion procedures in their classrooms, they agreed that it would be a good idea, but said that the cultural shock to their pupils would be so great that they would not know how to handle their classes after that! May I now, Mr Speaker, carry the point I am making about the necessity for discussion opportunities a little further. I have said that our teachers need discussion opportunities and our pupils need discussion opportunities. I would say that our citizens need discussion situations to be structured for them. We read in the Addendum to the President's Speech, under the heading "Ministry of Culture": `To get our people better prepared and to participate more in the immense national effort required in the crucial years ahead, the mass media of Radio, Television and publications will be improved and expanded.' It is intended that our mass media "will not only inform, entertain and educate but will also stimulate patriotism, public-spiritedness and the importance of increased productivity." Sir, may I suggest that an important ancillary to propaganda through the mass media - and I must stress that I am using the term "propaganda" in its neutral sense, without any pejorative implications - is adult education. In conjunction with the mass media, listening and viewing groups could be encouraged in our community centres, in the premises of voluntary organisations, in schools in respect of teacher-parent gatherings. Other aspects of systematic public education could also be encouraged. Sir, we are inculcating in our children in schools various attitudes and mores which we feel will help our national effort. At the same time, many children get little social reinforcement of these attitudes in the home. We want our children to exercise wisdom in their vocational choice. Yet parents with traditional views may insist on their own outmoded predilections. I hope the following may not be too trivial an anecdote for the House, but in a conversation with a school's dental officer, I was told that while our dentists are teaching our children healthy care of their teeth, some parents do not provide their children with tooth-brushes. [Laughter]. I am not intending to strike a note of levity, Mr Speaker, Sir, because I notice that in the section devoted to "Health", there is a paragraph referring to dental care. This little anecdote which I related just now has some bearing on what we intend to do. While we urge our children to help to make our city beautiful, these same children may be living in circumstances which are far from being aesthetic. It is highly desirable, to my mind, that continuing educational opportunity be afforded the parents of our children so that any discordance between home and school may be eliminated; not only this, but that indeed an understanding of public issues may be generated. In order to achieve this, more devices must be resorted to, besides the mass media. I would like to enter a mild caveat against exaggerating the effectiveness of the mass media as a means of communicating a specific message, especially in the circumstances of a free and open society like ours. Any teacher will be able to say that at any juncture of a teaching activity, it may not be the information that he is trying to impart which is percolating through. The pupils may be more interested in distracting background items, such as the way he dresses or the unerased diagram on the blackboard. In the case of the mass media also, full attention is not guaranteed, and it may be that other features are coming across besides the intrinsic information that it is desired to convey. Where any medium of communication is concerned, it is the whole medium that is the message. Adult education, therefore, has to come to the aid of the mass media to stimulate awareness and committed concern for our problems. It is easy to see from the experience and history of other countries how adult education has been brought to the service of national construction. In England, for example, adult education as a national movement for the education of workers contributed towards the redressing of balance of national and political influence in favour of workers. In Denmark, the folk high schools were created (and I am quoting learned authority) "for the express purpose of refashioning a national culture". In the Soviet Union adult education (and I quote again): `has served as an instrument of State policy directed at producing loyalty to the state and developing technical competencies required by national plans.' In the process of changing China, adult education has had two functions, namely (and I quote different authority now): `(a) breaking down the class barrier and fostering the union of workers and peasants and the patriotic intelligentsia, and (b) contributing to the construction of the new China.' Chou En-lai has himself issued "Directives on Increasing Peasants' Spare-Time Education". Israel is also an outstanding example of how adult education, in the Kibbutzim, in the Histadrut and in the universities, has contributed to national development. Mr Speaker, Sir, the lesson is quite clear that whatever the hue and complexion adult education has assumed in other countries, different national and social circumstances have thrown up peculiar, specific and indigenous adult education responses. Our own adult education scene has also been characterised by a gratifying ebullience, but more imaginative forms should be encouraged by the Government towards striking roots more deeply among the masses of our people. Remembering, too, that the better educated our people are, the more firmly we can make assurance doubly sure of our survival in the crucial years ahead. May I conclude, Sir - probably much to the gratification of hon. Members -by expressing my particular endorsement of the various details related to education in its different aspects, in several places in the Addendum to the speech by the President. I was happy to read the paragraphs on training in the section devoted to the Ministry of Labour. The Ministry of Culture's statement is welcome that "an appreciation for dancing, music, art and other cultural activities will be assiduously encouraged". May I suggest that there be not only presentation of cultural forms, but that explanation of their meaning and significance be also entered into more extensively. I am happy to note also that "the Museum which will now come under the Ministry of Science and Technology will be modernised to serve as an educational centre displaying in vivid manner the rich political, social and economic history not only of Singapore but of the whole region of which we are the fulcrum." Up to now the permanent exhibition in the Museum seems to have taken on an aspect of immutability. Mr Speaker, Sir, may I, in this my maiden speech, express my respect for the House and reiterate my support of Government. 5.33 p.m.

