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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 Wong Kwei Cheong - from 24th to 26th March, from 30th to 31st March, from 8th to 9th April, from 15th to 21st April, from 27th to 30th April and from 13th to 17th May, 1994. Mr S. Chandra Das - from 25th to 26th March, from 28th to 30th March, from 1st to 5th April, from 8th to 13th April and from 18th to 22nd April, 1994. Mr Chay Wai Chuen - from 26th to 29th March and from 11th to 21st May, 1994. Dr Ker Sin Tze - from 27th March to 8th April, 1994. RAdm Teo Chee Hean - from 28th to 31st March, from 12th to 21st April and from 5th to 16th May, 1994. Mr Bernard Chen - from 28th to 30th March, from 11th to 15th April and from 28th April to 7th May, 1994. Dr Ong Chit Chung - from 28th to 30th March, from 18th to 22nd April and from 31st May to 1st June, 1994. Dr Beng Kian Lam, Arthur - from 28th to 31st March and from 9th April to 7th May, 1994. Assoc. Prof. Low Seow Chay - from 1st to 3rd April, from 20th to 23rd April and from 25th May to 5th June, 1994. Mr Lew Syn Pau - from 2nd April to 15th May, 1994. Prof S. Jayakumar - from 4th to 6th April and from 12th to 21st April, 1994. Mr Choo Wee Khiang - from 4th to 10th April and from 9th to 17th May, 1994. Assoc. Prof. Walter Woon - from 5th to 7th April, from 4th to 9th May, from 18th to 22nd May and from 29th June to 3rd July, 1994. Mr Leong Horn Kee - from 6th to 7th April, 1994. Mr Mah Bow Tan - from 7th to 14th April, from 25th to 26th April and from 24th to 29th May, 1994. Encik Yatiman Yusof - from 10th to 26th April, 1994. BG George Yong-Boon Yeo - from 10th to 23rd April, 1994. Mr Eugene Yap Giau Cheng - from 11th to 14th April and from 6th to 20th June, 1994. Encik Othman bin Haron Eusofe - from 11th to 21st April, 1994. Dr Ho Tat Kin - from 12th to 16th April, 1994. Mr Goh Chee Wee - from 12th to 16th April, from 24th to 26th April and from 2nd to 16th May, 1994. Dr Lee Boon Yang - from 13th to 16th April and from 18th to 20th April, 1994. Dr Lau Teik Soon - from 13th to 16th April, from 24th to 26th April and from 16th May to 23rd June, 1994. Mr Chua Teck Chew, Robert - from 14th to 15th April, from 3rd to 17th May and on 24th May, 1994. Mr Mohamad Maidin B P M - from 15th to 22nd April and from 13th to 21st June, 1994. Mr Tan Soo Khoon - from 16th to 26th April, from 12th to 14th May and from 25th to 29th May, 1994. Mr Matthias Yao Chih - from 17th to 22nd April and from 6th to 19th June, 1994. Dr Yeo Ning Hong - from 17th to 22nd April and from 29th May to 11th June, 1994. Mr Peh Chin Hua - from 17th to 22nd April, from 12th to 15th May, from 25th to 26th May and from 28th May to 11th June, 1994. Mr Koo Tsai Kee - from 18th to 19th April, from 24th to 27th April, from 6th to 16th May and from 20th to 27th May, 1994. Mr Ling How Doong - from 19th April to 6th May, 1994 Mr Peter Sung - from 19th to 22nd April, from 27th to 30th April, from 2nd to 7th May, from 10th to 14th May and from 28th May to 11th June, 1994. Dr Wan Soon Bee - from 19th to 21st April and from 9th to 13th May, 1994. Mr Heng Chiang Meng - from 20th to 26th April and from 28th May to 12th June, 1994. Mr Loh Meng See - from 21st to 22nd April, 1994. Mr Chin Harn Tong - from 23rd to 24th April, 1994. Dr Aline K. Wong - from 30th April to 11th May, 1994. Mr R. Sinnakaruppan - from 3rd to 25th May, 1994. Mr Davinder Singh - from 3rd to 6th May and on 24th May, 1994. Mr Chia Shi Teck - from 4th to 6th May, from 20th to 21st May and from 25th to 28th May, 1994. Mr Charles Chong - from 5th to 12th May and from 24th May to 2nd June, 1994. Dr Kanwaljit Soin - from 6th to 30th May, 1994. Encik Sidek bin Saniff - from 6th to 16th May, 1994. Dr John Chen Seow Phun - from 6th to 16th May, on 24th May and from 5th to 17th June, 1994. Mr Lee Yock Suan - from 6th to 16th May, 1994. Dr Hu Tsu Tau, Richard - from 7th to 12th May, 1994. Dr Koh Lip Lin - from 8th to 21st May, 1994. Mr Kenneth Chen Koon Lap - from 12th to 16th May and from 25th to 26th May, 1994. Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam - from 19th to 20th May, 1994. Mr Cheo Chai Chen - on 23rd May, 1994. Mr Lee Kuan Yew - on 23rd May, 1994. Dr Tan Cheng Bock - from 1st to 23rd June, 1994. Encik Harun bin A. Ghani - from 1st to 11th June, 1994. Mr Ho Kah Leong - from 9th to 22nd June, 1994. 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: 25th March, 1994 (i) Supply Bill 1994; and (ii) Supplementary Bill 1994. 26th March, 1994 Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment) Bill 1994. TAN SOO KHOON Speaker Parliament of Singapore
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS - MALAY STUDENTS OFFERING MANDARIN AS THIRD LANGUAGE - (Survey) asked the Minister for Education whether a survey has been conducted on the number of Malay students in secondary schools who show an interest in offering Mandarin as a third language and, if so, how many of them are keen to learn Mandarin and what is their family background.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS - MALAY STUDENTS OFFERING MANDARIN AS THIRD LANGUAGE - (Survey) Mr Speaker, Sir, a third language is an option offered only to top 10% pupils in the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE). My Ministry has not conducted a survey to find out how many top 10% Malay pupils may be interested to offer Chinese as a third language. The number is likely to be extremely small.
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS - MALAY STUDENTS OFFERING MANDARIN AS THIRD LANGUAGE - (Survey) Sir, how many Malay students are there in the top 10% bracket?
ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS - MALAY STUDENTS OFFERING MANDARIN AS THIRD LANGUAGE - (Survey) According to last year's PSLE, there were only 163 Malay pupils who were in the top 10% bracket.
MALAY STUDENTS TAKING HIGHER MALAY AT 'A' LEVEL asked the Minister for Education how many Malay students are taking Malay as first language at `A' level and what steps are being taken to encourage them to do so.
MALAY STUDENTS TAKING HIGHER MALAY AT 'A' LEVEL Mr Speaker, Sir, in the past three years, no school candidate has offered Malay as a first language (now known as Higher Malay) at 'A' level. Instead, about 200 Malay students each year take Malay language (formerly known as Malay as second language) at 'A' level. Pupils who passed Higher Malay at 'O' level are encouraged to continue studying Malay at a higher level beyond the minimum compulsory 'AO' level.
MALAY STUDENTS TAKING HIGHER MALAY AT 'A' LEVEL Sir, suppose some of them offer to take Malay as a first language at 'A' level, will the Ministry allow them to do so?
MALAY STUDENTS TAKING HIGHER MALAY AT 'A' LEVEL Yes, the Ministry will allow them to take as long as they meet the conditions. But judging from the statistics last year, the number is likely to be small. There was no school candidate in 1993. There were some private candidates, but the number was also very small. There were only three private candidates who took Higher Malay at 'A' level in 1993.
MEDISAVE - (Contribution by part-time self-employed people) asked the Minister for Health why is a person engaged in a second job of a self-employed nature on a part-time basis required to contribute to Medisave even though that person is already contributing to Medisave in respect of his regular full-time job.
