Hansard, 1993-08-31

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:- Dr Lau Teik Soon - from 2nd to 22nd September, 1993. Mr Peter Sung - from 4th to 6th September, 1993. Mr Lew Syn Pau - from 6th to 11th September, 1993. 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 dates stated: 27th August, 1993 (i) Travel Agents (Amendment) Bill 1993; and (ii) Electrical Workers and Contractors Licensing (Amendment) Bill 1993. TAN SOO KHOON Speaker Parliament of Singapore

REARRANGEMENT OF ORDER OF BUSINESS - (Motion) Resolved, That Tribute to President Wee Kim Wee on the Order Paper be taken after Questions for Oral Answer. - [Mr Wong Kan Seng].

ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS - CERTIFICATES OF ENTITLEMENT - (Impact of increasing premiums) asked the Minister for Communications what is the negative impact of the ever-increasing Certificate of Entitlement premiums and whether the vehicle quota system can be further improved.

ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS - CERTIFICATES OF ENTITLEMENT - (Impact of increasing premiums) Mr Speaker, Sir, the prices of Certificates of Entitlement (COEs) are determined by market forces of supply and demand. Since the supply of COEs is fixed every month, the rising COE prices simply reflect the increasing demand for vehicles in the market. COE prices fluctuate according to demand for vehicles which, in turn, is dependent on the state of the economy. This is borne out by past trends. During the Gulf Crisis of 1990, when there was some uncertainty about the economic situation, demand for vehicles dropped and COE prices dropped correspondingly. When the Gulf Crisis ended, demand picked up sharply and COE prices rebounded to pre-Crisis levels. Today, the economy is doing well. More people want to buy cars, trucks and buses, and are able to afford it, hence higher COE prices. The only way to dampen COE prices is to increase the supply of COEs. My Ministry is now looking into various road pricing measures, such as the whole-day Area Licensing Scheme (ALS) and electronic road pricing which can help to control congestion and at the same time allow for increased vehicle ownership, in other words, more COEs. Meanwhile, my Ministry will continue to monitor the Vehicle Quota System. We welcome any constructive suggestion which any Member of the House or anyone may have on this subject.

ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS - CERTIFICATES OF ENTITLEMENT - (Impact of increasing premiums) Sir, would the Minister give an assessment of the impact of COE of commercial vehicles on the cost of doing business in Singapore?

ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS - CERTIFICATES OF ENTITLEMENT - (Impact of increasing premiums) I do not have a ready answer for the assessment but I do know that COE prices for commercial vehicles have gone up correspondingly with the economy and with demand and in the same ratio or thereabouts with the other COE categories. I do recognise that for certain categories of commercial vehicles, namely, the heavy goods vehicles, they have to pay double the COE payable by the smaller commercial vehicles. I suppose this is reflected ultimately in the cost of doing business. Nevertheless, there is a good reason for that. These heavy goods vehicles pay different taxes from the smaller goods vehicles. My Ministry is in the process of reviewing the difference in tax structure.

ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS - CERTIFICATES OF ENTITLEMENT - (Impact of increasing premiums) Would the Minister review the need of having multiple or several categories of private vehicles in view of the fact that there is very little price difference in the premiums of these categories?

ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS - CERTIFICATES OF ENTITLEMENT - (Impact of increasing premiums) That may well be so, Mr Speaker, that the COE premiums today are tending to gravitate towards a common level among the various categories. However, I would like to remind the Member that when we first started off with the various categories for cars, we wanted to ensure that there would be some equity in the bidding process. In other words, those people who are bidding for COEs in the smaller car category are not competing with those who are bidding for the larger and more expensive cars. Nevertheless, ultimately, as I said earlier, prices of COEs reflect supply and demand and it is very much the case today that the demand for small cars is as high as the demand for the larger cars in respect of the number of COEs available. Hence, COE prices are tending to be about the same.

ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS - CERTIFICATES OF ENTITLEMENT - (Impact of increasing premiums) Sir, would the Minister consider channelling some of the unused COEs, in particular, motorcycle COEs, to the category where there is greater demand?

ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS - CERTIFICATES OF ENTITLEMENT - (Impact of increasing premiums) We are currently reviewing the question of unused motorcycle COEs. We have to bear in mind of course the fact that these unused COEs have arisen as a result of lower than expected demand for motorcycles and we need to know the underlying reasons behind it. Unused COEs represent unused capacity as it were of road space and we need to make sure that this is equitably distributed if motorcycles are not using it. However, this is still under review and we will be in a position to give a more definitive answer perhaps in the new year.

FULL-DAY AREA LICENSING SCHEME - (Reasons for introduction) asked the Minister for Communications what are the reasons for introducing a full-day Area Licensing Scheme in the Central Business District in 1994.

FULL-DAY AREA LICENSING SCHEME - (Reasons for introduction) Mr Speaker, Sir, the whole-day Area Licensing Scheme (ALS) is to be introduced because congestion in the Central Business District (CBD) during the off-peak hours is becoming severe. This is not unexpected given the rising number of cars in Singapore. Rather than tighten further on ownership of vehicles, the whole-day ALS will tackle the specific problem of congestion in a specific area at a specific time through appropriate charges for use of the roads. It is a step towards the use of more extensive road pricing to control congestion and will prepare motorists for the forthcoming Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) which is expected to be ready by 1997. Through more extensive road pricing, we can then allow for a higher level of vehicle ownership without compromising on our objective of keeping congestion under control. Motorists today enjoy a relatively congestion-free drive in the CBD during the morning and evening peak hours. However, this is not the case for the period in between. Average vehicle speeds during the non-ALS hours, especially in the afternoon, have fallen substantially by 36% to 19 kph. Some places in the CBD like Eu Tong Sen Street, Orchard Road and Bras Basah Road are already experiencing some localised congestion. The whole-day ALS will even out traffic flows into the CBD throughout the day, through differential pricing for entry at different times of the day. It will encourage motorists who may not need to be in the CBD to use alternative routes. Some may also be encouraged to use buses or MRT. The net result will be a smoother and easier ride for all road users, motorists as well as public transport users. If the whole-day ALS succeeds in reducing congestion in the CBD, the Government will be able to allow more Singaporeans to own cars by increasing the number of COEs available.

FULL-DAY AREA LICENSING SCHEME - (Reasons for introduction) Sir, as $2 and $3 is not very much of a difference, will the Minister envisage that the shift of the traffic will be to the peak hours and the jam will be during the peak hours?

FULL-DAY AREA LICENSING SCHEME - (Reasons for introduction) The proposed rates of $3 for the whole day and $2 for just the mid-day off-peak hours are premised on the fact that there will be some shift of traffic to the peak hours but it is sufficient to smoothen out the road traffic throughout the day. In other words, yes, there will be some shifting over of the traffic from the off-peak to the peak hours, as the Member has suggested, but there is still a little bit of capacity left in the peak hours to allow this to take place without undue congestion. But, nevertheless, if the differential of $1 is too small to bring this about, we will review the rate.

FULL-DAY AREA LICENSING SCHEME - (Reasons for introduction) Sir, may I ask the Minister whether any concession will be given to residents living in the CBD because it would appear that they would be penalised for living within the CBD.

FULL-DAY AREA LICENSING SCHEME - (Reasons for introduction) Currently, Sir, the residents in the CBD do not enjoy any concession and indeed they also do not suffer any congestion during the peak hours. There is no reason for us to vary the situation when the whole-day ALS comes into being.

FULL-DAY AREA LICENSING SCHEME - (Reasons for introduction) I have got two supplementary questions. First, does the Minister envisage that with the full-day CBD congestion in fact will be caused in the outlying areas? Second, has he considered or asked the Government to decentralize the Government departments and other facilities so that traffic will not be attracted into the CBD?