(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, on behalf of the people in Sembawang Constituency, I fully support the Prime Minister's motion. The speech made by the President in this House on the 6th of this month at 7 p.m, is undoubtedly historic. It is a very important document for nation building. It clearly outlines the three great objectives in our nation building, namely, the building of an effective defence capability and the promotion of greater economic growth and the enhancement of national consciousness, in order to overcome the various problems that will confront us. These objectives clearly show that the Government is determined to launch out in the task of nation building in the coming five years, namely, to build a more prosperous, more stable and more progressive Republic. Mr Speaker, Sir, at present our people attach much importance to the problems of how to strengthen our national defence and how to speed up tour economic growth. These are the major issues affecting our national survival. If a country is weak in its defence and is not always prepared, then it will not be able to safeguard its independence and sovereignty, because at the moment we are still in a predatory world and the ideal of having one world in the future, which is cherished by all mankind, is still far ahead. Therefore, as a newly-emergent country, in order to safeguard and protect our territorial integrity and sovereignty, and also to protect the right of survival of our two million people, we have to build up our defence force. We have to consolidate our defence arrangements in order to achieve internal security and defence capability. Sir, we, of course, understand that since we are a country of only 224 square miles, it is not possible to spend large sums of money and most of our resources on defence expenditure. If we do so, then our cultural, educational and social welfare programmes will be greatly curtailed. Therefore, we are now implementing national service which stipulates that all those citizens of 18 years of age will receive two years' full-time training or part-time military training. Thus, we need maintain only a small regular army which would be responsible for our major defence task. On the other hand, we have quite a large reserve force which ordinarily would carry on with their work in their various capacities. But when there is an emergency, these well-trained reserves will receive instructions to regroup and will be organised speedily to defend our security. Mr Speaker, Sir, in addition to the organisation of our Army, we should also, at the same time, set up an Air Force and a Navy to protect our air space and territorial waters. On this aspect, let me quote what the Prime Minister said on the occasion of the Military Officers Commissioning ceremony at the Istana Negara on 20th March. He said that in the next four years we must speedily build up our air defence capability jointly with Malaysia and other countries so that we may have a reliable air defence system and, at the same time, it should be one that can withstand any test and will live up to its reputation. This shows that the Government is quite determined to build up its air defence capability. Sir, we examine what we have achieved in our military build-up in the past two years and nine months, we can be proud of the fact that we have not only organised and trained military personnel, but we have also achieved good results. Furthermore, we have successfully built an armoury which is producing bullets, hand grenades and other weapons. This is a very good example of our great achievements in self-reliance. In the field of economic development, according to the analysis given by our Finance Minister, our economic growth mainly depends on four sectors: (1) Import and export trade; (2) tourism; (3) shipping and communications; (4) manufacturing industries. Ever since we won our independence and became our own masters, we have been implementing a non-aligned foreign policy and have also set up good trading relationships with many countries, both Communist and non-Communist. Thus we have greatly increased our foreign trade. For instance, in 1967 our foreign trade amounted to $7,886,510,000, an increase of $440 million on the figure for 1966. At present many countries are trying to set up trade relationships with us. This is a good sign. If the commercial and industrial sectors can co-operate closely with the Government to promote our trade and commerce, I believe that we will be able to increase our foreign trade. In the field of tourism, last year about 200,000 tourists came here. It would appear from this that the tourist trade has great hopes of expansion. We can now see many first-class hotels being built to receive tourists from other countries. I hope that in future more consideration will be given to the allotment of expenditure to promote tourism and that the Immigration Department and other Government departments dealing with tourists should accord them better facilities and extend them every courteous service. These are very necessary conditions in promoting tourism. In the field of shipping and communications, we know that we are geographically at the centre of South-east Asia and also that we are at the cross-roads of communication lines