MEDISAVE - (Contribution by part-time self-employed people) Mr Speaker, Sir, currently, a person who holds multiple employment is required to contribute to CPF from all sources of employment income. However, if his combined CPF contributions exceed the prescribed maximum, he may apply to have his CPF contributions capped at the maximum. His Medisave contributions will likewise be capped. The same principle applies to a person who is concurrently an employee and a self-employed person. He is required to contribute to Medisave based on all sources of income. Similarly, if his combined Medisave contributions exceed the prescribed maximum, he may apply to cap his Medisave contributions to the maximum amount.
MEDISAVE - (Contribution by part-time self-employed people) Sir, is the Minister aware that even if the Medisave account has reached its maximum, a person in this category is still required by the relevant Government authorities, like the Registry of Vehicles for taxi licence renewal, etc. to continue to contribute to his Medisave account?
MEDISAVE - (Contribution by part-time self-employed people) If he has already reached the limit of his Medisave contribution, he can apply for it to be capped.
MEDISAVE - (Contribution by part-time self-employed people) But I understand that they are required to continue to contribute to their Medisave accounts. Any surplus would then be transferred from the Medisave accounts into their Ordinary accounts. What is the rationale of doing so?
MEDISAVE - (Contribution by part-time self-employed people) The same rationale applies as it would to CPF contributions. In other words, if your monthly income exceeds $6,000 then you do not have to contribute CPF beyond $6,000. In the same way, the Medisave contributions will be capped. There are some minor variations depending on the age group you fall in. But the same principle applies. Perhaps if the Member has got specific details to raise, he can send them to me and I will give him a specific reply.
MEDISAVE - (Contribution by part-time self-employed people) I will do so.
HDB PURCHASE FLATS - (Changes to allocation policy) asked the Acting Minister for National Development whether the Housing and Development Board will be making further changes to the allocation policy for purchase flats.
HDB PURCHASE FLATS - (Changes to allocation policy) Mr Speaker, Sir, the Housing and Development Board is currently reviewing the allocation policy and mechanism for HDB flats. It aims to reduce the uncertainties caused by the present balloting system, and give applicants more certainty as to when they can expect to be allocated their flats. HDB will ensure the scheme strikes a fair balance between new household applicants and upgraders. The details of the revised allocation system will be announced once they are finalised.
HDB PURCHASE FLATS - (Changes to allocation policy) Sir, when will this revised allocation system be implemented? Are we going to wait for a long time?
HDB PURCHASE FLATS - (Changes to allocation policy) It is not our intention to prolong the review. We will revise it as quickly as we can.
HDB PURCHASE FLATS - (Changes to allocation policy) In that review, would the first-time applicants be given a higher weightage in the provision for public housing?
HDB PURCHASE FLATS - (Changes to allocation policy) Currently, the first-time applicants are given higher priority. They are given their flats ahead of upgraders. We intend to retain this feature when we revise the system.
HDB PURCHASE FLATS - (Changes to allocation policy) Sir, can I ask the Minister whether the review will also include a review of the income limit on people who are eligible for HDB flats?
HDB PURCHASE FLATS - (Changes to allocation policy) HDB reviews the income ceiling for applicants of HDB flats regularly. We try to do this once in two years or when income increases rapidly. The review is due before the end of this year.
PARTY POLITICAL BROADCAST COMMITTEE - (Setting up) asked the Prime Minister whether he will set up a Party Political Broadcast Committee, which shall include the opposition, to review the rules concerning party political broadcasts at election time.
PARTY POLITICAL BROADCAST COMMITTEE - (Setting up) Mr Speaker, Sir, party political broadcasts at election time are provided by SBC as a public service so that political parties need not incur large expenses to get TV airtime. The rules governing these broadcasts have been established by SBC over many years. They are simple, practical and fair. There is no need to set up a Committee with representatives from political parties to review the rules.
PARTY POLITICAL BROADCAST COMMITTEE - (Setting up) I would like to ask the Minister about rules regarding some unforeseen change of rules by the PAP, for example, the introduction of the Elected President. We had a broadcast on that. Is that included in the rules?