FULL-DAY AREA LICENSING SCHEME - (Reasons for introduction) Perhaps I will take the second question first. As the Member may be aware, it is in the overall land use policy of the Government that we try and decentralize as much as possible many of the activities. Hence, you will notice the setting up of regional centres in many of the outlying HDB estates. However, there is a limit to what can be done because some of the activities still need to be in the CBD. We cannot completely decentralize all these activities. So long as there is commercial, retail and business activity in the Central Business District which attracts traffic and people, there will be traffic congestion. The purpose of the ALS scheme in the past and the purpose of this extension of the ALS scheme is not to eliminate traffic from the CBD but rather to control it to the extent that people who want to use the road and who are willing to pay a nominal sum to use those roads can do so and enjoy smooth, congestion-free travel. That in itself is a plus. It saves them money. Coming back to the first point that he made on whether there will be congestion in the ring roads, yes, there will be congestion in the ring roads but this is not envisaged to be serious congestion at the moment. However, it is a dynamic situation and the authorities concerned - the Public Works Department, Registry of Vehicles and the Traffic Police - will continue to monitor the situation and make adjustments as and when it is found necessary.

FULL-DAY AREA LICENSING SCHEME - (Reasons for introduction) The Minister has said that the shift of traffic could be from the off-peak hours to the peak hours. But because there is the off-peak period, many people could just drive into the city and do their business. Has the Minister considered the business effect in the CBD, like in the retail trade? I speak with vested interest, Sir.

FULL-DAY AREA LICENSING SCHEME - (Reasons for introduction) Mr Speaker, Sir, the retail trade association has been consulted and discussions have been held with the retail merchants association prior to the announcement of this scheme. The Registry of Vehicles has met and explained the rationale of the scheme. The feedback is that the retail merchants association, whilst they would prefer not to have the scheme, understands the rationale and reason behind it and they also recognise that, in the long run, we should continue to maintain the situation where the traffic flows smoothly and not deteriorate into a situation like in some other major cities where people avoid the city area because they cannot even move. While they do not welcome the scheme, they recognise and understand the need for it.

WOODLANDS IMMIGRATION CHECKPOINT - (Reasons for traffic congestion) asked the Minister for Home Affairs what are the reasons for the traffic congestion at the immigration checkpoints at Woodlands and what steps are being taken to improve the situation.

WOODLANDS IMMIGRATION CHECKPOINT - (Reasons for traffic congestion) Mr Speaker, Sir, the main reason is that the number of travellers passing through the Woodlands Checkpoint has risen rapidly over the years. In 1990, the daily average was about 176,000. This increased to 181,000 in 1991 and 187,000 in 1992. In the first six months of this year, the daily average has hit 190,000. At the same time, the number of vehicles passing through the Checkpoint has also increased. Given this large number of travellers and vehicles, some traffic congestion is unavoidable from time to time. Furthermore, on certain occasions when immigration and anti-narcotics operations and surprise checks are conducted at the Checkpoint on persons entering Singapore, the time for clearance of arriving travellers may be lengthened. The Immigration Department has taken measures to ease the problem. For example, when there is congestion, Traffic Police, which normally deploys two to three officers at the Checkpoint for the morning peak period, has doubled its force. This has improved traffic flow. In addition, Immigration Department is recruiting more staff and this will increase clearance capacity. For the longer term, as has been announced in Parliament, a new and much larger Checkpoint is being developed at Woodlands. Land has already been reclaimed for this purpose. The new facilities are expected to be operational by late 1996 or 1997. Traffic flow will then be better managed and persons entering or leaving Singapore will be cleared in a much shorter time. Meanwhile, the Immigration Department, together with the Police, will continue to monitor the situation and will take all necessary measures to ensure speedy clearance.

WOODLANDS IMMIGRATION CHECKPOINT - (Reasons for traffic congestion) Sir, as one who travels to Johor at least two or three times a year, as far as I can remember, every time I travelled to Johor there was always a traffic jam. There was never once where the traffic was clear. Anyway, I am happy to hear that the Ministry is enlarging the immigration facilities at Woodlands. On the checking of passports, can the Parliamentary Secretary tell me whether they are checking on other matters, rather than just the validity of the passports? Perhaps the immigration officers are checking too many things. That is why they are taking too much time. If the passport is valid, they should allow him to go. Maybe they are checking too many things.