between Europe and Asia. Recently we have seen much development in this field. According to statistics, there are 21 airlines operating regular flight services through Singapore. Last year 964,244 air passengers passed through Singapore. This is about 25 per cent increase over that of 1966. This is a great help to our economic growth. There is even speedier development in the manufacturing industry. The Minister for Finance has said that total investments in 1961 amounted to $20,400,000. But in 1967 they had increased to $400,600,000, a twenty-fold increase. In 1961 only 330 persons were employed in the manufacturing industry. In 1967, 16,400 people were employed. This was an increase of 55 times the original figure. Sir, when we were at the initial stages of industrialisation, some people with ulterior motives and certain reactionary politicians criticised and ridiculed us, saying that we would surely fail in our industrialisation policy. But today, seven years later, we are witnessing industrial prosperity. More and more foreign investments are flowing in constantly.

5.46 p.m. This not only earns us more foreign exchange but also provides us with more employment opportunities. The success of our industrialisation programme shows that if we have the verve and determination, any sort of difficulty can be overcome. Let me now touch on the various Government departments. There is one matter which should receive our attention, i.e., the Government has set up two new Ministries, namely, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Communications. As a matter of fact, these two Ministries are vitally necessary as they fulfil the need of national development. The Ministry of Science and Technology will have the function of co-ordinating the two Universities, the Polytechnic and other tertiary educational institutes. This Ministry is now headed by Dr Toh Chin Chye, who is concurrently the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Singapore. When the appointment was made, he won the acclaim of the academic world of the Republic and the Press. I believe that under his leadership the tertiary institutions in our Republic will make greater progress and more orderly improvement and that more talented and capable nationals will be trained for nation-building. The Ministry of Communications will have the stupendous task of solving our traffic congestion. According to statistics, the total number of vehicles last year was 578,855. Of these, 116,000 were private vehicles. With a population of two million people, it means that there was one car for every four persons. On the other hand, traffic congestion has also resulted in an increase of road accidents. The 1966 statistics show that the number of people who died in road accidents was 251 and the number who were severely injured was 1,646, the number slightly injured was 7,576. In November 1967, the number of people who died in road accidents was 207 and the number who were severely injured was 1,575, while those who were slightly injured was 7,769. These figures are shocking. The Ministry of Communications, under the leadership of Mr Yong Nyuk Lin, in conjunction with the Ministry of National Development, will have to find a solution to our problem of traffic congestion so as to reduce the number of road accidents and to minimise the loss of lives. Sir, I would now like to say some-thing about the work of converting the Naval Base at Sembawang into a commercial dockyard. According to the Addendum to the President's Speech, the work of conversion will be carried out this year. As the representative of Sembawang, I have reason to be glad about such a project, because it will not only provide job opportunities for more than 11,000 people in my constituency and their families, but it will also play a very important role in promoting our economic prosperity. As a matter of fact, this 5-mile long Naval Base is a great asset to our country. It is the greatest naval base for the British Empire. But as a result of the change in circumstances, the British will be withdrawing its entire forces at the end of 1971 and they will leave behind all the facilities there. The Government has now decided to convert the Naval Base into a gigantic commercial dockyard. Therefore, after 1971 the Naval Base will not be dead. On the contrary, it will be a busier and more active dockyard and bring greater prosperity to our country. Lastly, let me touch on education. From now onwards the emphasis will be switched over from academic education to technology and science so as to fulfil the need of industrialisation. There have also been great improvement and reforms in the fields of culture, health and social welfare. In short, the President's policy speech is a very important document because it lays down correct directions in national construction for the next five years. It will enable us to achieve greater prosperity. With political stability, economic security and other favourable factors for economic expansion, I believe that if the people and the Government can work closely together in the crucial years ahead, they will not be daunted by the formidable challenges facing them. On the contrary, they will be able to surmount all difficulties and succeed in the great task of nation-building. 5.55 p.m.

