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ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS - HDB SHOP/COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES - TENDER SYSTEM - (Disclosure of bids) asked the Minister for National Development (a) why does the Housing and Development Board only disclose the winning bid in its shop/ commercial properties tender system and not all the bids; and (b) what is the rental index or the rate of increase (decrease) in rents for HDB shop and/or commercial properties based on average winning tender bids for the quarters from 1981 to 1984.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS - HDB SHOP/COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES - TENDER SYSTEM - (Disclosure of bids) Mr Speaker, Sir, the Housing and Development Board normally accepts the highest tender for its commercial premises, placing the second and third highest tenders as reserves should the highest tenderer not take up the premises. The HDB is of the view that disclosure of all tenders may lead to manipulation of the tender system. Tenderers, particularly family members or business partners, may be encouraged to submit multiple tenders in collusion with one another. If all bids are disclosed, they will know whether they have been placed as a reserve. Should they also submit the highest bid, they may reject the offer made to the highest tenderer and accept the premises at the lower rental offered by the reserve. The only penalty suffered by the rejecting tenderer is a forfeiture of the tender deposit. This is insignificant compared to the higher rents which may have to be paid over the years. Full disclosure of all bids may also encourage more non-bona fide tenders. If the gap between the winning tender and the reserve tender is wide, the successful tenderer may reject the unit and repeat the practice for another shop. An analysis of tenders received for HDB's commercial properties between 1981 and 1983 indicates that rentals offered increased by approximately 30% to 40% in town centres, and by about 30% in neighbourhood centres. Rentals in the Central Area increased by approximately 20%. In 1984, rentals remained stable in town centres and neighbourhood centres but declined by approximately 10% to 15% in the Central Area.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS - HDB SHOP/COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES - TENDER SYSTEM - (Disclosure of bids) Sir, is the Minister aware that it is precisely because of this closed system and the fact that the HDB is the monopolist of these estates that has led to this increase? Is the Minister also aware that, in fact, from 1981 until the present time, rentals for commercial properties all over Singapore, as published in the Monthly Digest of Statistics which shows only sale prices but presumably would also reflect the rental prices, have decreased from 1981 until the present time?
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS - HDB SHOP/COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES - TENDER SYSTEM - (Disclosure of bids) I am really a bit puzzled. Are you of the view that non-disclosure has led to higher tenders? Is that what you mean?
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS - HDB SHOP/COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES - TENDER SYSTEM - (Disclosure of bids) Yes, that is what I am saying - that the disclosure of only the winning bid will lead the next tenderer to go for a still higher bid, regardless of whether or not there is a market for such HDB shop space.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS - HDB SHOP/COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES - TENDER SYSTEM - (Disclosure of bids) Mr Speaker, Sir, I do not think that is the case. Anybody who submits a tender for HDB commercial premises is a serious tenderer, and he would have made his calculations: what is the potential of the business, how much profit he can make, before he submits his tender. This is not a guessing game. It does not necessarily follow that where one tenderer bids at a certain sum for a rental shop, the other tenderers will bid higher than him. Because the tenderer first makes his own calculations. If he finds that his business does not allow him to make a profit if he tenders too high, he will not tender at that rate.
HDB HOME-OWNERSHIP SCHEME - (Number on waiting list) asked the Minister for National Development (a) if he will state (i) the number of applicants for public housing under the Home Ownership Scheme; (ii) the number still on the waiting list up to the latest convenient date; and (iii) how long these applicants have to wait before they are offered selection of their flats; and (b) whether there are any plans to develop new housing estates.
HDB HOME-OWNERSHIP SCHEME - (Number on waiting list) Mr Speaker, Sir, the number of new applicants for public housing under the Home Ownership Scheme registered in 1984 was 48,733. The number still on the waiting list to buy flats as at 31st December 1984 was 60,305. Applicants on the waiting list who are willing to accept flats in any area can, on the average, expect to be allocated their flats within one year. However, the waiting time for those who are choosy and want flats in specific areas will be much longer, depending on the locality. The HDB will continue to develop existing new towns, such as Tampines, Bukit Batok, Jurong West, Bishan and Yishun, and commence to develop new areas at Pasir Ris, Caicuogang North, Zhenghua and Bukit Timah.