PARTY POLITICAL BROADCAST COMMITTEE - (Setting up) Are we talking about General Elections or Presidential Elections?
PARTY POLITICAL BROADCAST COMMITTEE - (Setting up) Such things do happen at General Elections and the Opposition is often caught unaware on how the broadcast will be made.
PARTY POLITICAL BROADCAST COMMITTEE - (Setting up) I am surprised. The current system has been used in the General Elections of 1980, 1984, 1988, 1991. It is based on a formula which allows free airtime to major political parties to state their platforms in the four official languages on television and radio. Under the system, a political party fielding a minimum of six candidates qualifies for the minimum airtime of one period of 2 1/2 minutes in each official language broadcast. Beyond that, airtime is increased by half a minute for every four additional candidates fielded. There has been no change since 1980. So the rules are very clear and I do not anticipate that there will be change the next time round.
PARTY POLITICAL BROADCAST COMMITTEE - (Setting up) These rules concern only the normal elections. But what happens at a General Election when something new suddenly comes up? Who makes the rules?
PARTY POLITICAL BROADCAST COMMITTEE - (Setting up) If there are special conditions, like the new Presidential Election, then we will have to frame the rules as we go along. In the case of the Presidential Election which took place for the first time in our history we had to create new procedures for election campaigning to be done on television. We may have to make further adjustments next time round, but we will adjust as we go along. But the general principle is you get airtime in proportion to the number of candidates you field. As for the General Elections, there has been no change since 1980. So I am not quite clear what Mr Chiam is referring to.
PARTY POLITICAL BROADCAST COMMITTEE - (Setting up) Sir, there are two sets of rules. One set is for the general course of events, if nothing happens at a General Election. The other set is, if something crops up, there are no rules. I have given the example of the Elected President that was broadcast during election time. If you include the Opposition, then at least the Opposition would know what is happening rather than be caught by surprise.
PARTY POLITICAL BROADCAST COMMITTEE - (Setting up) I am not sure how you can stop the Opposition from being surprised. For a General Election, the rules are clear. So there should be no surprise for the next election. For the Presidential Election, since we had rules for the first time, there should be no surprise for the next election.
PARTY POLITICAL BROADCAST COMMITTEE - (Setting up) I am not referring to the Presidential Election. I am saying that when a topic like the Presidential Election crops up during a General Election the matter is debated and broadcast. What are the rules in regard to that?
PARTY POLITICAL BROADCAST COMMITTEE - (Setting up) Mr Speaker, Sir, it is not appropriate for me to give answers to hypothetical questions.
PARTY POLITICAL BROADCAST COMMITTEE - (Setting up) It has happened.
PARTY POLITICAL BROADCAST COMMITTEE - (Setting up) What has happened?
PARTY POLITICAL BROADCAST COMMITTEE - (Setting up) Perhaps I am a more senior Member than the Minister. There was a party political broadcast or debate on the issue of the Elected President. An hon. Member: In 1988.
PARTY POLITICAL BROADCAST COMMITTEE - (Setting up) 1988, yes.
PARTY POLITICAL BROADCAST COMMITTEE - (Setting up) In addition to party political broadcasts, if the parties involved agree, and SBC agrees, that there should be debate on specific issues, then such additional accommodation will be made on the basis of consensus.
PARTY POLITICAL BROADCAST COMMITTEE - (Setting up) I do not know how you can say it is consensus when the party involved is not asked on the matter. How can there be consensus when the Opposition has been completely left out on the matter?
PARTY POLITICAL BROADCAST COMMITTEE - (Setting up) Mr Speaker, Sir, unless Mr Chiam can be more specific, I am not quite sure what question I am answering to.
PARTY POLITICAL BROADCAST COMMITTEE - (Setting up) Neither do I.
PARTY POLITICAL BROADCAST COMMITTEE - (Setting up) I think the issue is very clear. The Minister has given an answer and he says there are rules for the general course of events, in other words, nothing crops up during a General Election. What happens when something crops up? What sort of rules do we adhere to?
