Hansard, 1975-02-26

BILL INTRODUCED - HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT (AMENDMENT) BILL "to amend the Housing and Development Act (Chapter 271 of the Revised Edition)", presented by the Minister for the Environment (Mr Lim Kim San); read the First time, to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.

ADJOURNMENT MOTION - (Business Motion) Mr Speaker, Sir, may I seek your consent, and the general assent of hon. Members, to move a motion to enable Parliament to adjourn before 8.00 p.m, this evening, namely, at 4.30 p.m.?

ADJOURNMENT MOTION - (Business Motion) I give my consent. Do I have the general assent of Members for the motion to be moved, and the Question thereon proposed? Hon. Members indicated assent. Resolved, "That, notwithstanding the Standing Orders, this Parliament do adjourn this day at 4.30 p.m." - [Mr Jek Yeun Thong].

PRESIDENT'S SPEECH - Debate on the Address - (Second Day) Order read for Resumption of Debate on Question [25th February, 1975], `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 of the Government at the opening of the Second Session of this Parliament.".'. - [Mr Ong Teng Cheong] Question again proposed. 2.33 p.m.

PRESIDENT'S SPEECH - Debate on the Address - (Second Day) (In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the Motion of the Member for Kim Keat expressing our thanks to the President for his speech. At the close of yesterday's meeting I was speaking on Education and I would now hike to continue. In the contents of the education programme we should stress on the strengthening and inculcation of an ethical concept so as to enable our younger generation to be law-abiding. The teachers and the authorities concerned should revise the textbooks by doing away with unsuitable contents and replacing them with relevant contents which will add to the moral sense of the children. As the Addendum on the Ministry of Education deals with the publication of textbooks and other programmes, I hope my suggestion will be taken into consideration. Sir, it is pointed out in the Addendum on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that we need to cooperate with our neighbours. Our participation in ASEAN activities is beneficial to countries in this region because it contributes to the peace, prosperity and order of this region. This is in keeping with our foreign policy of making more friends and fewer enemies, and it also maintains our good relations with peoples throughout the world. In order to ensure our long term interests and survival, our people must learn to co-exist with our neighbours. In this respect, besides the official government contacts, we can also keep in touch with our neighbours through trade, commerce, culture and other exchanges in order to promote mutual interest. Sir, it is mentioned in the Addendum on the Ministry of Labour that a new Bill will be introduced to amend the Workmen's Compensation Act to increase the amount of compensation to the injured worker, and that payment will be made more speedily. In a fatal case, the compensation will be raised from $21,600 to $35,000 and in the case of a worker who is disabled permanently the compensation will be raised from $28,800 to $45,000. Sir, this is no doubt a very reasonable figure of compensation for the family of the victim. It is a clear indication of Government's concern for the welfare of the workers and their families. But what is more important is to safeguard the lives and welfare of the workers because they contribute to the progress of our national economy. In view of the increasing number of industrial accidents, the Labour Department will have to tighten its supervision over the safety of the workers and to request employers to abide by all safety regulations. The workers themselves should also be safety-conscious and play their part. With tripartite cooperation, we will then be able to reduce the number of industrial accidents to the minimum. On the Ministry of Culture, I would say that cultural and art activities are very important in the promotion of cultural development of our people. In the past year we have had quite an active programme of cultural and art activities. Considering the fact that tickets for cultural performances at the Victoria Theatre were usually sold out, we can judge the popularity of these performances, which included dramas, concerts and plays in the vernacular. All these speak well for the development of our cultural and art activities. With the concerted efforts of the Ministry of Culture, the people and the artistes concerned, we will be able to promote creative arts and cultural forms. In this way, I am confident that we will be able to instill in our people a better sense of culture and art. Sir, the standard of our medical service has all along been maintained at a very high level. Our medical service has made a good contribution towards the health