HDB HOME-OWNERSHIP SCHEME - (Number on waiting list) Mr Speaker, Sir, in response to the First Deputy Prime Minister's point yesterday, would the Hon. Minister consider extending the building of Hougang New Town, particularly the northern part, to Punggol?
HDB HOME-OWNERSHIP SCHEME - (Number on waiting list) Mr Speaker, Sir, land is one of the most precious commodities in Singapore. HDB, together with various Government authorities, has been instructed to make the best use of land, and so HDB will study the utilization of the available land around Punggol for development.
HOUGANG AVENUE 5/ - UPPER SERANGOON ROAD - (Pedestrian overhead bridges) asked the Minister for National Development whether pedestrian overhead bridges will be constructed in the vicinity of Hougang Avenue 5 and Upper Serangoon Road in view of the fast growing population of Hougang New Town.
HOUGANG AVENUE 5/ - UPPER SERANGOON ROAD - (Pedestrian overhead bridges) Mr Speaker, Sir, the HDB plans to build two pedestrian overhead bridges in the vicinity of Hougang Avenue 5 and Upper Serangoon Road. Tenders for the first bridge will be called by the third quarter of 1985, and that for the second bridge, in early 1986. Pending the construction of the bridges, three light-controlled pedestrian crossings have been installed.
HOUGANG NEW TOWN - (Widening of Upper Serangoon Road) asked the Minister for National Development when the stretch of Upper Serangoon Road in the vicinity of Hougang New Town (North) will be widened to cater for the growing volume of traffic.
HOUGANG NEW TOWN - (Widening of Upper Serangoon Road) Mr Speaker, Sir, traffic condition for the stretch of Upper Serangoon Road in the vicinity of Hougang New Town is still satisfactory. Recent traffic counts by the Public Works Department show that the peak hour traffic volume is between 1,000 and 1,100 vehicles per hour, which is within the capacity of the existing road. There is therefore no immediate need to widen the road. However, in view of the growing population of Hougang New Town, the Public Works Department is monitoring the traffic conditions along this road. The PWD is currently studying the design for the possible widening of the road within the five-year Road Development Programme.
TEENAGE ABORTIONS - (Particulars) asked the Minister for Finance, Minister for Education and Minister for Health since the Abortion Act of 1974 was enacted, making it no longer necessary for those below 18 years of age to obtain consent from parents/guardians, (a) has the removal of such consent resulted in more teenage abortions compared to the preceding 5-year period when such consent was necessary; (b) were there more repeated teenage abortions compared to the preceding 5-year period; and (c) whether the Minister will consider introducing amending legislation to include consent for those below 18 years of age if the statistics point to greater permissiveness among teenagers and higher number of repeated teenage abortions. The Minister of State for Health and Foreign Affairs (Mr Yeo Cheow Tong) (for the Minister for Finance, Minister for Education and Minister for Health): Mr Speaker, Sir, I am answering on behalf of my Minister. During the period preceding the enactment of the Abortion Act of 1974, abortions among unmarried teenagers increased from 24 in 1970 to 284 in 1974. After the enactment of this Act, the number increased from 704 in 1975 to 1,109 in 1979 and 1,787 in 1984. Repeat abortions among teenagers numbered five in 1971 and increased to 49 in 1974. After the enactment of the Abortion Act in 1974, the number increased from 72 in 1975 to 208 in 1979 and 456 in 1984. This increase has been partly due to the fact that, with the increasing number of years in which the Act has been in operation, the number of teenagers who would have undergone abortions has grown, thereby increasing the likelihood of repeat abortions among this group. The question is whether this increase in the number of teenage and repeat abortions is entirely due to liberalization of abortion laws or due to other external factors, namely, changing social mores brought about by wide exposure to foreign life-styles. These external factors have caused radical changes in our young people's moral values. The whole issue of abortion amongst unmarried teenagers is related to changing moral values of life. The Government can only play a limited role in instilling the right moral values into our young citizens. The moulding of children's character during the formative years of their lives lies chiefly in the hands of their parents and teachers. It is during these impressionable years that the correct moral values instilled will decide their future behaviour. Parents should take on this important responsibility which should be further fortified in schools by incorporating moral