Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise to welcome you to your office. On this occasion it seems to me appropriate to remind this Parliament and the nation that the office of Speaker occupies the highest pinnacle of prestige in the structure of our system of government. Your office, Mr Speaker, Sir, embodies the dignity of a country's representative assembly. Much of your work will be formal and ceremonial in character, but behind all these rituals and forms of things lies a very grave and important responsibility of presiding over the debates of our Parliament, safeguarding its privileges, and acting as its representative. Mr Speaker, Sir, the nature of your office is judicial. Perhaps it was for this reason that the office of Speaker in Singapore had been previously occupied by eminent men from the legal profession. In the early days of our history, when parliamentary institutions were in the stage of transplanted infancy, the selection of men with legal training was, in retrospect, both wise and necessary. The letter and spirit of parliamentary rule required careful nurturing, and men with legal qualifications were the best possible and available candidates for the office of the Speaker. Mr Speaker, Sir, legal qualifications are not essential for the proper discharge of the duties of the Speaker. Indeed the technicalities of parliamentary procedure, I believe, can be learned from textbooks. The experience of countries with long traditions of parliamentary government has shown that there is absolutely no evidence to presume that only a lawyer can make a successful Speaker. What is more essential, Mr Speaker, Sir, is parliamentary rather than legal experience. This experience, Sir, you have acquired first as a Member of Parliament, and then as Deputy Speaker. By being the first non-legal man to be elected Speaker, you, Sir, have made history in Singapore. As in all walks of life, some Speakers are better than others. But whoever assumes the Speaker's mantle inherits the dignity and the responsibility that go with the office. In breaking precedent with the past, we in this Parliament firmly believe that you will guide its proceedings with dignity and impartiality, and with credit to your surgical profession. Mr Speaker, Sir, superficially, one may not see the relevance of some ingredients of success in the surgical profession to the qualities which are deemed to be necessary for the successful discharge of the duties of the Speaker. If one examines the specialised competence that distinguishes surgery from other professions and occupations, one may be inclined towards this view. Yet there are other qualities in the career of a successful surgeon that are relevant in the discharge of the duties of the Speakership. These are, Mr Speaker, Sir, integrity, judgment, common sense, patience, tact, a sense of humour, self-confidence, presence of mind, and firmness tempered with courtesy and kindness. Mr Speaker, Sir, for the dignity of your office you will be rewarded by the strain of long hours in the Chair. You have exchanged the right to generate heat and passion for the obligation to sit with an unruffled demeanour through more speeches than any other of my Parliamentary colleagues will probably wish to hear. You sit as the Judge, and will be exercising your judgment all the time. You have been with us long enough to have acquired an intimate understanding of parliamentary life the individual and collective problems of the Members, and their strengths and weaknesses. For this reason we are confident that you will not allow an over-technical interpretation of the rules of procedure to restrict debate, and when a situation calls for interruption you will give a stern rebuke if it merits sternness, or supply a touch of humour, which can dissolve a strained situation in a burst of laughter, provided, of course, Mr Speaker, Sir, the laughter is that of human beings and not that of gibbons. It is the nature of the office that the Speaker seldom speaks, but when he does he speaks with authority, and this authority comes from his impartiality and its acceptance by the Members. When you speak, Sir, it will be the voice of authority, for you have demonstrated your impartiality during your apprenticeship as Deputy Speaker, and this Parliament has indicated acceptance in the unanimity of its support of your candidature. Mr Speaker, Sir, I believe I have the endorsement of my Parliamentary colleagues when I say that we will do our best to make your work less tedious and more pleasant by working within the framework of the best of parliamentary traditions, that is, to give and take with firmness but with courtesy. It was once said with reference to a Speaker in the British Parliament that, and I quote, Sir, "The office of Speaker does not demand rare qualities, it demands common qualities in a rare degree." And with this, Mr Speaker, Sir, permit me to congratulate you. 2.48 p.m.