PARTY POLITICAL BROADCAST COMMITTEE - (Setting up) I think that is a hypothetical question and I would have to disallow that. Mr Chiam, would you like to proceed to your next question?
PARTY POLITICAL BROADCAST COMMITTEE - (Setting up) Question No. 6, Sir.
SINGAPOREAN PRISONERS IN THAILAND asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs how many Singapore citizens are jailed in Thailand at the moment and whether the Government has taken steps to contact the Thai Government to alleviate the plight of these prisoners, in particular the removal of their leg chains.
SINGAPOREAN PRISONERS IN THAILAND Mr Speaker, Sir, 42 Singapore male citizens are in the prisons in Thailand, 20 of whom are serving life imprisonment for drug trafficking. In Thailand, the leg chain is used on prisoners considered most likely to attempt to escape. These are male prisoners below 60 years of age charged with committing serious offences which carry heavy punishments. Such prisoners have to wear the leg chain when they are detained in the remand prison while awaiting trial or when they are being transferred to courts or to other prisons. The chain may be removed under certain conditions, for example, firstly, for good behaviour while under detention in the remand prison, as determined by the prison commander; secondly, when a prisoner has been transferred from the remand prison to a maximum security prison, after the Court has imposed sentence; thirdly, when a prisoner on death row has received the royal pardon and has his sentence commuted to life imprisonment or less. Mr Speaker, Sir, when Singaporeans abroad are arrested for offences, our Missions will assist to ensure that our nationals are fairly treated. But those who commit offences abroad must also accept the consequences under the laws of the foreign countries, so long as they are dealt with in accordance with the due process of law. In this regard, each country has its own methods of punishment and procedures for dealing with prisoners. We cannot interfere in the operation of their legal process and cannot demand special treatment for our nationals.
SINGAPOREAN PRISONERS IN THAILAND Sir, is the Minister aware that other prisoners in Thailand who have suffered the same punishment have their leg chains removed after the initial period, whereas Singaporean prisoners still have to suffer or undergo imprisonment with leg chains? Is the Minister aware of that?
SINGAPOREAN PRISONERS IN THAILAND Mr Speaker, Sir, the information which I gave just now of the circumstances and the categories of prisoners who, we understand, have to wear leg chains is supplied by our Mission in Bangkok. I have also ascertained from our Mission in Bangkok that the information and rules which I have described apply across the board and the Singaporean prisoners are not singled out for special treatment. If Mr Chiam has knowledge of any particular case where unfair treatment was accorded, and he will give me the specifics of the case, I assure him I will look into it. Having said that, let me also say that although we cannot insist that special treatment be accorded, from time to time appeals are made to the Ministry and to our Mission to make representations on specific cases. For example, there was a case where a Singaporean prisoner's legs were weak and the Mission did assist in conveying the appeal. So this was acceded to, first, by a lighter leg chain, and later, the leg chain was removed. So the Mission and the Ministry will do their part whenever they can.
EMPLOYMENT OF PART-TIME FEMALE WORKERS - (Incentives) asked the Minister for Labour (a) whether more incentives will be introduced to attract females who cannot go into full-time employment to work part-time and (b) whether a lower employee Central Provident Fund contribution rate will be introduced for part-time workers so as to allow them a higher take-home pay whilst maintaining the 20% contribution from the employer.
