Hansard, 1972-03-22

PERMISSION TO MEMBER TO BE ABSENT Under the provisions of clause 2 (d) of Article 30 of the Constitution of Singapore, I have granted permission to Inche Sha'ari Bin Tadin (Kampong Chai Chee), Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Culture, to be absent from sittings of Parliament on the 23rd and 24th March, 1972. YEOH GHIM SENG Speaker, Parliament of Singapore.

COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY Development Estimates

(Announcement by Mr Speaker) In accordance with the provisions of paragraph (5) of Standing Order 88 and paragraph (7) of Standing Order 87, I have for the Development Estimates of Singapore for the financial year 1st April, 1972 to 31st March, 1973, fixed the times on the allotted days, namely the 24th and 27th of March. 1972, at which consideration of the heads of expenditure in respect of which amendments stand on the Order Paper Supplement shall, if not previously disposed of, be concluded. These times have been notified to hon. Members and will appear in the Official Report*.(* Appendix, cols. 1053-4.) DEVELOPMENT ESTIMATES OF SINGAPORE FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 1ST APRIL, 1972, TO 31ST MARCH, 1973 IN COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY(Cols. 1053-1054)

ORAL ANSWER TO QUESTION - JURONG BIRD PARK - (Reduction in admission and other charges) Mr J. F. Conceicao asked the Minister for Finance if he will ascertain from the Jurong Town Corporation the number of paying visitors monthly to the Jurong Bird Park between 1st April, 1971, and 29th February, 1972; and if the Corporation will consider reducing the admission and other charges to the Bird Park so as to give opportunity to more people to visit the Park.

ORAL ANSWER TO QUESTION - JURONG BIRD PARK - (Reduction in admission and other charges) Mr Speaker, Sir, I understand that the monthly figures for paying visitors to the Jurong Bird Park are: - 1971: April 71,398 May 40,942 June 26,566 July 32,752 August 49,562 September 22,242 October 38,390 November 59,198 December 47,234 1972: January 28,475 February 61,521 ------- Total 478,280 ======= The Jurong Bird Park is owned by the Jurong Bird Park (Pte) Ltd, and not by the Jurong Town Corporation. The Corporation has no control over its running. The Member's suggestion has, therefore, been forwarded to the Company for consideration. Since its opening, the Bird Park has reduced its admission charges to half the usual rates for groups organised through community centres. There are also concessionary rates for school children organised through schools. It is further noted that of the 478,280 paying visitors to the Bird Park during the period 1st April, 1971 to 29th February, 1972, only 12,707 took advantage of the community centres' concessionary rates, and 70,445 students were admitted under the schools' concessionary rates.

BILL INTRODUCED - MEDICAL (THERAPY, EDUCATION AND RESEARCH) BILL "to make provision for the use of the bodies of deceased persons or parts thereof for purposes of medical or dental education, research, advancement of medical or dental science, therapy and transplantation, and for other purposes connected therewith; and to repeal the Medical (Therapy, Education and Research) Act (Chapter 160 of the Revised Edition)", presented by the Minister for Health (Mr Chua Sian Chin); read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available string of Parliament, and to be printed.

COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY - REPORTING PROGRESS - (Suspension of Standing Orders) Resolved, That progress in the Committee of Supply on the Main Estimates for the financial year 1972-73 today be reported immediately after completion of the discussion on Head 1203, and leave be sought for the Committee of Supply to sit again tomorrow. - [Mr Chua Sian Chin].

ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE - FOR FINANCIAL YEAR 1ST APRIL, - 1972, to 31st MARCH, 1973 Order read for resumed consideration in Committee of Supply [4th Allotted Day].

ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE - FOR FINANCIAL YEAR 1ST APRIL, - 1972, to 31st MARCH, 1973 2.36 p.m. Head 1101 -

ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE - FOR FINANCIAL YEAR 1ST APRIL, - 1972, to 31st MARCH, 1973 Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 1101 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1001*.(* The same amendment also stood in the names of Messrs Yeo Choo Kok, Ho See Beng and Seah Mui Kok.) Sir, in my criticism of the Ministry of Law and National Development, I would like to confine myself to three topics, (1) Planning for development; (2) The co-ordination between Urban Renewal and Resettlement Departments; and (3) The Lettings and Sales Sections of the Housing and Development Board. In fact, it can be said that the coordination among all the agencies that I have just outlined also leaves much, to be desired. Sir, it appears as if plans are drawn for an area earmarked for development, and as soon as the overall plans are approved the squatters and landowners are issued with clearance and land acquisition notices. No planning or co-ordination takes place at this juncture for the number of houses to be cleared, within what period and to where they are to be resettled. Phased acquisition of land and land clearance is not properly carried out. Squatters and landowners are asked to move out even though the Resettlement Department is unable to provide suitable alternative .accommodation. Sir, you are aware that Telok Blangah is under an intensive urban renewal project, and I know what I am talking about. In some phases of acquisition, one-room flats are offered to large families, because they are the only ones available. In other phases of acquisition, families which cannot afford to pay high rentals are offered 2-room and 3-room flats because these are the only ones available. The Lettings and Sales Sections cannot cope up with flat requirements of the Resettlement Department and everybody is under pressure, including the Member of Parliament. Could this not be the fault of the overall planning in the Housing and Development Board? In other cases, the whole area is served with notices of clearance and only partial clearance of smaller areas, like kampongs, takes place. Sometimes even after one year of the serving of clearance notices, nothing happens. Owners of houses do not repair dwellings while under clearance notices, and tenants' requests for Housing and Development Board flats are not met, the reason being that the areas are not required for immediate clearance. Sir, nobody likes to move out of a place where one has been living in for years, paying low rentals, or no rental at all in the rural and suburban areas. If people, who are already reluctant to move out, are further burdened by the offer of flats miles away from where they work, resentment breaks out especially when they have to pay higher rentals and have to travel longer distances to their places of work. Many of my constituents in Pulau Brani, Sentosa, Bukit Theresa, Bukit Purmei, Radin Mas and Kampong Heap Guan San, who are all affected by urban renewal, are dependent on the Port of Singapore Authority and the sea for their livelihood. They also belong to the lower income group. If they are offered alternative accommodation far away from the area of their means of livelihood as a result of bad planning, we cannot blame the citizens if they offer resistance. If planning in phases is well thought out, one area of Telok Blangah could have been acquired first, and flats built to re-house residents of other areas of Telok Blangah or those residents in close proximity to the Constituency. This has neither been thought out nor done. Sir, the Minister for Finance during his Financial Policy Statement mentioned the Sentosa Development Corporation. Many residents of Sentosa are boatmen, solely depending on the sea for their livelihood, i.e, ferrying cargo. They ply between ships anchored in the outer roads and Singapore. They have contributed to the entrepot trade of Singapore and will continue to contribute to make the Singapore harbour a thriving one. They are an economic necessity to the survival of Singapore. I have no quarrel with making Sentosa a tourist paradise. But what does the Government propose to do with the residents of Sentosa who depend upon the sea for their livelihood? If they are moved out, will they be given alternative accommodation close to the sea? Will they be provided shore space to moor their boats? Or will they be allowed to continue remaining in one part of Sentosa and be allowed to continue to ply their traditional trade between the outer roads and Singapore? 2.45 p.m.

ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE - FOR FINANCIAL YEAR 1ST APRIL, - 1972, to 31st MARCH, 1973 Mr Speaker, Sir, can I have your permission to reply to the Member for Telok Blangah now before the other Members, who have also given notices of the same amendment, begin to speak? The reason is that by answering them one at a time I will not forget all the points that are raised, especially after five or six of them have been on the Floor. And perhaps it may also prevent a repetition by the Members themselves or by me.

ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE - FOR FINANCIAL YEAR 1ST APRIL, - 1972, to 31st MARCH, 1973 Yes, please proceed.

ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE - FOR FINANCIAL YEAR 1ST APRIL, - 1972, to 31st MARCH, 1973 Sir, the Member for Telok Blangah hit the nail on the head when he said that no one likes to move out from an area in which he has been living in for a very long time. That is the crux of our resettlement problem. However, if Singapore is to develop, there must be resettlement. He complains of the lack of co-ordination between the Resettlement Department, The Housing and Development Board and the Planning Department. I do not think he has been fair to these three departments. They are in one Ministry, and they do co-operate with one another. Perhaps there may have been lack of liaison between one Ministry and another. Let me give the Member an example. . The Ministry of Defence requires some parts of Pulau Brani, and resettlement is necessary. But it is the Ministry of Defence, and not the Ministry of Law and National Development that wants the resettlement to be expedited. The Resettlement Department is then asked to do the resettlement work, a most unpleasant job in any circumstances. However, the Resettlement Department is doing its best to provide as suitable alternative accommodation as is possible; but people, shifting from homes which they have occupied for a long time are, as the Member has pointed out, reluctant to move. Then they become choosy. It is sometimes impossible to provide a Housing Board flat near their homes. For example, in Pulau `Brani or in Sentosa there are no Housing Board fiats. As far as Pulau Brani is concerned, some of the people have been resettled and, as far as I am aware, they are satisfied. Out of 230 families affected by this project of the Ministry of Defence, 214 families have been resettled. About 200 families are housed in one-room flats at Henderson and Redhill and about 30 families in Jurong where they have one-, two- and three-room flats. Moreover, the Marine Police personnel who live in Government quarters in Pulau Brani have vacated their quarters and are now living in Clementi Road houses which have been vacated by the British Forces and reverted to the Bases Economic Conversion Department. So far as Sentosa is concerned, I would like to point out to the Member that we are only concerned with resettlement, the unpleasant part of the project. What will happen to Sentosa island will have to be decided by the Sentosa Development Corporation, after its incorporation shortly. However, I can assure the Member that nothing will be done until the Resettlement Department has completed a survey of the population on the island. I hope that it is possible for part of the population to find employment on the island. As far as the Urban Renewal Department is concerned, it is merely involved in the physical planning for the development of the island into a tourist complex. It is not involved in policy decisions, which are really a matter for the Corporation. I have one suggestion to make to the Member. In order to lighten the effects of resettlement, perhaps the Member could make representations to the Corporation that one or two villages in Sentosa be preserved and renovated as a tourist attraction. I believe quite a few people living in Sentosa collect and sell sea shells which many a tourist buys. Sentosa is quite a big island, and I am sure one or two villages can be preserved for this purpose. And for the information of the Member, he should make his representation to the right quarters, which is not the Ministry of National Development. Again the Member complains of the long waiting period for public housing and that we seldom offer immediate alternative housing whenever resettlement problems arise. We do our best with what is available. Hence, some of the Member's constituents were offered flats in Jurong and some in Henderson. Some were offered flats in Redhill, which are, in fact, closer to his constituency. The demand for flats, whether for rental or purchase, far exceeds the supply. Moreover, a few of these flats are used to resettle people who are affected by Government's urban renewal projects. The Housing Board finds it difficult to satisfy everybody's demands. If the Member is interested, I will read to him the latest figures. As at 29th February this year, there were 21,687 families registered to rent Housing Board flats. At the same date there were 36.906 families registered to purchase flats, making in all a figure reaching nearly 60,000 registrants. The Housing Board built a little more than 16,000 units last year. It will build more this year. However, within the next few years, the maximum number which the Board can build, without raising the cost price of each flat, is in the region of 20,000 units. If we start building today with a backlog of 60,000 units -we can only build about 20,000 units a year - and every day of every month more and more fresh applications for rental or for purchase of flats are made to the Board, and with more and more Government development projects taking place, resulting in more and more people being resettled, I think it is a little unfair to complain that there is a lack of co-ordination between the Housing Board, the Resettlement Department and the Planning Department. It is just a question of supply and demand. These departments are doing their best. However, to come back to the Member's first point, no one likes to shift, and that is the crux of the problem. We try to do our best for them, but it is difficult to satisfy anyone who has to shift from a home which he has occupied probably for generations.

ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE - FOR FINANCIAL YEAR 1ST APRIL, - 1972, to 31st MARCH, 1973 Mr Speaker. Sir, it is well known that in recent years it has become the policy of the Housing and Development Board to encourage our citizens to purchase Housing Board flats. However, it seems to me that in some cases this encouragement has been over-enthusiastic. It has come to my attention that flat dwellers, who have applied for a transfer to bigger flats, as well as new applicants for flats have been told that they should apply for purchase rather than for rental of the new flats as this would shorten the period of waiting. This is not true, and everyone knows that flats are allocated on a first come first served basis. The waiting list of intending purchasers is, in fact, no shorter than that of those who intend to rent, as has just been pointed out by the Minister. Will the Minister, therefore, please instruct his staff not to be so aggressive in encouraging the purchase of flats. Many people who simply cannot afford to purchase flats feel that they are being bullied by this new tactic. Furthermore, I hope the Housing and Development Board will continue to let out 2-room or 3-room flats to poor but big families, because they just cannot afford to buy them. Sir, in view of the increasing population in Housing Board estates and the addition of several electoral divisions, will the Minister consider setting up new Housing Board Area Offices so as to lighten the burden of the present offices, and so make them more easily accessible to the public? Sir, many Housing Board tenants have lodged complaints against their noisy neighbours, but it seems to me that they are to no avail. Some tenants have even abused the use of the common corridors to the annoyance and irritation of other tenants. I wonder if the Minister will consider introducing legislation to empower the Area Officers to first warn the recalcitrants of the noise and trouble they make by ticketing them, and failing that, to penalise them by terminating their tenancy. Recently, a housewife in my area was robbed and stabbed inside a Housing Board lift. Not long ago a tragedy of a different nature also occurred in a Housing Board lift, but this took place in another area. If we have enough hourly-rated lift operators from the various Housing Board Area Offices to check on the safety and security of lift-users at certain hours and in certain crime prone areas, such as mine, then we can prevent similar tragedies from occurring in Housing Board estates in the future. I think the sheer presence of an official from the Housing Board Area Office will contribute to the sense of safety and security of the lone lift-user.

ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE - FOR FINANCIAL YEAR 1ST APRIL, - 1972, to 31st MARCH, 1973 Mr Speaker, Sir, if the Housing and Development Board officials have adopted aggressive tactics, I would agree with the Member that it is highly regrettable, and that such tactics should be stopped. However, I find it difficult to understand why a Housing Board officer should use aggressive tactics to force someone to change his application from a transfer to a purchase. Perhaps there has been some misunderstanding. With the shortage of flats, it is difficult to get a transfer and it is probably for that reason that the Housing Board officer may have advised the applicant to purchase a flat rather than to apply for a transfer. A transfer means that he is already occupying a flat but wants to move to another flat. There are so many others who do not have flats. 3.00 p.m. The Member wants me to assure him that the Housing Board will continue to rent or let out flats. I gave this assurance in this House in answer to a Question by the Member for Katong. I said that the Housing Board will continue to let out 20 per cent of the fiats it builds and not to sell every flat. As for lifts, the Housing Board has more than 1,000 lifts in the various Housing Board estates. If we are to have lift attendants, we will need about 3,000 persons to operate 1,000 lifts on a two- or three-shift basis, and it will cost some $5 million per year. I am sure the Member will agree that this is rather prohibitive. As for security in the lifts, the Police are responsible, but I am not putting the blame on the Minister for Home Affairs. It is quite impractical to expect the authorities to station security guards or policemen at every block of flats when there are more than 1,500 blocks of flats. At present, about a little more than one-third of our population live in Housing Board estates, and the number of residents in each block ranges from several hundreds to several thousands. Perhaps the residents themselves can get together and keep a look-out so that criminal activities can be stopped and anti-social elements caught. If the residents co-operate by reporting the activities of these criminals, I am sure the crime rate in our housing estates will be substantially reduced. As for noise, we can pass laws but I am not in favour of passing more and more laws to force people to do or not to do this and that. I would rather persuade, and surely residents of Housing Board flats can get together and collectively reduce the noise made by children, radios, television, motor-cars and motor-cycles. The Board is doing its best to request residents to be considerate to one another, and complaints of noise nuisance have been dealt with. But the final answer to the problem really lies in the hands of the residents of the flats themselves.

ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE - FOR FINANCIAL YEAR 1ST APRIL, - 1972, to 31st MARCH, 1973 Mr Speaker, Sir, the Minister has not touched on one of the points I raised, i.e., whether he is going to increase the number of Area Offices, in view of the additional seven electoral divisions.

ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE - FOR FINANCIAL YEAR 1ST APRIL, - 1972, to 31st MARCH, 1973 The number of electoral divisions has been increased. That is a good reason for increasing the number of Members in this House, but surely not Housing Board estate offices. But perhaps the Member meant that, with more and more Housing Board estates coming up, then more and more Housing Board offices are needed. I can assure the Member that the number will be increased. But it must correspond with the increasing number of people living in Housing Board flats.

ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE - FOR FINANCIAL YEAR 1ST APRIL, - 1972, to 31st MARCH, 1973 Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to raise certain matters connected with the urban renewal project in my constituency. I think the Minister for Law and National Development is aware that about 150 premises in my constituency are on temporary occupation licences. Quit notices have been issued to chief tenants and subtenants alike after the acquisition of these premises, and these tenants have been been told to apply for Housing and Development Board flats. Some applied and got it, but some did not get it. Those who were allocated flats have moved out, and those who were not, continued to stay in. Among those who were given Housing Board flats were `chief tenants. When the chief tenants moved into the flats, the subtenants will have to take over the responsibility of the premises in the sense that they have to pay the temporary occupation licence fees plus water and light charges, which were previously paid by the chief tenants. Although the subtenants do not mind paying the water and light charges, they are prohibited from subletting those vacant rooms after acquisition, because these are not premises or flats built by the Housing Board, but premises previously owned by private individuals. `Sir, the point is that these people are mostly wage-earners in the low income group. It is impossible for them to bear any additional financial burden unless they are allowed to sublet the vacant rooms. Before the acquisition of these premises by the Government, the sub-tenants paid only $10 to $15 a month as rental, including water and light charges. But now they have to pay very much more. Sir, there is another complication after acquisition, and that is the condition of these premises is far from satisfactory for many of the premises are 50 to 60 years old and are in need of major repairs. But the occupiers are placed in a dilemma because they are wondering whether it is worth their while to repair. They are afraid that their money spent on repairs will be wasted if they were asked to quit shortly after the repairs were done. And this is possible since the Government has not been able to inform them as to when the urban renewal project will take place. In this connection, Sir, I would therefore like to ask the Minister for Law and National Development whether he will be able to inform them as to when the urban renewal project is likely to commence, so that the occupiers will be able to decide whether or not to carry out those necessary repairs to the old houses. Secondly, will the Minister be prepared to waive those regulations which prohibit the subletting of the vacant rooms? If so, this will greatly relieve the financial burden of the occupiers.

ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE - FOR FINANCIAL YEAR 1ST APRIL, - 1972, to 31st MARCH, 1973 Sir, I am afraid I cannot give the Member either the assurance he desires or the exact date when the Urban Renewal Department will commence work in the areas about which he is complaining. The delay in the implementation of the scheme has been due to clearance problems. Once the place is cleared, construction begins. But I do not know when they will shift. We are not blaming them entirely because they will not shift until the Housing Board provides them with alternative accommodation, which at the moment is not sufficient. I believe the areas referred to by the Member for Bras Basah fall under the Theng Hai and Holloway redevelopment schemes. To-date, only about 15 per cent of the resettlement cases have been cleared, and it is true that in some cases only subtenants are left in the premises after the chief tenants have moved out. Sir, I am afraid it is not the practice of the Land Office to allow such State properties leased on temporary occupation licences to be repaired, as these repairs are usually done by the Public Works Department. Further, it would be undesirable to allow tenants to do the repairs themselves and at their own expense, as this could lead to extensive renovations, alterations and additions which would tend to prolong the occupation once the tenants have spent large sums of money on repairs. It is also not the practice to allow such houses to be sublet by the chief tenants as this would increase clearance commitments when the area is eventually ready for development. In fact, it is a condition of the temporary occupation licence that there should be no subletting. As for reductions in rent, the Member can make his representations. I believe we have acceded to some of his representations in the past.

ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE - FOR FINANCIAL YEAR 1ST APRIL, - 1972, to 31st MARCH, 1973 Mr Speaker, Sir, the Minister for Law and National Development has said earlier that more than 21.000 persons have registered to rent Housing and Development Board flats, and another 31,000 persons have registered to purchase these flats. I am sorry to say that they will have to wait for quite a long time, perhaps another one or two years before they can rent or purchase Housing Board flats. Sir, in view of the present long waiting list of Housing Board flats for rent and purchase, I would like to ask the Minister for Law and National Development whether he will limit the construction of multi-storey office and shopping complexes so that more construction workers and building materials could be channelled to expedite the construction of more Housing Board flats. This, I believe, will lessen the long waiting time and shortening the waiting list. At the moment, there is no acute shortage of office or shopping space. 3.15 p.m. Therefore, the construction of multi-storey office buildings and shopping complexes should be restricted, so that the construction of Housing and Development Board flats could be increased from 20,000 to 25,000 flats each year. Sir, the construction of multi-storey office buildings and shopping complexes is purely for profit only, but the construction of Housing and Development Board multi-storey flats is a social development for the workers, especially those in the lower and middle income groups. They cannot afford to purchase houses built by the private sector because their prices are fantastic, ranging from $38,000 to $85,000 per unit. An hon. Member: More than that!

ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE - FOR FINANCIAL YEAR 1ST APRIL, - 1972, to 31st MARCH, 1973 But do not blame me for that. The question of whether there is at present an over-building of shopping and office complexes is a controversial one, as there are many factors affecting supply and demand. The Ministry of National Development is keeping a close watch on the capacity of the building industry. Because of the shortage of labour, and the increased cost of building materials - there are shortages of cement or steel at various periods - the Government has suspended the fourth and fifth sales of urban renewal sites which were, in fact, scheduled for 1970 and 1971 respectively. For the same reason, the Government has also withdrawn the concessions for property tax and development charges, which were previously granted to certain prestige projects in the Central and other designated areas. But the building of residential flats and houses is being actively encouraged. In this respect, `the Government still grants exemption to developers of residential flats from paying development charges if the density of such residential development exceeds the maximum density allowed under the Master Plan. What else can we do? The Government is also accelerating the construction of Housing and Development Board flats under the Five-year Building Programme for 1971-75. If owners of land, who no longer get concessions for property tax and development charges, still desire to erect offices and shopping complexes, who are we to tell them that what they are doing is wrong. The risk is theirs. It is not for us to stop them in this island of free enterprise! We can either encourage or discourage, but we cannot stop them.

ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE - FOR FINANCIAL YEAR 1ST APRIL, - 1972, to 31st MARCH, 1973 Mr Speaker, Sir, the Housing and Development Board, under the charge of the Minister for National Development, has done a wonderful job, and our Republic has earned a world-wide reputation for providing housing for the lower income group, both for rent and for sale. However, because of the great demand for these houses, the Board has not been able to build enough to cope with the demand. There is one section of the community, the middle income group, which has not been catered for, and they have to turn to the private developers for their housing needs. Sir, my constituency has many private housing estates, consisting mainly of high-rise flats. They are either for sale or for rent. The developers are only concerned with the collection of rentals or payment of instalments from owners who have bought these houses, and pay no regard to their obligation for maintenance. The compounds are in such a bad state of repair and the gutters are leaking. Generally, there is litter and filth both in and around the compounds. Although there are agreements entered into between the tenants and the developers that the maintenance of these flats is the responsibility of the developers, such undertaking is not observed. As a matter of fact, some of these blocks of flats have been occupied for more than five years now, and have not been issued with any certificate of fitness by the Ministry. Will the Minister for Law and National Development and the Minister for Health look into these complaints of the tenants and enforce a law to protect the interests of the poor flat owners who are mostly from the middle income group and who are at the mercy of these developers? Sir, I have some pictures here showing the state of these flats for the Minister to see. [Photographs handed in to the Clerk for Mr Barker.]