WOODLANDS IMMIGRATION CHECKPOINT - (Reasons for traffic congestion) The Member would appreciate that there is a need to ensure that people who travel through the Checkpoint have valid travel documents. That is the first point. Measures have been taken to computerise. In fact, there is a computer unit that helps to check the passports and other travel documents in an expeditious manner. I do not know when Mr Chiam passed through the Checkpoint. Maybe he chose days when it was terribly crowded. But let me assure the Member that steps have been taken to expedite the clearance process by Immigration at the Checkpoint.

WOODLANDS IMMIGRATION CHECKPOINT - (Reasons for traffic congestion) Another very stressful experience at the Causeway is queue jumping. I do not know whether the Parliamentary Secretary can comment on this.

WOODLANDS IMMIGRATION CHECKPOINT - (Reasons for traffic congestion) Was the Member one of those who jumped queue? I think this is something that disturbs all motorists. Queue jumping is something we will not feel very happy if we are affected. In any case, the Traffic Police have been deployed at the Checkpoint to ensure that there is no queue jumping.

PUBLICATIONS APPEAL COMMITTEE - (Criteria for publication) asked the Minister for Information and the Arts, in regard to the newly-formed Publications Appeal Committee, if he will state what criteria will be used by the committee to determine whether or not a publication should be banned.

PUBLICATIONS APPEAL COMMITTEE - (Criteria for publication) Mr Speaker, Sir, the Publications Appeal Committee will follow the criteria recommended by the 1992 Censorship Review Committee (CRC). The Committee recommended that publications which are inimical to Singapore's national interest should continue to be disallowed. These include materials that may: (i) erode the core moral values of society; (ii) subvert the nation's security and stability; (iii) create misunderstanding or conflict in our multi-racial and multi-religious society; or (iv) denigrate any religion or race. The Censorship Review Committee also recommended that consideration and weight be given to the artistic or research merit of a publication and its context.

THE ECONOMIST AND OTHER GAZETTED NEWS MAGAZINES - (Conditions for lifting of restrictions) asked the Minister for Information and the Arts if he will say when and under what conditions the restrictions on The Economist and other gazetted news magazines will be lifted.

THE ECONOMIST AND OTHER GAZETTED NEWS MAGAZINES - (Conditions for lifting of restrictions) Mr Speaker, Sir, we do not wish to gazette The Economist indefinitely, because it is not a regional publication like the Asian Wall Street Journal, Asiaweek and Far Eastern Economic Review, but an international journal like Time magazine which only reports on Singapore irregularly. Time magazine was de-gazetted after nine months. What happens with The Economist will depend on whether any further problems develop over the next few months. The Asian Wall Street Journal, Asiaweek and the Far Eastern Economic Review will remain gazetted because unlike The Economist, they are regional publications which report regularly on Singapore. Gazetting will remind them that they should not interfere in Singapore's domestic politics, and that they circulate in Singapore as a privilege and not as of right. However, while they will remain gazetted, we will only restrict their circulations if they continue to flout the rules. We regularly review the circulation limits of gazetted magazines, and when justified, we will increase the limits on those which abide by the rules, as we have done with Asiaweek and the Asian Wall Street Journal.

THE ECONOMIST AND OTHER GAZETTED NEWS MAGAZINES - (Conditions for lifting of restrictions) Sir, does the Hon. Minister of State agree that Singaporeans are mature enough to judge for themselves what is true and what is false, and there is no need to resort to banning or restricting the circulation of The Economist?

THE ECONOMIST AND OTHER GAZETTED NEWS MAGAZINES - (Conditions for lifting of restrictions) Yes, Singaporeans are mature enough. But harmful publications will certainly produce a harmful effect on our readers. For the long-term benefit and interest of the country, the Singapore Government should not tolerate any interference from foreign publications in our domestic politics and other domestic affairs.

THE ECONOMIST AND OTHER GAZETTED NEWS MAGAZINES - (Conditions for lifting of restrictions) Sir, the Minister of State mentioned about harmful effect. Could he elaborate further in this instance what is the harmful effect?

THE ECONOMIST AND OTHER GAZETTED NEWS MAGAZINES - (Conditions for lifting of restrictions) It could convey unhealthy lifestyle. It could mislead our people about a certain way of thinking or management of the economy or of the Government.