education into the school curriculum. The problem of teenage abortions is a world-wide one and there are no easy solutions. The Member for Jalan Kayu has asked if the Ministry would consider introducing amending legislation to include consent for those below 18 years of age if the statistics point to greater permissiveness among teenagers and higher number of repeated teenage abortions. Imposing the condition that teenagers seeking abortions should be required to get parental consent will drive teenagers to back-street abortionists or discourage them from revealing their pregnancy until an advanced stage. This will be a retrogressive step which will lead to greater risks to the health of these teenagers. Complications of illegal abortion account for up to 70% of maternal deaths in hospitals of developing countries and an unknown number of additional deaths outside hospitals. A pregnant teenager who seeks an abortion is one who has an immediate problem. To refuse her the possibility of having an abortion under proper medical and psychological care is tantamount to forcing her to seek a clandestine abortion with consequent serious risk to her health. A more pragmatic approach would be to carry out the abortion first, when the teenager is in a desperate position of having to cope with the consequences of an unanticipated, unwanted pregnancy, followed by counselling her in the presence of her parents. Parents would then be obliged to exercise greater moral responsibility over their daughters.
TEENAGE ABORTIONS - (Particulars) In view of the tremendous increase in abortions as stated by the Minister of State, from 1,109 in 1979 and 1,787 in 1984, will the Minister or his Ministry consider abolishing the Abortion Act and allow the pregnant teenagers to have their babies and to realize the consequences of their act?
TEENAGE ABORTIONS - (Particulars) Sir, repealing the Abortion Act, I feel, would be an act of refusal to recognize that there are social and health problems involved. The very act of repealing the Abortion Act will not wipe out the abortions because teenagers who have this problem and who do not want to go through with the pregnancy will then have to resort to back-street abortions, thereby posing great risks to their health and even their life.
TEENAGE ABORTIONS - (Particulars) Is the Minister of State saying that the pregnant teenagers, with all the sophisticated facilities we have in our hospitals, will have medical and social consequences after giving birth to these babies?
TEENAGE ABORTIONS - (Particulars) Sir, I do not think it is the impact of the hospital services that we are worried about. It is the impact of the lack of good medical services possessed by the back-street abortionists that we are more concerned about. The Ministry does recognize that the number is large and we are in the process of reviewing the Act. And I would like to invite Members to perhaps pass on their views to us which we will take into consideration when reviewing the Act.
TEENAGE ABORTIONS - (Particulars) Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to ask the Minister of State whether any study has been made of this group of persons, especially those who had repeated teenage abortions? Because an understanding of this cohort of people - their socio-economic circumstances, their psychological problems maybe - would help in the prevention or maybe a curtailing of this problem in the future. The other question I would like to pose to you is: I agree with you totally that permissiveness is not to be encouraged, but maybe it is better for the teenage girl to be on contraceptives than to undergo repeated abortions.
TEENAGE ABORTIONS - (Particulars) Sir, I agree with the Member that more education is required. I have already stated that perhaps the school should consider expanding the moral education curriculum to cope with this problem.
TEENAGE ABORTIONS - (Particulars) Mr Speaker, Sir, on a point of clarification. I was not asking about more education. I was asking for a study to identify the people in this vulnerable group. Has any study been made? Or will the Minister consider making a study of this group? Who are the vulnerable ones? Who are the people most vulnerable to repeated abortions? We have to know the characteristics of this group, if we are to tackle this problem. I totally agree with you that education is necessary. But who do you educate? You must identify the group first.
TEENAGE ABORTIONS - (Particulars) Sir, when any pregnant woman comes into a clinic in a Government hospital for abortion, she is first counselled and dissuaded from going through with the abortion. The abortion is, therefore, an act of last resort. She is motivated by the trained medical staff on the use of proper contraceptive methods. So this should help to prevent repeated abortions.
