Hansard, 1989-10-06

PERMISSION TO MEMBERS TO BE ABSENT Under the provisions of clause 2(d) of Article 46 of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore, the following Members have been granted permission to be or to remain absent from sittings of Parliament (or any Committee of Parliament to which they have been appointed) for the periods stated:- Mr Lim Chee Onn (Bukit Merah) - from 4th to 7th September and from 16th to 24th September, 1989. Dr Hong Hai (Bedok GRC) - from 5th to 9th September, 1989. Mr Choo Wee Khiang (Marine Parade GRC) - on 6th September and from 19th to 23rd September, 1989. Dr Aline K. Wong (Tampines GRC) - from 9th to 28th September, 1989. Mr Lim Boon Heng (Kebun Baru), Deputy Speaker - from 9th to 30th September,1989. Mr Leong Horn Kee (Thomson) - from 9th to 29th September and from 17th October to 19th November, 1989. Mr S. Chandra Das (Cheng San GRC) - from 9th to 29th September, 1989. Encik Abdul Nasser bin Kamaruddin (Hong Kah GRC) - from 9th to 30th September and from 2nd to 20th October, 1989. BG Lee Hsien Loong (Teck Ghee), Minister for Trade and Industry and Second Minister for Defence (Services) - from 10th to 12th September, 1989. Mr Tan Soo Khoon (Brickworks GRC), Speaker - from 11th to 15th September and from 13th to 26th October, 1989. Dr Wong Kwei Cheong (Cairnhill) - from 14th to 16th September and from 13th to 18th October, 1989. Mr Heng Chiang Meng (Cheng San GRC) - from 14th to 28th September, 1989. Dr Lee Boon Yang (Jalan Besar GRC), Senior Minister of State, Ministry of National Development and Ministry of Home Affairs and Government Whip - from 15th to 17th September, 1989. Mr Goh Chok Tong (Marine Parade GRC), First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence - from 15th to 17th September, 1989. Mr Ng Pock Too (Nee Soon Central) - from 16th September to 1st October and from 13th to 26th October, 1989. Mr Charles Chong (Sembawang GRC) - from 16th to 22nd September, 1989. Dr Hu Tsu Tau, Richard (Kreta Ayer), Minister for Finance - from 16th September to 1st October and from 6th to 7th October, 1989. Mr Wong Kan Seng (Toa Payoh GRC), Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Community Development and Leader of the House - from 19th September to 8th October, 1989. Mr Lew Syn Pau (Tanglin) - from 23rd to 24th September, from 7th to 11th October, from 14th to 15th October and from 22nd to 28th October, 1989. Dr Augustine H.H. Tan (Whampoa) - from 25th to 30th September, 1989. Encik Othman bin Haron Eusofe (Marine Parade GRC) - from 25th September to 12th October, 1989. Encik Abbas Abu Amin (Pasir Panjang GRC) - from 28th to 30th September, 1989. Mr Chin Harn Tong (Aljunied GRC) - from 29th September to 25th October, 1989. Mr Chew Heng Ching (Eunos GRC) - from 30th September to 4th October, 1989. Encik Yatiman Yusof (Tampines GRC), Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs - from 2nd to 20th October, 1989. Dr Wan Soon Bee (Pasir Panjang GRC) - from 4th to 6th October, 1989. Dr Dixie Tan (Ulu Pandan) - from 5th to 8th October and from 12th to 26th October, 1989. Mr Bernard Chen (Pasir Panjang GRC) - from 5th to 6th October, 1989. Mr Eugene Yap Giau Cheng (Mountbatten), Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Trade and Industry and the Minister for the Environment - on 6th October, 1989. Mr Mah Bow Tan (Tampines GRC), Minister of State, Ministry of Communications and Information and Ministry of Trade and Industry - from 6th to 7th October, 1989. Mr Goh Chee Wee (Boon Lay) - from 14th to 26th October, 1989. TAN SOO KHOON Speaker Parliament of Singapore

ASSENTS TO BILLS PASSED The following Bills were assented to by the President of the Republic of Singapore on the date stated: 26th September, 1989 (i) National Computer Board (Amendment) Bill; and (ii) Immigration (Amendment No. 2) Bill. TAN SOO KHOON Speaker Parliament of Singapore

ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS - PRIVATE RESIDENTIAL ESTATES - (Funds for upgrading of public areas) asked the Minister for National Development whether his Ministry will consider allocating funds for upgrading of public areas such as parks, roads and footpaths in private residential estates, similar to the proposed plan to upgrade the public housing estates.

ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS - PRIVATE RESIDENTIAL ESTATES - (Funds for upgrading of public areas) Mr Speaker Sir, the Government maintains all public areas in Singapore including those in the private residential estates. For example, about 500 km of roads and 60 hectares of open spaces in private residential estates which are vested in the State are currently being maintained by the Public Works Department and the Parks and Recreation Department respectively. As part of maintenance, these roads, sidewalks and open spaces are upgraded and improved as and when necessary.

ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS - PRIVATE RESIDENTIAL ESTATES - (Funds for upgrading of public areas) Sir, would the Minister not agree that in Singapore there are, in fact, several very old private residential estates, much older than the HDB estates, which require a fair amount of sprucing up and upgrading. Therefore, should the Government not also consider spending money to upgrade such areas as well since it has a plan to upgrade HDB estates?

ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS - PRIVATE RESIDENTIAL ESTATES - (Funds for upgrading of public areas) Mr Speaker, Sir, as I have said in my main answer, if there are public facilities which are old and need upgrading in these old private residential estates, my Ministry will certainly look into them and upgrade them in due course.

HDB RESALE FLATS - (Purchase by permanent residents for speculative purposes) asked the Minister for National Development what steps are being taken by the Government to ensure that permanent residents will not buy resale Housing and Development Board flats for speculative purposes.

HDB RESALE FLATS - (Purchase by permanent residents for speculative purposes) Mr Speaker, Sir, Singapore permanent residents who purchase resale flats from the open market must abide by the following conditions. First, the flats must be owner-occupied. Second, the lessees must live in the flats for 30 months before the flats can be resold on the open market. Third, each family nucleus is only allowed to own one HDB flat. Fourth, no subletting of the entire flat is allowed. Sir, with these safeguards, we will be able to prevent permanent residents from buying resale HDB flats for speculative purposes.

HDB RESALE FLATS - (Purchase by permanent residents for speculative purposes) Sir, what if the family of the permanent resident lives in, say, Hong Kong, and he is the only one living in Singapore, will he be allowed to buy an HDB flat?

HDB RESALE FLATS - (Purchase by permanent residents for speculative purposes) Mr Speaker, Sir, if the Hongkonger and some of his family members are eligible by relocating in Singapore and wish to purchase a flat, we will allow them to do so. Subsequently, if only he himself wants to occupy the flat, it will also be allowed. The important point is that the applicant, the owner of the flat, must live in the flat.

HDB RESALE FLATS - (Purchase by permanent residents for speculative purposes) How would the HDB monitor the case if, by definition, part of his family is in, say, Hong Kong, and he has to travel between Singapore and Hong Kong frequently? It will be very difficult for the HDB to make sure that he is living in the flat.

HDB RESALE FLATS - (Purchase by permanent residents for speculative purposes) No doubt it is a difficult task to monitor and see whether the owner is actually living in his flat and for how long. But let me assure the Member that HDB will be able to monitor.

BEDOK NORTH ROAD - (Upgrading of street lighting) asked the Minister for National Development whether the Public Works Department will upgrade the street lighting along Bedok North Road beginning from its junction with New Upper Changi Road.

BEDOK NORTH ROAD - (Upgrading of street lighting) Mr Speaker, Sir, the Public Works Department has an on-going programme to upgrade street lighting. The street lighting along Bedok North Road is scheduled to be upgraded in 1990. In the meantime, Sir, the PWD has inspected the site at night and found some overgrown tree branches partially obstructing the street light. The Parks and Recreation Department has pruned these branches to provide temporary improvement.

NON-TAMIL INDIAN PUPILS - (Study of mother tongue as second language) asked the Minister for Education whether his Ministry has any plans to allow non-Tamil Indian pupils to study their own mother tongue as a second language.