Sir, I wish to join the House in thanking the President for his speech when he opened Parliament on Monday evening. In spite of everything, the President had graciously come to this House and honoured us with his presence, and to state the Government's policy for the crucial years ahead. He has correctly and succinctly diagnosed a possible malaise to which we may succumb in the next few years if we are less robust and less prepared. He charted a course for us in the field of defence, anticipating the British withdrawal of their Armed Forces in 1971. He told us that we have very little time indeed to build up our military muscles. He also warned us that our military muscles are built, and subsist, on adequate economic health. Thus, unless we can in the next few years consolidate and expand our economic well-being, our security will rest on weak ground. In order that we have adequate military might underpinned by adequate economic resources, the President informed us that we will have to galvanise our people into a closely-knit society, each conscious of his own, his neighbour's and the collective response of citizenship and nationhood. Indeed, living as we are a comparatively small group of two million people compressed in an area of 225 square miles, we can only survive, let alone prosper, if the people are absolutely united and act consciously as a single body towards the national goal. As an Addendum to the President's Speech, various Ministries have outlined the programmes by which they anticipate that the problems posed by the President will be adequately met and solved. The Ministry of Finance has the task of not only providing the economic sinews to our military muscles but of solving the more fundamental problems of economic expansion and the enhancement of the economic welfare of the population. The Minister for Finance has correctly assessed the position in his two speeches in the series of Ministerial broadcasts. The basic problem, of course, is that we have right now a grave and substantial unemployment problem. This problem will be aggravated and magnified by the British pull-out in 1971. It is also aggravated by the annual output of school-leavers seeking employment between now and 1971. The basic solution to this problem is, of course, a simple one of providing more jobs. But, as is usual, simple answers to problems require complex methods to effect. The first difficulty in this apparently simple solution is to find the necessary funds for capital investment. The Finance Minister has proposed schemes for the mobilisation of both domestic and foreign capital. One of the ways he proposes to mobilise domestic capital is to increase Provident Fund contributions from both the employee and the employer. Detailed workings are yet to be announced. But at this stage, it is necessary to draw the attention of the Minister to grave and adverse repercussions if the detailed workings are not adequately thought out.

6.01 p.m. It is, of course, a good thing for an employee to contribute more towards the Fund which will either yield him better security in his old age or will permit him to own his house which, in view of the land shortage in Singapore, will undoubtedly in time get an enhanced value. The difficulty here is to draw a line separating those who can contribute more towards desirable objectives, and those who have to pay an additional levy which, however well meant, will cause immediate and unbearable hardship. I should, therefore, like to appeal to the Finance Minister to give serious thought to where this line should be drawn. It is also undoubtedly a very good thing for employers to play their part in contributing to the Fund which, as I have said earlier, will serve very desirable objectives. Here again, the difficulty will be to determine whether there will or will not be a class of employees from whom any additional levies may mean the difference between survival and bankruptcy. Nobody in this House believes that our Finance Minister wants to mobilise capital even at the expense of killing it. But it can well happen if detailed workings are not adequately thought out. Arising from this, a further point is that an additional levy on the employer for the Provident Fund is, in fact, a statutory rise for the employee. This means that the cost of production will rise varying with the amount of labour content in the product. On the one hand, we need and solicit both local and foreign investment. On the other hand, we are, as it were, passing a law compelling higher wages. Whether the higher wage cost will deter investment is something which economic experts in the Finance Ministry will have to work out with great care. Not equipped with sufficient data to make my own analysis, I will content myself by drawing the attention of the Minister to the possible adverse effects which this highly commendable scheme may induce. Labour legislation is to be introduced, as it were, to back up the economic policy of the Finance Minister. It is intended that there shall be less abuses by labour, higher labour productivity and longer working hours. As I have said earlier, it is desirable and even commendable for us to gird ourselves for difficult times ahead. But, at the same time, it is not amiss here to sound a warning that when trying to galvanise ourselves, we do not sacrifice our human dignity and human values. We have to bear this very much in mind whenever we legislate and we have also to convince our people that the measures we think are good for them do not take away from them those human values which we cherish. For instance, when applying the uniform rate of 