THE ECONOMIST AND OTHER GAZETTED NEWS MAGAZINES - (Conditions for lifting of restrictions) Sir, would the Minister agree that since Singaporeans are mature, they should be given all sides of the story, including our right of reply, so that they can judge for themselves?

THE ECONOMIST AND OTHER GAZETTED NEWS MAGAZINES - (Conditions for lifting of restrictions) Yes, I think we should all be entitled to our right of reply. If somebody makes a wrong accusation, we should have the right to point out the facts and correct the mistakes.

THE ECONOMIST AND OTHER GAZETTED NEWS MAGAZINES - (Conditions for lifting of restrictions) Sir, has the adoption of gazetting served its purpose against the negative effect that we suffer?

THE ECONOMIST AND OTHER GAZETTED NEWS MAGAZINES - (Conditions for lifting of restrictions) Can the Member repeat his question, please?

THE ECONOMIST AND OTHER GAZETTED NEWS MAGAZINES - (Conditions for lifting of restrictions) Using this method of gazetting foreign publications, has it served our purpose? And when measured against the negative effect that we suffer, do we come out better off?

THE ECONOMIST AND OTHER GAZETTED NEWS MAGAZINES - (Conditions for lifting of restrictions) It certainly serves our purpose. It would remind all the foreign magazines that when they circulate in Singapore, they have to report any facts, analyses or any other articles appearing in their magazines or newspapers correctly. Otherwise, their circulation may be restricted.

THE ECONOMIST AND OTHER GAZETTED NEWS MAGAZINES - (Conditions for lifting of restrictions) Sir, if I heard the Minister of State correctly, one of the reasons for gazetting foreign publications is the propagation of unhealthy lifestyle. Does this refer to The Economist?

THE ECONOMIST AND OTHER GAZETTED NEWS MAGAZINES - (Conditions for lifting of restrictions) It could be any other publication. But in the case of The Economist, it is the refusal to give us the right of reply. That was the reason why we gazetted The Economist.

THE ECONOMIST AND OTHER GAZETTED NEWS MAGAZINES - (Conditions for lifting of restrictions) Sir, the Minister of State mentioned about the right of reply. Could he confirm that the local media also adhere to the same principle of right of reply?

THE ECONOMIST AND OTHER GAZETTED NEWS MAGAZINES - (Conditions for lifting of restrictions) Yes, I would think that our local media should also give whoever has the right of reply a right of reply.

MYANMESE AIRLINE PASSENGERS - (Interception at Changi Airport) asked the Minister for Home Affairs if he will inform the House if the Government has investigated the circumstances under which 11 Myanmese airline passengers en route to Bangkok from Australia were reportedly intercepted at Changi Airport and sent to Myanmar instead and what is the outcome of the investigations.