NON-TAMIL INDIAN PUPILS - (Study of mother tongue as second language) Mr Speaker, Sir, our bilingual policy requires all pupils in schools to study a second language in addition to English. The Ministry of Education provides instruction and examinations in the three official languages - Chinese, Malay and Tamil - and non-Tamil Indian pupils are presently required to choose one of these languages as their second language. Sir, the question of allowing non-Tamil Indians to study their own mother tongues (Gujarati, Punjabi, and so on) in place of Tamil is not a new one. It was considered as long ago as 1956. But owing to the difficulty of providing instruction in the languages and maintaining standards in examinations, the Ministry decided that non-Tamil Indian pupils should confine the choice of their second language to one of the three official languages, ie, either Chinese, Malay or Tamil. At present, a small number of Indian pupils in our secondary schools study a minority Indian language other than Tamil as a third language and offer it as an '0' level subject. The following minority Indian languages are available as '0' level subjects - Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi, and Urdu. Sir, since examinations in the above five minority Indian languages are available in the '0' level examinations and the standards are maintained by the Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate, the Ministry has reviewed the matter and has decided to allow from 1990, ie, next year, non-Tamil Indian pupils to offer one of the above five minority Indian languages as their second language in secondary schools. As the Ministry will not be able to provide instruction in these languages, the non-Tamil Indian pupils will have to arrange for their own teachers but, where possible, the schools will make available their premises for lessons. The Ministry is presently discussing with the Cambridge authorities to make available examinations in the above five minority Indian languages at the 'AO'level and also at the 'N' level. When these examinations are available, possibly by 1992, non-Tamil Indian pupils will be allowed to choose one of these languages as their second language at the 'AO' level and at the 'N' level examinations. At the primary school level, the problem is more difficult as both the Ministry and Cambridge are at present not in a position to provide examinations in the minority Indian languages other than Tamil. We have asked Cambridge to look into the feasibility of their assisting us to make available examinations in the minority Indian languages at the Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE). Pending the setting up of examinations in the minority Indian languages at PSLE, non-Tamil Indian pupils will continue to choose one of the official languages - Chinese, Malay or Tamil - as their second language at PSLE. Much obliged, Sir.

SCHOOL TUCKSHOP VENDORS - (Observance of high standard of hygiene) asked the Minister for Education what stringent measures are being taken to ensure that all school tuckshop vendors observe a high standard of hygiene in their food preparation.

SCHOOL TUCKSHOP VENDORS - (Observance of high standard of hygiene) Mr Speaker, Sir, school principals have all along been working closely with the various district Environmental Health Offices of the Ministry of the Environment to ensure that school tuckshop vendors maintain a high standard of hygiene in their food preparation. Stallholders and their assistants must be medically examined and cleared before they are allowed to handle food and drinks. Public health inspectors as well as school principals or their designated staff conduct regular checks on tuckshops and stallholders to ensure that they comply with the regulations laid down by the Ministry of the Environment.

CARDPHONES - (Particulars) asked the Minister for Communications and Information how many phonecards are sold per month; how many have been sold as at the latest convenient date; whether he is aware of the inconvenience phonecards have caused to the public; and, if so, if he will ask the Telecommunication Authority of Singapore to reconsider their usage.

CARDPHONES - (Particulars) Mr Speaker, Sir, I am answering on behalf of my Minister. Sir, cardphones are gaining widespread popularity, with sales of phonecards increasing month by month. I have asked the Clerk of Parliament to distribute a table (Cols. 661 - 662) showing the sales data for Members. I think copies of the table are with Members by now. table - Phonecard Sales, Jan - Jul 89 (Cols.661 - 662) Sir, you will notice from the table that in June and July 1989 about 140,000 cards were sold each month, almost double the number sold in January. The total number of cards sold in the first seven months of this year is about 820,000 (ie one card for every three Singaporeans), a clear indication of their convenience and popularity. The NCMP is thus mistaken. Sir, the use of cardphones is a technological advance which is happening worldwide. There are advantages to the consumer. Firstly, there is less vandalism of cardphones compared to coinphones which invite theft and damage, and hence are often out of order, causing inconvenience to potential users. Secondly, coinphones are also more labour-intensive to operate and maintain, and hence susceptible to increases in charges to recover cost as wages go up. Thirdly, cardphones are especially convenient for long and long-distance calls compared with coinphones, where large quantities of coins are required for such calls. Because of its inconvenience, the coinphone is being phased out worldwide, especially in developed countries. In introducing the cardphone, Singapore Telecoms has made every effort to ensure that the switchover from coinphones does not inconvenience the public. Today, 5% of the public telephones are cardphones. Where there are cardphones, there is also a coinphone nearby. The public therefore is not inconvenienced. In its replacement programme, Singapore Telecoms has also planned for the ease of purchase of phonecards and a wide choice of values of phonecards ranging from $2 to $50 to meet the different needs of users.