44 working hours per week, a large number of people will have their working hours extended. It is true that some of them have acquired the advantage of shorter working hours not because our society or their employers can afford it, but because they happened to be in a union that was strong enough to secure an advantage over workers in other enterprises or in other industries. Such people must be convinced that the unpleasant medicine prescribed will be good for them as well as for our whole society. In reviewing the economic policies proposed by the Finance Minister, I cannot help feeling that in his proposals lie a depth and width of thought that will command confidence. For instance, for some considerable time in the past, vociferous voices were heard in Singapore on how our tourist trade could be developed. There were proposals to have gambling joints, striptease acts and the like. The thought was that if Singapore could provide such facilities, tourists would flock to Singapore. No doubt, the exotic and the unique may attract some tourists, but in this field, we are in competition with places of high living scattered all over the world. The real answer to attracting tourists really lies in what the Finance Minister has lately proposed, and that is if only we can move the focal point or turning point of air routes from Singapore to Bali which has all the natural attractions for tourists, then they cannot help but come to Singapore on their way to Bali. This, to my mind, indicates very forcefully the depth of thinking and true answer to the problem. Before I conclude, I should like to refer briefly to the Prime Minister's speech when he congratulated you, Sir, on your election as Speaker to the House. He referred to a number of parliamentarians who have not experienced the rough and tumble of elections, or the nasty intrigues of inter-party warfare. As a Backbencher in this House, I should like to take this opportunity of assuring him that though we lack the battle scars, we have the intelligence, the will and the capacity to learn from the old war-horses, albeit in a second-hand manner, the traumatic experiences, of fights in the Thai boxing style, so that if and when the situation demands, we will be no less prepared than those who have actually fought. 6.10 p.m.

(In Malay): Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to express my views in support of the Address of thanks. Although Singapore is a small island and a young nation, its population has progressive ideas and is active in all fields, especially in the field of politics. As a nation practising parliamentary democracy, our Government is elected by the people who will feel its rule for another five years. All Government planning and development will prove whether the Government is sincere or insincere. The people will then be able to judge when the time comes for fresh elections. The victory of the P.A.P, in the last elections proves that the people are confident that the P.A.P, will discharge its responsibility to the people and lead the nation to prosperity. Prosperity will not come about until the rural people's problems can be solved. In rural areas like Geylang Serai, plans for road improvements, street lighting and drainage cannot be implemented if the sum allocated by the Projects Committee for Geylang Serai is for only $13,200. This sum is inadequate to meet even the cost of improving one road. The Projects Committee should have reviewed the minutes of meetings of the Urban and Rural Services Committee in order to improve all the roads in Geylang Serai. "The Projects Committee will then know how much it will cost to improve one road in Geylang Serai. I hope the Minister will investigate and review the allocation for each project in Geylang Serai. With regard to public cleansing, it is usually found that workers from the Public Health Department are not giving satisfactory service to the public. In fact, some workers adopt an arrogant attitude and do not work satisfactorily. Similarly, the anti-malarial workers do not spray all the drains. Most of the anti-malarial sprayers were given to children to be sold. I hope the Ministry will investigate the matter and improve the working conditions of the workers for the sake of the public. I believe and, in fact, I am confident that this matter can be successfully dealt with by the Ministry and that the people of Singapore, whether they be in the rural or urban areas, will enjoy prosperity in the future. 6.14 p.m.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like, at the outset, to express my appreciation and gratitude to the President for delivering a policy speech laying out his Government's clear intention and dynamic plans to ensure the nation's defence and prosperity. On the eve of a decade of government by the People's Action Party, the people of Singapore find themselves politically consolidated, culturally integrated, socially cohering, economically sound, innovating for continued viability and further development, poised to withstand the economic impact of the British withdrawal and ready to surmount the problems that will arise therefrom. Problems of the coming decade will test our capacity to respond as a nation. Some of these problems, putting it briefly and simply, will require our people to sacrifice within their means today to ensure a better life for their children tomorrow. Mr Speaker, Sir, I am heartened by the President's call to hon. Members of this House to speak in forthright terms on the speech and the Addendum thereto, and without further preamble I shall now begin to avail myself of the opportunity. Sir, irrevocably