TEENAGE ABORTIONS - (Particulars) On a point of clarification, Mr Speaker, Sir. It looks like I have to go into -
TEENAGE ABORTIONS - (Particulars) It seems to be clarification time, not supplementary questions.
TEENAGE ABORTIONS - (Particulars) Am I in order, Sir?
TEENAGE ABORTIONS - (Particulars) Let us have your supplementary question, please.
TEENAGE ABORTIONS - (Particulars) Will the Minister agree to a study of this problem, yes or no?
TEENAGE ABORTIONS - (Particulars) Yes, we will undertake a study into this problem.
TEENAGE ABORTIONS - (Particulars) Mr Speaker, Sir, since the Hon. Minister of State has invited hon. Members to contribute suggestions, may I commend him and his Ministry to the intensive in-depth report in the Hansard on the two occasions that this House had to debate on, and that is, the Abortion Bill to liberalize abortions, and the second one was to repeal the Abortion Act, followed by the re-enactment of the new Abortion Bill. In those two pieces of legislation, I am sure the Minister of State and his Ministry will find replete with arguments and suggestions.
TEENAGE ABORTIONS - (Particulars) A very long question, is it not?
TEENAGE ABORTIONS - (Particulars) I ask the Minister whether he is aware of this.
TEENAGE ABORTIONS - (Particulars) Mr Speaker, Sir, yes, the Ministry is very aware of the debates and they were well recorded in the Hansard. We will definitely refer to them.
TEENAGE ABORTIONS - (Particulars) Mr Speaker, Sir, will the Hon. Minister of State inform this House the age range of those who undergo teenage abortions, and whether there is any change in the trend in this lower age range?
TEENAGE ABORTIONS - (Particulars) Mr Speaker, Sir, a teenager is defined as someone who is below 18 years of age.
TEENAGE ABORTIONS - (Particulars) Mr Speaker, Sir, what I was referring to was the youngest age of someone who has undergone abortion, and whether there is any trend in that age.
TEENAGE ABORTIONS - (Particulars) Mr Speaker, Sir, is the Hon. Minister of State stating that the Ministry is having second thoughts on the Abortion Act that was introduced and implemented in 1974? And that there being serious consequences on the younger population, particularly the teenagers, it now merits a review of the Abortion Act?
TEENAGE ABORTIONS - (Particulars) Mr Speaker, Sir, let me first answer the question from the Member for Radin Mas. The age groups that we have in the data relate to those below 15 years and those between 16 and 19 years. We have no further breakdowns other than these. The figures for those below 15 years are quite constant. They are in the region of 20 a year. To the question posed by the Member for Punggol as to whether the Ministry is having second thoughts on the Act, in terms of repealing the Act, the answer is No. But we feel that certain provisions in the Act may have to be modified in order to reduce the ease with which teenage abortions can be obtained.
RULES OF DEBATE - (Compliance with Standing Orders) - Announcement by Mr Speaker Before we come to the next item on the Order Paper, may I say something? I am very perturbed that the perplexity of our Standing Orders has led to some misunderstanding among some of the new, and even not-so-new Members, some of whom are not here. This misunderstanding seems to be hinged on the point of order, or point of clarification or elucidation. Standing Order 48 states: 'No Member shall interrupt another Member except-
by rising to a point of order, when the Member speaking shall resume his seat and the Member interrupting shall simply direct attention to the point which he desires to bring to notice and submit it to the Speaker or Chairman for decision; or (b) to elucidate some matter raised by that Member in the course of his speech, provided that the Member speaking is willing to give way and resumes his seat and that the Member wishing to interrupt is called by the Speaker or Chairman.' Thus, there is no excuse for a Member to launch on a speech even before the Chair has given any decision. I shall, therefore, in the future stick to this particular Standing Order very strictly.
BILLS INTRODUCED 11.27 am
SUPPLY BILL 'to provide for the issue from the Consolidated Fund of the sums necessary to meet the estimated expenditure for the financial year lst April, 1985 to 31st March, 1986", recommendation of President signified; presented by the Minister for Finance, Minister for Education and Minister for Health (Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam); read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.