CARDPHONES - (Particulars) Does the Government realise that there are people who do not buy these phonecards? They have great difficulty in using phones when they have to queue up for the single coinphone?

CARDPHONES - (Particulars) Sir, the trouble with the NCMP is that he thinks the world works the way he fancies. In my reply, it is very clear that the cardphones are gaining popularity among our population. Even after the coinphones are phased out, the public who do not buy the cardphones can still use coinaphones, which are widely available in Singapore. So the public will not be inconvenienced.

SINGAPORE POLICE OFFICERS IN NAMIBIA - (Progress report) asked the Minister for Home Affairs whether he will give a progress report of the activities of the 21 Singapore police officers serving as UNTAG peace monitors in Namibia.

SINGAPORE POLICE OFFICERS IN NAMIBIA - (Progress report) Sir, the 21 Police officers in the Singapore Contingent of the United Nations Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG) arrived in Namibia on 5th May. They have been deployed in groups of three to five men to serve as Police Monitors in the various districts of Namibia stretching from the Northern border near Angola to the Southern border near South Africa. The Leader of the Singapore Contingent, Superintendent Lee Kok Leong, was recently appointed the Chief Electoral and Refugee Officer in UNTAG Headquarters. He is responsible to the UNTAG Police Commissioner for supervising the forthcoming General Elections and also to oversee the return of Namibian refugees from neighbouring countries. The duties of our police monitors include accompanying the South West African Police (SWAPO) on their duties, inspecting refugee camps, checking of information received on SWAPO movements and other activities and guarding and escorting registration papers. Our contingent has been performing their duties fairly and impartially. They have been proven to be tough, disciplined, highly skilled in various policing duties and adaptable. The UNTAG Police Commissioner has commended our men highly for their professionalism, dedication and initiative. Elections there are due in mid-November. In anticipation of these elections, tension is mounting in Namibia. A heavy responsibility will lie on all the UNTAG Forces, including our Police Monitors, to ensure a fair and smooth elections. Sir, I am confident that the Singapore Contingent Leader, who is the Chief Electoral Officer, and his men will contribute in no small measure towards ensuring this. After the elections, UNTAG is expected to remain until 31st March 1990, to enable the newly elected Government sufficient time to consolidate. If all is well, the men will be back home to Singapore and to their families in early April 1990. I may add, Sir, that last month we sent a team of senior officials from my Ministry and the Foreign Affairs Ministry, including a doctor, to visit our police contingent. They reported that our men were in good health and spirits.

SINGAPORE POLICE OFFICERS IN NAMIBIA - (Progress report) Sir, the Minister mentioned that our men there are assisting members of SWAPO. As I understand it, SWAPO is a political party there. It stands for South West African People's Organization. Can I have a clarification on what the Minister has just said?

SINGAPORE POLICE OFFICERS IN NAMIBIA - (Progress report) Shall I repeat, Sir? The duties of our Police Monitors include accompanying the South West African Police (SWAPO) on their duties.

ADVERTISEMENTS IN BRITISH NEWSPAPERS - AND THE STRAITS TIMES - (Cost) asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs what was the cost incurred by the Government in placing advertisements in the two British newspapers, The Guardian and the Financial Times, and The Straits Times (Singapore) in relation to the letter written by Bernard Levin of The Times (London).