care of our people. In addition to the purchase of modern equipment and paraphernalia, the Government has also taken steps to increase and to train medical personnel to look after our sick. Today, our people are able to enjoy a healthy life and they must thank the authorities concerned for the services provided. The Ministries of Defence, Education and Health have the largest share of the budget expenditure, but it is well worth spending because it is related to the people's security, knowledge and health. However, I am perturbed by the suggestion to increase the outpatient medical charges, because it is the poor people who go to the Government clinics or hospitals for treatment. So it will have a very hard effect on the poor, because the additional charge of $2 or $3 will increase their burden. I would like to appeal to the Government not to increase the charges for outpatient treatment and Third Class Ward charges, so that the burden of the poor will not be aggravated. Sir, in the past the Community Security Force has played their role very well in the maintenance of security, peace and order in various areas, including Housing Board estates. They have contributed much to the efforts of the police and the security force. This security measure will not only train our younger people in the cultivation of a sense of security but it will also promote good relationship between the Community Security Force and the people. We hope that in future they will be able to provide a greater contribution to the security of the people. Sir, I have studied the Addendum on 13 Ministries but I have not been able to find a single item on public construction in the rural areas. I am very much perturbed by this. In the past, the Government has allotted large sums of money for public construction and development in the rural areas, such as the provision of drains, street lights, the construction of roads, electricity for homes and the betterment of the rural environment or the rural dwellers. Although a great part of the rural areas have been improved, there are stilt many areas which need improvement. There are still some kampongs which lack water supply, good roads and other facilities. As a representative of a rural constituency, I would like to speak for these people. I appeal to the authorities concerned to continue to allocate large sums of money to remedy the ills in the rural areas by the provision of public utilities and other facilities so that the rural people will he very grateful for them. Sir, we are happy to note that although the Government has been paying attention to economic development, national construction and the provision of means of livelihood for the people, yet it has not neglected the recreational needs of the people. According to the Addendum on the Ministry of National Development, the Government has undertaken to develop a 300-acre site along the Tanjong Rhu and Bedok sea coast. This area will be developed not only as a holiday resort for our people but also as a tourist resort. Various kinds of amenities will be provided there. Touching on other matters, 1 am glad to note that the Ministry of Social Affairs will take action to curb the unreasonable and high rates of interest charged by the moneylenders in order to safeguard the interest of the poorer people. The Ministry of National Development will also build condominium housing in order to meet the needs of the middle-class people. The Ministry of Home Affairs will have full-time national servicemen in the Police Force. The increased manpower of the Police Force will curb the increasing number of crimes and it will also help to maintain law and order more effectively. On the question of hawkers' livelihood, the Government will set up more hawker centres in the coming years to house the temporary hawker licence holders. The Government is going to improve the environment of the people by reducing all kinds of pollution and raising the standard of public hygiene. All these measures will show that the Government is taking all the necessary steps to try its best to promote the interest and livelihood of the people. In a review of the performance of our economy over the last year, the President has said that our economic growth was about 7%.In the wake of world-wide recession and inflation, our achievement is really laudable. As the President has said, this has all been due to the self-discipline, diligence, frugality and the spirit of enterprise of our people. In the coming years we will be faced with possibly even greater challenges. However, with the effort, determination, capability and the wisdom of the Government together with the diligence, effort and self-discipline of our people, I am confident that we will be able to overcome all difficulties and achieve all the various beneficial programmes towards nation building in a more glorious way. Sir, I support this Motion. 2.50 p.m.