SUPPLEMENTARY SUPPLY BILL 'for making supplementary provision to meet additional expenditure for the financial year 1st April, 1984 to 31st March, 1985", recommendation of President signified; presented by Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam; read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available sitting of Parliament, and to be printed.
PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS - Debate on the Address - (Sixth Allotted Day) Order read for Resumption of Debate on Question [1st March, 1985). '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 First Session of this Parliament.".'. -[Dr Tan Cheng Bock]. Question again proposed. 11.29 am
PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS - Debate on the Address - (Sixth Allotted Day) Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to respond to some comments made by hon. Members of this House regarding the state of the Singapore economy, in particular, the statement by the Member for Alexandra in which he said that the Minister of State for Trade and Industry and I have taken perhaps an overly optimistic view, or armchair view, of the state of economy that we might have glossed over the real situation which, in his words, "is pretty bad". Now, I would like to clarify that when I and the Minister of State talked about the Singapore economy, we were talking about the economy as a whole, and not about any particular sector. I accept that in certain sectors, particularly the trade sector which is of primary interest to the Member for Alexandra, things are in fact fairly depressed. However, one must take these things in perspective when one looks at statistics, lest we talk ourselves into a blue funk. The economy as a whole is not doing badly. Certain sectors indeed are depressed. Overall, I would like to re-emphasize that the economy is not doing as well as last year but it still remains fundamentally sound. Perhaps we should examine some of the statistics in order that they can be looked at in perspective. Indeed it is true that last year we had redundancies of 4,694. In absolute terms, this does look like a pretty bad figure. But what does it actually mean? It represents less than 0.4% of the total employable population in Singapore. I know this statistic is not particularly helpful to those who have lost their jobs, particularly around Chinese New Year. Nevertheless, it is a fact that it is a small proportion of the total minimum employable level of around 2.7% in Singapore which is, in fact, the figure of 33,000. In the larger economies, full employment, in fact, means around 6% of irreducible minimum of employed. However, for the 4,000-odd people who have lost their jobs, indeed it is a problem as far as they are individually concerned. But let us not forget that we do indeed have a full employment economy in Singapore. These individuals ought to have found jobs within a reasonable period of time, provided they are not overly choosy. I also recognize, of course, that there are those who, because of age or because of lack of special skills, will find it takes longer to get replacement jobs. Indeed, it is this sector which the Government will do all it can to help. It is also said that in 1984, 429 companies failed, went bankrupt, or were wound up. This indeed could be looked at as a rather startling figure. But is it? Let us examine some figures in our neighbouring countries. In Hong Kong, last year 1,746 companies closed down for one reason or another. Their population is twice ours and so is their economy. So indeed they may be said to have done worse than we have. But, of course, one could argue that they were faced with political problems or that they might have more problems than we have. Let us look at Japan. Last year, 19,000 Japanese companies failed for one reason or another. In proportion to the size of the population, this would be about similar to the 400-odd in Singapore. In the United States, there were 12,776 failures. It is really a small number for the size of their economy. But again I would caution in looking at statistics. These figures are not really meaningful without knowing the size of the companies which have failed. So again I would urge caution. Again, in looking at statistics, one perhaps should look at the whole picture rather than part of it. In the case of Singapore, it is true that 429 companies failed. But it is also true that 4,600 new companies were formed. Again, I would caution. It does not mean that 4,600 new company formations is necessarily a very good thing because many of these companies may have been registered for $2 and may not be in operation for some time. Nevertheless, I merely quote this because statistics, looked in isolation, could convey indeed very wrong conclusions. In fact, a cynic has said that if one looks at statistics, there are things such as statistics and statistics and damn lies. Sir, I will reiterate again. Business confidence is a very fragile commodity. Therefore, we should not talk ourselves into a gloom and doom syndrome. Having said that, perhaps I should now divert to a look at the components of our economy, sector by sector, to see where the problem lies, and what can be done to alleviate those sectors which are depressed. Conveniently, the Singapore economy can be divided into five main sectors, each of which accounts for roughly 20% of our GDP. These are manufacturing, transport and