SINGAPORE HIGH COMMISSIONER TO LONDON - (Offer of indemnity to proprietors and publishers of The Times of London) asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs on whose authority the Singapore High Commissioner to London offered an indemnity to the proprietors and publishers of The Times newspaper in London to publish a matter relating to a citizen of Singapore.

SINGAPORE HIGH COMMISSIONER TO LONDON - (Offer of indemnity to proprietors and publishers of The Times of London) Mr Speaker, I wonder if I may have your permission to take both Question 8 and Question 9 together as they relate to the same subject matter and perhaps both the Members can thereafter ask any supplementary question.

SINGAPORE HIGH COMMISSIONER TO LONDON - (Offer of indemnity to proprietors and publishers of The Times of London) You have my permission.

SINGAPORE HIGH COMMISSIONER TO LONDON - (Offer of indemnity to proprietors and publishers of The Times of London) Thank you. First, if I may deal with the question asked by Mr Chiam See Tong. The answer is, Sir, that an amount of o7,000 was paid for the advertisement in The Guardian, o12,364 and 80 pence was paid to the Financial Times, while $3,969 was paid to The Straits Times. The Member may be interested to know that The Guardian has a daily circulation of 418,000 copies while the Financial Times has a circulation of 280,000. If I may turn to the question by the NCMP. The Minister for Foreign Affairs authorized the offer of indemnity to The Times by the High Commissioner in respect of any legal action arising from the publication of the High Commissioner's reply. He did so after consulting the Minister for Law and the Attorney-General. The letter by the High Commissioner was to reply to serious allegations against the Government about "the misuse of the law" in an article by Mr Bernard Levin published in The Times on 19th June 1989. The Times not only insisted on considerably editing the reply but also refused to publish two key paragraphs in the High Commissioner's letter on grounds of possible defamation. The paragraphs were, and I quote: "If Mr Jeyaretnam is a person of "scrupulous integrity - professionally, personally and politically", how is it that after July 1975, when the Workers' Party was ordered to pay costs after losing its slander action against a former PAP MP, its bank accounts never contained more than $500, even though between 1976 and 1980 the Party had collected $24,008 in donations and expended $45,196 in election and other expenses? Mr Jeyaretnam could not explain why this was not a deliberate scheme to defraud the creditors. "Mr Levin cites two court cases which Mr Jeyaretnam had "duly lost" and "of course lost", implying that these actions should rightly have succeeded in law. Mr Jeyaretnam acted as his own counsel in both these cases. Did Mr Levin know that in these two cases: 1. In his slander action, he had failed to set out the actual words he complained of, a basic legal requirement in Singapore, as it is in England? 2. In the election petition on behalf of the Workers' Party, he had failed to serve the petition on the Returning Officer as required by law?" "The Malayan Law Journal reported both cases." The inclusion of these two paragraphs was important as they would have effectively rebutted Mr Levin's allegations against the Singapore Government and the judiciary in Singapore. When such serious allegations are published, it is important that the facts be made known to the readers. Furthermore, the Government was advised by the Attorney-General that there was nothing in the High Commissioner's reply which was defamatory. So as not to give The Times any excuse to refuse to publish the full letter, and I repeat, the full letter, the High Commissioner was authorized to offer the indemnity.

SINGAPORE HIGH COMMISSIONER TO LONDON - (Offer of indemnity to proprietors and publishers of The Times of London) After the publication of the two advertisements in The Guardian and the Financial Times, did the Government attempt to put further advertisements in these two papers?

SINGAPORE HIGH COMMISSIONER TO LONDON - (Offer of indemnity to proprietors and publishers of The Times of London) Sir, after the publication of the advertisements in The Guardian and the Financial Times, a further advertisement was taken out in the Daily Telegragh.

SINGAPORE HIGH COMMISSIONER TO LONDON - (Offer of indemnity to proprietors and publishers of The Times of London) I think the Minister has to answer the question. Did the Government attempt to put further advertisements in The Guardian and the Financial Times?

SINGAPORE HIGH COMMISSIONER TO LONDON - (Offer of indemnity to proprietors and publishers of The Times of London) I thought we said so publicly, Sir, that we wanted to publish further advertisements in The Guardian and the Financial Times, but they decided that they would not publish those advertisements.