MYANMESE AIRLINE PASSENGERS - (Interception at Changi Airport) Mr Speaker, Sir, the Member is probably referring to reports in Bangkok newspapers and in Asiaweek of 18th August 1993 concerning 11 Myanmar seamen who were flying from Australia where they had won a wage dispute mediated by the International Transport Workers Federation en route to Bangkok. Asiaweek said that Myanmar military intelligence agents apparently intercepted them at Changi Airport and bought them passage to Yangon. I directed the Internal Security Department (ISD) to conduct a thorough investigation to establish the facts. ISD's investigations have established the following. On 3rd June 1993, at about 7.00 pm, 11 Myanmar seamen arrived at Changi Airport on a Qantas flight from Brisbane. They had originally been booked on a connecting flight from Singapore to Bangkok. But this second leg of their itinerary had been cancelled at the Australian end. As a result, their journey terminated in Singapore. Earlier, on 2nd June, the First Secretary of the Myanmar Embassy in Singapore had received a request from the Chairman of Star Corporation Shipping Company, representing the employer of the seamen, asking him to help repatriate the seamen to Yangon. The First Secretary replied he could not do so without instructions from Yangon. Subsequently, he received such instructions from the Foreign Ministry of Myanmar to assist in repatriating the seamen for breach of agreement relating to their employment. When the seamen arrived in Singapore on 3rd June 1993, the First Secretary got the Qantas Airport Duty Manager to assist him to detain the passports of the 11 Myanmar seamen and to hold the seamen under escort until their departure for Yangon. For this purpose, the First Secretary handed to Qantas a copy of a letter from the Myanmar Embassy addressed to the OC Immigration Changi Airport with copies to Qantas and Airport Police. The letter requested Immigration to detain the passports of the 11 seamen and to assist in repatriating them to Yangon. Neither Immigration nor Airport Police received the letter. The First Secretary admitted that it was never faxed to the Airport Police. He believed that he may have faxed the copy for Immigration to Qantas on the assumption that Qantas would forward it to Immigration. The First Secretary tried to put the 11 seamen on a flight to Yangon the next day, 4th June 1993, but did not succeed. Three days later, on 7th June 1993, the seamen were eventually flown to Yangon on a Silkair flight. During the whole period, the seamen were confined under SATS guard in an area in Changi Airport normally used to temporarily hold passengers who are prohibited to land in Singapore or other passengers who, because of irregularities of their travel documents, have to be returned to their point of embarkation by the relevant airlines. On the basis of the facts established so far, the following conclusions can be drawn: (a) The actions of the First Secretary of the Myanmar Embassy which resulted in the physical confinement of the 11 seamen were most irregular and, if against the will of the 11 seamen, also illegal. The seamen had not been prohibited by Singapore Immigration from landing in Singapore. They would have been allowed to enter Singapore had they sought to do so. The Myanmar Embassy did not raise with the proper Singapore authorities their desire to repatriate these passengers to Yangon. Although they claimed to have faxed their letter to Immigration and the Airport Police, instead they dealt exclusively with the Qantas Manager throughout the whole episode. The First Secretary told the investigators that although he could not have exercised these powers in Myanmar, he was entitled, as a diplomat in Singapore, to detain the seamen. This assertion of jurisdiction is totally unfounded. (b) Qantas was wrong to assist the Myanmar Embassy. The second leg of the seamen's itinerary from Brisbane via Qantas had been cancelled and their baggage tagged for off-loading at Singapore. Therefore, Qantas' responsibility for these 11 passengers ended when they landed in Singapore, especially since Qantas was subsequently not involved in arranging for the seamen to leave Singapore. All these arrangements had been done by the Myanmar Embassy officials. Qantas had no basis whatsoever to act on the Myanmar Embassy's request to confine the seamen for four days, all this at Qantas' own expense. (c) As for the SATS security officers, ISD's investigations have not established any intentional contravention of the law. However, it was clearly wrong of them to have confined the seamen purely on the request of Qantas and the Myanmar Embassy. The present arrangements for SATS to hold people in the airport pending repatriation are unsatisfactory and must be reviewed. This review has already commenced. (d) There has been no evidence that Myanmar intelligence officials were involved, contrary to Asiaweek report. (e) Immigration Department, Police, CAAS and other Singapore Government Departments were not involved. Sir, the Government takes a very serious view of this incident. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has formally protested to the Myanmar Embassy over the actions and conduct of their First Secretary in this affair. ISD investigation papers have been sent to the Attorney-General to determine whether any party has committed any offence, or whether anyone has been negligent and failed to exercise due care and attention in his duties.

MYANMESE AIRLINE PASSENGERS - (Interception at Changi Airport) Sir, if the Minister says that the First Secretary's action could be considered illegal, may I ask him what offence did he commit?

MYANMESE AIRLINE PASSENGERS - (Interception at Changi Airport) As I said, the Attorney-General is reviewing the papers. I would say that in my discussions with him the offence would probably be that of wrongful confinement and/or abetment of wrongful confinement. The evidence thus far does suggest that apart from the involvement of the Myanmar Embassy, Qantas staff and SATS have given assistance in the confinement of these 11 seamen. Obviously, the Attorney-General would have to study the papers and decide who has committed what breach of the law and what consequential actions must be taken.