communications, financial and business services, trade, construction, and others. Manufacturing. Overall, the manufacturing sector did not do too badly in 1984 but the outlook for 1985 is somewhat lower. In 1984, overall growth was about 9%. However, within this macro figure, there are certain sectors which are clearly depressed, the shipping sector, shipyards, timber companies, plywood factories, offshore oil and so on. On the other hand, the electronic and electrical component sector was very buoyant. And because of their buoyancy, many companies around the first, second to third quarters, in order to fulfil large orders from the United States, took on very large numbers of new workers. It was clear even then that such new additions to their employment could not be sustained, and indeed it turned out to be the case. Some of these companies now have to lay off some staff due to a levelling off of orders from the United States. Overall, we think next year the manufacturing sector ought to at least perform in the mid-range of our forecast, around 5% or perhaps 6% growth. The next sector is transport and communications. This sector did very well last year and I think we can expect it to continue to do reasonably well this year. Growth for last year was 10%. There was great demand for air and sea services, telecoms and telex services. We think this sector will continue to do quite well and therefore in the upper quartile of our forecast. The third sector is financial and business services. This sector did reasonably well last year where the growth was 11%. However, a lot of this growth took place in the offshore banking sector whereas the domestic banking sector slowed down somewhat due to reduced lendings into the depressed property market and into the trade and services area. Overall, it ought to do reasonably well next year, perhaps even in the upper range of our forecast. The next sector is construction and others. Construction accounts for about 60% of this sector. Others represent farming and the fisheries industry. Construction was very strong last year although down from the previous year. Growth was in the region of 15%. It is slowing down this year because of the decline in private sector construction. However, it still remains buoyant because of continued expectation of public sector construction and the MRT. Overall, again it ought to perform in the upper range of our forecast. Finally, I come to trade which is probably the most depressed area and which explains why the Member for Alexandra is concerned. Indeed, this sector is probably the worst performing sector. There are a variety of reasons behind this. First, the tourist sector within trade. I think everybody knows that growth in tourism has turned down, partly because hotel prices had priced itself out about a year or two ago and the tourists then went to Hong Kong because of our very high charges in hotel rates. The normal market mechanism due to the increase in the supply of hotels has in fact caused a substantial reduction in hotel charges and the outlook from the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board's figures look fairly encouraging. And we think there should be a reasonable upturn this year leading to somewhat better occupancy rates in the hotel industry but still remaining depressed because of large over supply. The property development area, we have said, although is under trade, is indirectly affected, of course. In the private trade business, the reduction in business is well known. I think it is partly due to a downturn of our trade with our neighbours who have, in fact, also suffered from a decline in world trade plus the decline in commodity prices, particularly Indonesia and also to a certain extent Malaysia. These are the factors affecting many of our small traders and they are the ones who I think are indeed suffering. Again, the other sector where there is obvious depression is the retail sector in shops which do retail trade. It was again evident about two years ago during the peak of the expansion of this sector where there was a proliferation of HDB shopping centres and private sector shopping centres. The growth in this sector could not be sustained. In fact, I remember walking through some of these shopping centres about a year or two ago and seeing these hundreds of shops all selling virtually the same things, clocks, watches, jeans, what have you. I think it was clear that this growth could not be sustained and some of these rather unfortunate companies which had set up business hoping to cash in on the tourist boom would have to retreat, and indeed it has. Again, although one could say this is normal economic development, it is very painful for those personally involved. This is recognized by the Ministry of Trade and Industry and we are not armchair scientists in this area. Sir, indeed we do recognize that there are soft spots in the economy and a lot of them due to circumstances either within their control or outside their control are going through difficult times. The Ministry is aware of this and we have examined this and indeed proposals are in hand to provide them with some form of relief. I would not go into these in detail because the Minister for Finance will be touching on some aspects of it in his Budget speech this afternoon. I would only recommend to the Member for Alexandra some patience since we only have about three-odd hours to wait. 11.42 am