EMPLOYMENT OF PART-TIME FEMALE WORKERS - (Incentives) Mr Speaker, Sir, success in attracting the economically inactive females to join the part-time workforce depends on many factors. These include the benefits offered by the employers and the scheduling of part-time work for the convenience of housewives. My Ministry will ensure that our labour laws do not stifle the employment of part-time workers. In August 1990, the Ministry introduced a set of guidelines to help facilitate part-time employment. The Guidelines on Part-Time Employment were drawn up based on tripartite consultation and consensus. Under the Guidelines, statutory benefits are pro-rated based on the part-timer's contractual working hours in a year vis-a-vis that of a full-timer. Employers are also given the flexibility to encash certain benefits such as annual leave and public holiday entitlement for the part-time workers. The Ministry is conducting a review to formalise these guidelines into Employment Regulations so that the rights and obligations of the employers and part-timers are more clearly spelt out. With the Regulations in place to facilitate part-time employment, employers should come up with innovative schemes to meet the convenience of housewives so that more would come forward to work part-time. This would also help to alleviate our manpower shortage and reduce our reliance on foreign workers. On the Member's question of reducing the CPF contribution rate for part-time workers, my Ministry is not in favour of this. This is because CPF contribution is not the sole factor influencing the attractiveness of part-time employment. Reducing CPF contribution may not result in a larger number of people engaging in part-time work. On the other hand, any reduction in CPF contribution rates for part-time workers will affect some 47,000 part-time workers who are currently making full CPF contributions. Part-time workers also need to save for retirement and Medisave as much as full-time workers. The CPF scheme, as it is presently structured, helps them to do so. To lower CPF rate for part-time workers will create anomalies. A person working part-time but earning more may end up paying less CPF than another person working full-time but earning less. Finally, reducing the CPF contribution rate, even if it is the employee's contribution rate, may lead some employers to take into account the lower CPF contribution rate, hence, higher take-home pay, and therefore offering a lower basic wage to the part-time worker. The part-time worker may still not end up with a higher take-home pay.
EMPLOYMENT OF PART-TIME FEMALE WORKERS - (Incentives) Sir, there are many categories of part-time workers. One category could be those who are engaged full-time and choose to work part-time over the weekends as cashiers or as service personnel in hotels. They already have CPF contribution in their full-time jobs. So for such work, does the Minister think there is a need for them to have the employee's CPF contribution, because they already have the CPF contribution?
EMPLOYMENT OF PART-TIME FEMALE WORKERS - (Incentives) Mr Speaker, Sir, in fact, my colleague, the Minister for Health, just explained a moment ago the principle behind CPF contribution. If you are working in several jobs, you will contribute according to the full CPF rate for all the jobs. But if the sums add up to more than the maximum required for CPF contribution, that is, $6,000 a month, then you can ask to have the contribution capped at this maximum of $6,000 a month. So this principle applies, whether it is full-time employment plus part-time employment, or a person working in many different jobs on part-time basis.
JOB-HOPPING asked the Minister for Labour if he is able to give an estimate of the percentage of the workforce that job hops.
JOB-HOPPING Mr Speaker, Sir, from CPF records, in 1993, 5.5% (or about 60,400) of the 1.1 million active CPF members who were employees changed jobs more than once during the year. However, as we do not have information on why they changed jobs, we cannot tell what percentage of this 5.5% are job-hoppers. Many could have changed jobs for valid reasons, such as to take up more skilled and higher value-added jobs. These are not job-hoppers. Only those who frequently change jobs for frivolous reasons can be considered as job-hoppers.
JOB-HOPPING Sir, would the Minister consider getting a questionnaire to people who have changed their jobs during a certain period? That might give us information on people who have changed jobs and this will help us to plan our productivity and competitiveness better.
JOB-HOPPING Mr Speaker, Sir, I do not believe there is a specific reason or a clear case to make out for us to have such a questionnaire or to require such information to be obtained from people who have changed jobs because it will be extremely difficult to ascertain in each and every case whether the reason given by the respondent is in fact the precise reason for the person wanting to change job.
JOB-HOPPING Sir, while I agree with the Minister, we must remember that for our higher valued-added skills training, the learning curve becomes longer. And if people tend not to stay in the same job, then our competitiveness will be affected. Therefore, would the Minister consider thinking about this issue and come out with some sort of plan?
JOB-HOPPING Mr Speaker, Sir, job-hopping is not a new problem. It is not something that has just arisen as a result of our economic growth of 9.9%. Job-hopping is a problem that has been encountered for many years already. The problem itself is aggravated each time there is exceptional economic growth. There have been many proposals to solve this problem of job-hopping in the past. In 1988, a task force on job-hopping was formed under the auspices of the Singapore National Employers' Federation. They made an in-depth and very comprehensive study of the problem of job-hopping and recommended several proposals to overcome this. Most of the recommendations focused on improved personnel management practices and more efficient use of scarce labour resources. The task force found that they should leave the problem of job-hopping to employers to tackle. They felt that it should be the employers' responsibility, apart from training their workers, to also encourage their workers to remain loyal to the company, and to remain with the company for as long as possible.