committed as we are to industrialisation upon which our economic destiny will largely depend, the Addendum to the President's Speech, outlining the Government's intention to refashion the secondary school system so as to make it keep to manpower needs and employment opportunities, is indeed reassuring. The placing, by an education system, of about 21,000 Secondary IV students of 16 to 17 years, without the special skills or knowledge required by industry, must cease if we are to bring about the industrial acceleration which is required to help sustain our economy in the difficult years ahead. Secondary schools must place in the employment market instead that number of craftsmen and technicians or their potential. While crediting the Government for having made the proper evaluation of the human resources which our programme for economic viability and development require, I sense that the Government contemplates only a partial and, in my view, insufficient committal of education to commerce and industry. The reorganisation of the secondary schools to secure a larger output of vocational and technical skills without also the reorganisation of the primary schools to secure the appropriate bias towards commerce and industry is a half-hearted measure. With deference to the thinking that has produced these proposed changes, I see ourselves as a commercial and industrial society committed to an economic destiny whose course is charted by the successes or failures of commerce and industry in our country. The intended diversion of large numbers of students to technical education and vocational training should be a diversion of technical and vocational potential. This entails the reorganisation of the primary schools as suggested, so that at the point where diversion is intended, preferences and inclination for, and ability in, technical education and vocational training are reasonably definite and become evident by a process of assessment. Sir, diversion of academic potential, which is the end product of six years of primary education, to technical education and vocational training is short of what is ideally correct. Diversion of primary school students to vocational training as it is being done today must cease. It is a diversion of primary school students who have failed in the primary school leaving examination, notoriously abbreviated as P.S.L.E., and who are over-aged. It operates on the inscrutable theory that the over-age rejects of this examination have an aptitude for vocational training. I would suggest that the Government consider making the diversion at the early secondary school stage. Mr Speaker, the creation of the Ministry of Science and Technology indeed announces the Government's recognition of the indispensability of science and technology in economic development and its intention to fashion our human resources to serve commerce and industry. Planning in this direction calls for increasing numbers of graduates, in science and engineering and the re-ordering of the priorities in learning at the secondary school level to provide the necessary mathematical and science teaching followed by technical college or university training. Initially, to harness the human resources for a sizable impact of science and technology on economic development, there must be a considerable option for science and technology on the part of the parents of the students. Effective persuasion to achieve this option would be the increasing demonstration and its advertisement of the prestige that, this Government and commerce and industry are prepared to accord to science and technology by reflecting the economic importance of scientists and technologists in their salary structures. Mr Speaker, Sir, I hope that the intended reform in examinations as stated in the Addendum to the President's Speech will modify or abolish in toto the Primary School Leaving Examination. As long as this examination becomes the arbiter of the destiny of the Primary VI student, when its computations decide that he is either' academically fitted for secondary academic or technical education, which, as he understands it, holds promise of gainful employment at the end of it, or that he is an academic failure, a reject or a mere vocational probable, with, as he understands it, an uncertain future; and as long as this examination remains, the kind of examination it is, requiring of the student only abundant knowledge without the facilities of verbal and written expression which are its necessary concomitants, so long will primary school teaching be focused on success in the Primary School Leaving Examination, at the expense of the development of the skills in verbal and written expression which are the requisite mechanics of articulation. In the secondary schools, teaching becomes focused on the need to pass the School Certificate Examination. The urgency of this makes secondary school teaching impatient of the need to develop the skill to compose or to articulate orally or in writing other than the minimal ability which is required for examination purposes. Only the brighter student excels on his own effort. The non-retention policy by which the student of maximum age for that class is promoted to the next grade at the end of the year, despite his failure in the terminal examinations, progressively worsens his inarticulateness apart from his overall ability. Sir, this is a decline which must be arrested immediately. For one thing, if we are to hope for the emergence of a responsible and effective Opposition as suggested by the Prime Minister in his speech offering sound alternatives to help work the