SMALL FAMILIES IMPROVEMENT SCHEME - (Increase in minimum monthly income) asked the Minister for Community Development how many households qualify under the Small Families Improvement Scheme and, if the number is small, whether he will increase the minimum monthly income to S$1,000 per month and subsequently adjust upwards with inflation.

SMALL FAMILIES IMPROVEMENT SCHEME - (Increase in minimum monthly income) Mr Speaker, Sir, about 8,600 households will be eligible for the Small Families Improvement Scheme. The Scheme is meant to encourage poor families to keep their families small so that they can concentrate more resources and attention on fewer children. The $750 per month income limit each for husband and wife covers roughly the lowest 20 percentile of the population. The other conditions reduce the percentage of eligible households to 3%. These conditions ensure that the Scheme reaches the intended target group. We do not intend to raise the wage limit from $750 to $1,000, as families where the husband and wife are both earning $1,000 per month cannot be considered poor. We realise that among the target group of low income families, many have irregular incomes which vary from month to month. We will therefore exercise some flexibility in the implementation of the Scheme, to give the benefit of the doubt to marginal cases with incomes close to the limit. The percentage of families who qualify for the Scheme will drop over time as education levels and incomes rise. After the Scheme has been in operation for several years, we will revise it in the light of experience. But we do not intend to index the income criterion to inflation as this automatic linkage sets a dangerous precedent.

SMALL FAMILIES IMPROVEMENT SCHEME - (Increase in minimum monthly income) Sir, what is the rationale behind the eligibility criteria that those who are divorced will not be qualified?

SMALL FAMILIES IMPROVEMENT SCHEME - (Increase in minimum monthly income) This Scheme is intended to help small families upgrade and get out of their poverty trap. It is not intended to help families to become separated. So we should therefore focus the resources of the Scheme on helping to keep families intact, because it is only when the family is intact, can they give the full attention and care to the children.

SMALL FAMILIES IMPROVEMENT SCHEME - (Increase in minimum monthly income) May I ask the Minister what is the racial composition of these 8,600-odd families, and whether it is true that this Scheme is targeted at a particular minority race?

SMALL FAMILIES IMPROVEMENT SCHEME - (Increase in minimum monthly income) Sir, of the 8,600 households eligible for the Scheme, 6,300 (73%) are Chinese, 1,600 (19%) are Malays and 700 (8%) are Indians. As the Member can appreciate, these proportions are very close to our racial composition in the population and therefore the Scheme is not intended for any particular minority group.

SMALL FAMILIES IMPROVEMENT SCHEME - (Increase in minimum monthly income) Does the Minister agree that broken families - they may be divorced for to one reason or another - also need the same help as those families which are intact?

SMALL FAMILIES IMPROVEMENT SCHEME - (Increase in minimum monthly income) Sir, we should not confuse the objective of helping our families who have divorced with the objective of the Small Families Improvement Scheme (SFIS). The Scheme is targeted at a very specific group of people, which is families, and "families" means that you must have both parents living together with the children and families whose parents have low income and low education. If single families require help, they can approach the relevant agencies for help under separate programmes.

SMALL FAMILIES IMPROVEMENT SCHEME - (Increase in minimum monthly income) Sir, would the Minister please tell us what are the social conditions underlying the high fertility in the families that qualify for the SFIS? Can I elaborate? We have done away with illiteracy. Literacy is high. So why is it that poorer families tend to have more children while higher educated women tend to have fewer children. That is what I am trying to find out. What is the social reason? Is it lack of family planning? What makes poorer families want to have more children?

SMALL FAMILIES IMPROVEMENT SCHEME - (Increase in minimum monthly income) Dr Soin, I think that is not relevant to the main Question. I suggest you file a separate Question.

DISCIPLINARY INQUIRIES OF PUBLIC SERVANTS - (Representation by unions) asked the Minister for Finance if he will consider allowing public servants to be represented by their unions at disciplinary inquiries.

DISCIPLINARY INQUIRIES OF PUBLIC SERVANTS - (Representation by unions) Mr Speaker, Sir, in asking the Question, I would like to declare my interest as the Executive Secretary of a public sector union. Question No. 8, Sir.