PRESIDENT'S SPEECH - Debate on the Address - (Second Day) Mr Speaker, Sir, may I join my colleagues in thanking the President for his policy statement. Like the old saying, every cloud has a silver lining, he has forecast that our economy will probably do better in the second half of 1975 than in the first half. This is a welcome forecast and I have no doubt that given the proper planning, guidance and leadership Singaporeans will strive towards making the best of even the deepening recessionary period that we are facing. Sir, the Prime Minister himself has cautioned the over-reactive Singaporeans to any situation and the Deputy Prime Minister has also warned against over-worrying and guessing when the recession would end. In spite of the possibility of an improved economic situation in the second half of this year, we must guard against complacency and its other extreme, panic of any kind. Even in the past year, although our real growth has been only around 7%, we were not so badly off as many other developing countries in view of our sound currency, favourable balance of payments, sound industrial relations system and the climate of social and political stability. The President confidently stated that Singaporeans being relatively young will adjust to slower growth rates. I certainly hope they do. My fear is that a large number of our young workers have come into the labour market after 1968 and they have tasted rapid economic boom and have taken the higher growth rate we enjoyed for granted. It is incumbent upon all of us to stress the virtue of hard work. Up to the end of January this year, about 18,000 people have been retrenched in Singapore. This is about 2% of our total work-force. The slackening of demand for the products of existing factories in Singapore, as a result of the world economic situation, was the main factor that caused the closure of a large number of establishments and cutting down on the labour force of other establishments. Hardest hit among the factories which had to reduce their work-force were the electronics, plywood and textile industries. Fortunately, the retrenchment situation has not been manifestly felt until recently because about 79% of the workers who lost their jobs were women and young girls who were apparently not the sole breadwinners of their families. It is heartening to note that the Ministry of Labour has set up a special retrenchment unit to assist retrenched workers to seek alternative employment. Although it was known earlier that the retrenched workers responded very poorly for job placements, things have now changed. In the early days of retrenchment, the vast majority of the retrenched girls were perhaps depending on their savings or expecting better jobs because they were not the sole breadwinners of their families. In recent months, more and more of these retrenched workers have come to Members of Parliament for assistance in employment. This is a clear indication of the tightening labour market and jobs becoming scarcer as a result of mounting retrenchments in the light of world recessionary trends. We must in a concerted manner take steps to prevent or minimise the impact of retrenchment. These measures are effected within the framework of a rational economic analysis of the retrenchment situation within tripartite relationship of active cooperation between Government, trade unions and employers, with special emphasis placed on increasing productivity through adoption by management of new productivity techniques, skill acquisition by workers and preference given to job deployment and part-time work as against complete retrenchments. Singapore employers whose industries are hit by economic recession should be required, if necessary by legislation, to give the Labour Ministry and the trade unions advance notice of any impending retrenchment exercise. I am aware that the Labour Ministry has advised the industries to do so. But I am doubtful as to how many employers are complying with this request. They should provide the Ministry with a list of workers to be retrenched and the reasons for their action. This would enable the Labour Ministry officials, if necessary with the help of the Economic Development Board, to advise them on how best to tackle the various problems involved. This also helps the Ministry to monitor the labour situation. Singapore is fortunate in that there is no dominant sector in our economy which generates most of our Gross National Product or provides most jobs. We have industries and multinational corporations from all corners of the globe. In other words, as it has often been said, we do not have all our eggs in one basket. Such diversification is certainly Singapore's hope and mainstay for economic survival, for while certain industries are badly hit, such as electronics, plywood and textiles, other industries like tourism and ship-repairing continue to expand. The Addendum on the Ministry of Labour stresses the need for "discipline, hard work, efficiency and skill of our workers, and the enterprise and innovation of our entrepreneurs." This has always been the NTUC philosophy. In fact, to further emphasise it, the NTUC has instituted certain changes in its own set-up so that broad principles for its affiliates can be drawn up. One of the important aspects of this change is the education of trade union officials as well as members. In this context, we will have to decry certain employers who begrudge the granting of paid educational leave to workers. Such employers are antisocial as these workers' educational courses have a pronounced social value and orientation emphasising basic economics, means and methods of higher productivity and tripartitism. We also welcome the initiative of the National Productivity Board in convening the National Industrial Relations Committee to consider the issue of productivity and wages. The NTUC which is represented in this Committee is on public record as being in full support of the twin objectives of the Committee to increase productivity and wages, but the difficulties of this Committee should not be minimised. The past record of attempts to establish productivity councils under the old name of works council is dismal indeed and if we are to make a success of them this time -a vital necessity if Singapore is to progress and prosper on the industrial front - both management and labour must discard their old prejudices. Both sides must approach the problems with a positive determination to work out a just and equal solution in which the key issues, that is, increasing productivity and equitable rewards for greater inputs are exactly balanced. Nothing is more certain than that if the Committee produces a solution which ensures greater productivity and neglects to see that the workers, whose additional efforts that generate this increased productivity are not adequately remunerated, the whole effort will collapse in future as have previous efforts in this direction. Another welcome feature of the Addendum on the Ministry of Labour is the decision to set up an Industrial Relations Division. I do not know if this would be an extension of the Conciliation Section, or a supplement to it, or if it is going to be a separate division. It is praiseworthy that they intend obtaining high level staff. I, too, happen to be in the same business of looking for, if not high level, suitable industrial relations staff for our requirements in the NTUC. I can assure the Ministry that they are extremely difficult to come by. Even if we recruit some, the promising as well as a few of the mediocres are grabbed by management. Apparently, their need is greater than ours and they are willing to pay for their needs. I would like to caution the Ministry, however, that recruiting staff for the Industrial Relations Division is one thing, but recruiting the right calibre of staff, who