machine of parliamentary democracy in this country, there must be opinion in our society, and the initial pre-requisite to opinion is the articulateness of the knowledgeable elite of the populace. In addition, there must be a climate which positively encourages the expression of opinion. The elite in this country is a rich human resource with considerable capacity to contribute to the nation but which unfortunately remains intellectually unagitated. Sir, as suggested, the Primary School Leaving Examination may be suitably modified or even abolished and in its place a system of annual assessment set up. Perhaps the School Certificate Examination may be broken up into two stages so that the secondary student offers a number of subjects at the first sitting in Secondary III and the other half in Secondary IV. Sir, I beg your indulgence if I descend into these details but I do so by way of commenting on the policy of the Government. This would, to a certain extent, dilute the examination urgency which tends to pervade the secondary school atmosphere and make room for additional subjects in the time-table also. The practical problem of examination-paper marking for the Primary School Leaving Examination is recognised. Change is urged, but change is urged without sacrificing the efficiency of the system or the teacher through sheer overloading. Reform in the field of teacher-training and re-training is a necessary undertaking in the effort to achieve qualitative improvement. This would also be the necessary measure to take in conjunction with the reorganisation of the secondary schools towards an industrial re-orientation. It is hoped that the extent of the intended reform would include an examination of the basis of selection of student teachers for training with a view to formulating the basis which would in some measure ensure that student teachers selected thereby would manifest, or contain a potential to manifest, in some degree the natural teaching ability, selflessness and the dedication which the profession demands. I am given to understand that the selection of student teachers for training is done by the computations of a computer. While almost every student teacher with the necessary academic qualifications can instruct upon graduating from the Teachers' Training College, not every graduate can teach. Teaching is a personal or personalised activity motivated by considerations of concern, interest, professional pride and the desire to give of oneself. All these considerations may be absent in academic qualifications no matter how impressive they may be. In this regard, I am sure that I am also voicing the sentiments of my constituents. For some time now, I have been wont to regard a large number of our schools as hardly anything more than centres of instruction and teachers as instructors. Qualitative improvement in teacher-training and re-training, together with the other comprehensive reforms intended, would eventually restore the school and the teacher in place of centres of instruction and instructors. It may be pertinent for the Government to consider also the desirability of decentralising certain facets of school supervision and school administration, and to enhance the answerability of the school head and his staff for all affairs of the school. This suggested trend may succeed in achieving that total committal of the head of the school and his staff to the school, its prestige and its overall performance which, in the course of time, sets -the school tone and tradition. However, achievement in this direction is unlikely if the frequency of the transfer of school heads and teachers from school to school is not reduced to minimal. The business of qualitative improvement in matters educational is that of a research body, preferably an education research council. It is significant instruction for those interested in edu cation that at this stage of education development in our country the only research unit in the field, as I understand it, is in the Teachers' Training College, which is hardly satisfactory. I would suggest the initiation of thinking in the direction of an Education Act which would incorporate a national science and educational policy, the structure and administration of education in the country, and which would set up an independent educational research council along the lines of the research council in the English Education Act of 1943. The creation of the Sports Division has been timely. The numerous sports bodies in the Republic would expect the Sports Division or, in particular, the Sports Promotion Office in the Division to formulate and execute a comprehensive programme of sports promotion. It is hoped that this activity may be undertaken unobtrusively, for I believe that the Sports Division, as it is constituted, is intended to function in co-ordination with the voluntary effort of sports bodies in the Republic. The National Stadium at Kallang when completed will, it is hoped, be a, pride to all sports enthusiasts in the Republic. And I am sure the Division has plans for an Asian or Southeast Asian Games at the Stadium to inaugurate its opening. With regard to physical education, if our school-leavers are intended to constitute the industrial human resource and a military potential with the physical stamina and ruggedness which these occupations demand, then the Physical Education Department would require to take more manpower in order to execute a programme of physical education in schools with the necessary stress, vigour and continuity. In conclusion, Sir, I only wish to say that I support the motion before the House. 6.37 p.m.