SINGAPORE HIGH COMMISSIONER TO LONDON - (Offer of indemnity to proprietors and publishers of The Times of London) Would the Minister say where provisions have been made for such expenditure in the 1989/90 budget?

SINGAPORE HIGH COMMISSIONER TO LONDON - (Offer of indemnity to proprietors and publishers of The Times of London) Mr Speaker, Sir, I have been advised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that it is within their budgetary allocation. And if it is not budgeted for, I am sure the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will seek supplementary provision from this House.

SINGAPORE HIGH COMMISSIONER TO LONDON - (Offer of indemnity to proprietors and publishers of The Times of London) If that should be the intention, Sir, should not the Government have first sought permission from Parliament before instituting such an expenditure? Prof. Jayakumar; Mr Speaker, Sir, we have many missions and ambassadors abroad. One of their tasks is to ensure that the reputation and integrity of Singapore and its institutions are not maligned, distorted and discredited without grounds. It is their duty, whenever such attempts are made, to correct and rebut the false allegations and we expect them to do so on their own as quickly as possible without having to come to this House, summon a special meeting of this House and to get permission from this House. It is a normal accepted function of any diplomatic mission of Singapore.

SINGAPORE HIGH COMMISSIONER TO LONDON - (Offer of indemnity to proprietors and publishers of The Times of London) Would the Minister agree that any offer of indemnity is quite different from ordinary costs and that in the circumstances permission has to be obtained from Parliament first?

SINGAPORE HIGH COMMISSIONER TO LONDON - (Offer of indemnity to proprietors and publishers of The Times of London) I do not see any requirement in any law or Standing Orders of Parliament that permission of this House must be obtained for what is an obvious course of action for any overseas mission to take when a foreign newspaper refuses to publish a full reply on various pretexts and where the offer and indemnity exposes the newspaper and shows to be hollow their excuse.

SINGAPORE HIGH COMMISSIONER TO LONDON - (Offer of indemnity to proprietors and publishers of The Times of London) Would the Minister explain why the Government has refused to waive the diplomatic immunity for the High Commission in London for his letter to The Times?

SINGAPORE HIGH COMMISSIONER TO LONDON - (Offer of indemnity to proprietors and publishers of The Times of London) It is really not relevant, Sir, but we have publicly stated that The Times of London has refused to publish the full reply and they refused to publish the two key paragraphs. We have stated publicly that if and when The Times of London publishes the two paragraphs the High Commissioner will waive the immunity. That position stands even as of now.

SINGAPORE HIGH COMMISSIONER TO LONDON - (Offer of indemnity to proprietors and publishers of The Times of London) Would the Minister agree that the refusal makes nonsense of its claim that it wanted to offer the indemnity to put verifiable facts before the British public?

SINGAPORE HIGH COMMISSIONER TO LONDON - (Offer of indemnity to proprietors and publishers of The Times of London) Not at all, Sir. We have asked The Times of London to publish the facts. Mr Jeyaretnam can sue and the High Commissioner will waive his immunity. I do not see what is the point raised by the Member. We are willing and ready in London to establish the facts before the British readers of The Times of London. But The Times of London has to carry those two paragraphs.

CONSUMERS ASSOCIATION OF SINGAPORE - (Effectiveness of) asked the Minister for Trade and Industry whether the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) is still needed; and, if so, whether his Ministry has any plans to ensure that CASE continues to play an effective role in safeguarding consumer interests.