must not only gain the confidence of management, but also of labour is necessary for the success of the Industrial Relations Division. Gaining the confidence of one party at the expense of the other is bound to fail. The NTUC's call for the inclusion of industrial dermatitis and noise-induced deafness to the list of compensable diseases under the Workmen's Compensation Act was made as early as 1972. We are grateful that the Ministry of Labour has at last found the soundness of this request and has so listed. In the industrial safety and health field, the Ministry of Labour is very actively pursuing policies of inspection and enforcement. In spite of the inadequacy of sufficiently well-trained officers, the Ministry of Labour is doing a good job. This division has got to be congratulated. Our industrial safety and health standards are reasonably high in comparison with that of the developing countries despite the recent accidents in building construction and ship-repairing fields. However, inspection and enforcement officials should be ever vigilant and mindful that our action does not in any way result in the stifling of the competitive edge we have in the region. Apprenticeship schemes for children between the ages of 12 and 14 years and allowing young persons between 14 and 16 years of age to work in industrial establishments would help those who leave school at an early age for some reason or other. However, proper apprenticeship schemes should be drawn up and inspection of such schemes would be necessary to prevent abuse of apprenticeship trainees. Let me make a few comments now on the Addendum on the Ministry of Health. Looking through the comprehensive Addendum, it says so much about our population policy, hospital development, disease patterns, etc., but nothing about recruitment of doctors, specialists, etc., and most important of all the retention of these specialists. We cannot just write-off the whole episode by just saying that doctors are not dedicated. There is definitely more money in private practice. It appears as if Government hospitals train doctors in the early years of their career for the private sector. Although this may not necessarily be a bad thing, the Government should be in a position to retain some experienced doctors and specialists for its own use in the Government hospitals. Perhaps a commission of inquiry like the Police Services Commission should be set up to resolve the situation. Such a commission would indicate the areas of discontent among our medical officers. It is gratifying to note that growing numbers of young Singaporeans have come to regard career in the Armed Forces rewarding and respected. It is also with pride that we can state categorically that we are now embarked on a qualitative instead of quantitative defence capacity. However, there is one aspect in which the Ministry of Defence should direct its planning with a little more care than now, i.e, the in-camp training for discharged national servicemen. It has been brought to my notice that a few ex-national servicemen have been called up for full-time in-camp training twice in a year; each training lasted for more than 20 days. Particularly in respect of officers who are engaged in executive positions in government, statutory boards and the private sector, this places a strain on the employers as well as on the officers. This also disrupts, in some instances, important work that the officers are performing in their place of work. I am sure some device can be formulated so that they are only called up from their place of work once a year or this in-camp training given during the weekends. I notice that the Ministry of Home Affairs is going to organise more campaigns in the coming years. Like the hon. Member for Henderson mentioned yesterday, well planned and spaced-out campaigns have their educational effectiveness. If I remember correctly, last year the Ministries of Health and Home Affairs organised the most number of campaigns. If we are not careful, one of these days, some hon. Members of this House might organise a campaign against all campaigns! Those Members who are organising campaigns for next year, please note this. While congratulating the Housing and Development Board on the record number of 26,000 units of flats built last year, I would also like to comment on the qualitative aspect of its housing programmes. I strongly believe that with proper and vigilant supervision quality need not be sacrificed for quantity. In recent months, I have, on behalf of the Housing and Development Board, balloted for thousands of flats in Telok Blangah and I have received just as many complaints. It appears as if the Housing Board takes over blocks of flats from the contractors without the necessary full inspection of the flats, ballots them off and hands keys over to the respective tenants or flat-owners. Trouble starts from then on. Complaints of leaking sewerage pipes, doors and windows which are either jammed or unable to be locked, floors that are as rough as unmaintained rural roads, pour in. The complaints pour in as fast as the flats are let out. It sometimes takes months for the Board to attend to these complaints. Finally, Sir, my friend the Honourable Minister for Education is not here and if he were here, he would be terribly disappointed if I do not comment on the Ministry of Education, my favourite Ministry. The policy and the content of changes in our Education system has been far too many. While reserving the details for the Budget Debate, may I just make a few general comments with regard to these changes, past and present. Let me start with History. The hon. Member for Ulu Pandan mentioned yesterday of the importance of History in the school curriculum. I will only mention the changes in our Education system with regard to History. Once, Sir, just a few years ago, we taught History in primary and secondary schools in the first language. Recently, we taught History in the second language. The new policy is "History in no language". Quite recently too, the second language exposure time was increased. Even more recently, principals were told that they can be flexible about the exposure time depending upon language teachers available. Yet another change, mind you. Some years ago, at the end of primary school, children were graded into academic, technical and commercial streams and later, practically all secondary one and two pupils were made to attend two years of workshop practice after which streaming would take place. Now, again, we are told that streaming is going to be at the end of their primary school career.

PRESIDENT'S SPEECH - Debate on the Address - (Second Day) That is wrong.

PRESIDENT'S SPEECH - Debate on the Address - (Second Day) Well, I will wait for the reply at the appropriate time. Just a few years ago, emphasis and more emphasis was placed on extracurricular activities. Inter-District Meets of all kinds were encouraged. More recently, there have been directives for reduction of ECA activities. Primary education is to be extended to seven years with provision for some pupils to complete it in six years. Schools were told that grading for six-year or seven-year primary education is to be made at primary three level. A proper guidance in this regard is yet to be given. Could not the same purpose be served in the retention of a primary pupil if he fails badly in a class for one year? In other words, pupils who make good progress complete their primary education in six years and those who fail stay on in a primary school for one more year. When is the Ministry of Education going to stop treating teachers and children as robots? Will the new Education Act put an end to, to quote the President in his Address, "short-term political considerations, and that, instead, you will be guided by the long-term interests of all our people."? 3.16 p.m.