Mr Speaker, Sir, in the President's Speech to the House he has outlined the objectives ahead which, to my mind, are a logical sequence to the events taking place during the past years. In -the past five years, one of the most significant developments has been the dynamic outlook of our political leadership in maintaining and improving the infrastructure necessary for greater economic growth. The skill, ingenuity and persistence demonstrated by those in office in the formulation of policies have been matched by the same skill, ingenuity and persistence of our people in -their response and in the implementation of such policies both in the public and private sectors. Within a comparatively short span of time, we have achieved what many sceptics consider to be impossible in our attempt to strengthen and diversify our economy. Today Jurong is a thriving industrial estate of more than 50 factories. Our port and air travel facilities are far more superior to what they were five years ago. What is more, we are already getting ready for -the container ships and the jumbo jets. Instead of higher wages and a wider range of fringe benefits, our union leaders have taken to talking in terms of productivity. The pre-conditions, both material and social for greater economic growth, have thus been set. In looking forward we have, however, no cause for complacency. We have been warned of external forces at work which are likely to have far-reaching effects and repercussions upon our sensitive position, politically and economically, and which will render our tasks ahead more difficult. If we are to survive and prosper, the dynamic outlook will have to be maintained and sustained. It is not sufficient that those in power alone continue to provide the lead, as unless all the people are geared to a continuous process of adaptation in a changing world, we shall soon be left behind. The timely and welcome change in the attitudes of union leaders has signified a healthier climate conducive to greater economic growth. It remains for these attitudes to be applied and practised. It is heartening to see that a comprehensive and undoubtedly revolutionary Employment Bill will be introduced aimed at increasing productivity and promoting more industrial growth. However, as has been pointed Out by the hon. Member for Bukit Ho Swee, productivity is the concern not only of those who are managed but also of those who manage. It is imperative, therefore, if the congenial atmosphere is to be maintained at all, management in general should equally play their part. Apart from developing more efficient management techniques and expertise, it will be their duty to ensure that appropriate incentives are devised and offered to the employees. Greater appreciation of life in and around Singapore is important, and it would be disastrous for all concerned if employers were to exploit the situation. In this connection, Sir, it occurs to me that as the major part of our national savings are in the hands of financial institutions, this particular sector, although by the very nature of their business must be international in their outlook and operation, should perhaps begin to divert and harness a greater part of the substantial wealth in their hands to the more pressing needs and requirements of the country, particularly in the context of industrialisation. These financial institutions will soon have -the opportunity of demonstrating their patriotism or their support for the Government's policy by subscribing to the new and attractive Government securities to be introduced by the Ministry of Finance. In perusing the outlined policy of each of the Ministries, one cannot but sense the cohesiveness of purpose in the planning. The overhauling of our educational system with greater emphasis on technological and vocational training, the expansion and improvements proposed for our transportation and communications, and the numerous other plans envisaged by the various Ministries will, I feel sure, jointly contribute to the economic well-being and security of our country. Finally, as a Member from a constituency essentially agrarian in nature, I am pleased to note that particular emphasis will be laid by the Primary Production Department of the Ministry of National Development on the promotion of intensive and diversified farming to make maximum use of our limited land resources. I will watch with the closest interest the efforts made in this particular direction by the Primary Production Department, particularly in Jalan Kayu in the next five years. 6.45 p.m.

Order. Very conveniently it is a quarter to seven now, and the debate will be resumed tomorrow. In accordance with the resolution of the House, the House will now adjourn. Adjourned accordingly at fifteen minutes to Seven o'clock p.m.