CONSUMERS ASSOCIATION OF SINGAPORE - (Effectiveness of) Mr Speaker, Sir, the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) is a private association formed to protect consumer interests. Such private consumer groups can educate consumers, inform them where to get the best value for money, and take up on their behalf issues of product safety, truth in advertising or profiteering. These are useful functions which enable our consumers to get a fair deal, and also help to keep down the cost of living. The best measure of how well CASE is fulfilling these needs is how much its services are in demand, and how willing its members are to support and pay for its activities. The Government supports these objectives of CASE. As a token of this support, MTI gives CASE a small annual subsidy to cover part of its operating expenses. This year, the grant is $110,000. However, CASE must earn the bulk of its revenues itself: from members' annual subscriptions, from its product and information services, and also from services provided to other institutions, for example, handling tourist complaints for STPB. The Government cannot underwrite the difference between CASE's expenses and its revenues from other sources, much less fund all of the Association's needs. Previously, the Government grant was tied to specific projects. This was unsatisfactory as much of CASE's expenditure is recurrent. MTI has reviewed the system, and decided to raise the grant to $130,000 for FY 90, ie, next year. The Government is prepared to continue assisting CASE through this annual grant so long as CASE's own members support its activities. I believe CASE itself recognizes this. Its latest Annual Report (1988/89) states: "As CASE is a membership organisation, it can only function effectively with the active support of consumers."

YISHUN NEW TOWN, NEIGHBOURHOOD 8 - (Delay in selling and letting out of shop units) asked the Minister for National Development what are the reasons for the delay in selling and letting out the shop units at Neighbourhood 8 of Yishun new town.

YISHUN NEW TOWN, NEIGHBOURHOOD 8 - (Delay in selling and letting out of shop units) Mr Speaker, Sir, there is a delay in selling 47 shop units in Blocks 846 and 848 of Neighbourhood 8, Yishun New Town, because these shops cannot be sold until the flats above them are converted. The conversion is now in progress and will be completed in late 1990. Meanwhile, adequate shopping facilities are available in Neighbourhood 8 to serve the residents. These include 45 shops, 12 market-produce shops, 7 eating houses, 1 mini-market and 1 shoplet. Tender to let out the mini-market in Block 845 will be called in October 1989.

YISHUN NEW TOWN, NEIGHBOURHOOD 8 - (Delay in selling and letting out of shop units) Sir, I would like to know when will the mini-market and the rest of the shops be ready because as far as I know no shop has been opened at Neighbourhood 8.

YISHUN NEW TOWN, NEIGHBOURHOOD 8 - (Delay in selling and letting out of shop units) Mr Speaker, Sir, as I said in my main answer, the mini-market will be tendered out in October 1989 and the rest of the shops will be ready soon. As far as the shops in Blocks 846 and 848 are concerned, they will be tendered out after the conversion in late 1990.

BLOCK 609, ANG MO KIO - (Conversion into bigger flats) asked the Minister for National Development whether and when Block 609 at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5 will be converted into bigger flats.

BLOCK 609, ANG MO KIO - (Conversion into bigger flats) Mr Speaker, Sir, tender for the conversion of Block 609 at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5 has been called. The tender will be closed in early October 1989 and work will commence in December 1989. The conversion work is expected to complete in December 1990. The existing 320 units of 2-room flats will be converted into 80 units of 4-room 'Model A' flats and 40 units of 5-room 'Model A' flats.

BLOCK 105, COMMONWEALTH CRESCENT - (Conversion into bigger flats) asked the Minister for National Development whether the Housing and Development Board has finalized any plans to convert the flats in the vacant Block 105 at Commonwealth Crescent into bigger units.

BLOCK 105, COMMONWEALTH CRESCENT - (Conversion into bigger flats) Mr Speaker, the HDB has no plans to convert the flats in Block 105 at Commonwealth Crescent into bigger units. This block is scheduled for demolition by the middle of 1990 to make way for future development.

STRATHMORE AVENUE AREA - (Building of HDB flats) asked the Minister for National Development whether the Housing and Development Board will reconsider building more flats/apartments in the Strathmore Avenue area under the new registration scheme.

STRATHMORE AVENUE AREA - (Building of HDB flats) Mr Speaker, Sir, the parcel of land bounded by Strathmore Avenue, Dawson Road and Alexandra Canal has already been earmarked for the building of additional flats under the new booking system. Tender for this project will be called in the middle of next year. I have already informed Members in April this year that the central area will be redeveloped more slowly in order to tie up with the comprehensive urban planning and to optimise the long term potential of the land. There are no plans at present for further development in the Strathmore Avenue area.

TEACHING OF RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE IN SCHOOLS - (Statement by the Minister for Education) 1.05 pm