PROMOTION EXERCISE IN EDUCATION SERVICE asked the Minister for Education how many second language teachers were promoted to Senior Education Officers I and II in the last promotion exercise and how many of them were promoted to Principal and Vice-Principal in primary and secondary schools.
PROMOTION EXERCISE IN EDUCATION SERVICE Mr Speaker, Sir, Education Officers holding leadership positions of Vice-Principal and Principal in schools or senior positions in the Headquarters are eligible for promotion to the Senior Education Officer grade. Last year, eight second language teachers holding senior positions in schools and MOE HQ were promoted to the grades of Senior Education Officers I and II. In 1993, 24 Education Officers were appointed as Principals in primary and secondary schools and 51 were appointed as Vice-Principals. Three of them were former second language teachers.
PROMOTION EXERCISE IN EDUCATION SERVICE Sir, I would like to know how many of the CL2, ML2 and TL2 teachers were promoted to SEO I and II, as well as to Principals. As she mentioned just now, only three were promoted to Principals. Why were so few of them promoted to SEO I and II, as well as to Vice-Principal and Principal, compared to L1 teachers?
PROMOTION EXERCISE IN EDUCATION SERVICE Mr Speaker, Sir, the eight former second language teachers who were promoted to the grades of Senior Education Officers I and II last year happened to be all Chinese language teachers. Among those who were promoted to Principals and Vice-Principals in secondary and primary schools, as I said, three of them were former second language teachers, and all of them also happened to be Chinese language teachers. The promotion of Education Officers to senior positions or leadership positions in schools is based on merit, as is within our system of meritocracy. People who are eligible for consideration for promotion are assessed systematically and no regard is given to ethnicity or other attributes. So the question raised by the Member for Hong Kah GRC does not arise. Our promotions are fair. Consideration is based on objective criteria. For his information, sometimes General Education Officers can be appointed as Principals and Vice-Principals. They hold such appointments and are paid a responsibility allowance. After being tested in these appointments for a number of years, they can be put up for promotion to the substantive grades of Principals and Vice-Principals.
MINISTRY OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT - (Services and programmes run by civic organisations) asked the Acting Minister for Community Development what services and programmes under his Ministry are run by civic organisations and what is the nature and extent of involvement of these organisations.
MINISTRY OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT - (Services and programmes run by civic organisations) Mr Speaker, Sir, the Ministry of Community Development (MCD) provides a wide range of social services and programmes both directly and in conjunction with the Voluntary Welfare Organisations (VWOs). There are currently more than 100 VWOs providing regular direct welfare services. Of these, 80 work closely with MCD. Direct service VWOs are autonomous in running their services and programmes. Government supports them by providing premises, finance and other resources. In addition to the VWOs, there are various civic groups (there are about 40 of them) or services clubs, such as Lions, Apex and Rotary Clubs. These groups also provide the volunteers who run programmes and services, and they also run a wide range of services too.
MINISTRY OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT - (Services and programmes run by civic organisations) Sir, from the Minister's reply, I notice that most of the activities are run by religious or civic groups. What about senior citizens, women and youth organisations? Would the Minister find ways and means to encourage these organisations to be more active in running social activities?
MINISTRY OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT - (Services and programmes run by civic organisations) Mr Speaker, Sir, we encourage many helping hands in the running of social and community services, and religious groups, as has been rightly pointed out by the Member, are just one of these pairs of helping hands. All the groups mentioned by the Member for Yuhua are some of the other pairs of helping hands. But be assured that MCD will always be looking into ways of getting these and other organisations and individuals to be involved in running social and community services. MCD has been working with, and will continue to work closely with, the National Council of Social Service and organisations like the People's Association to look into areas where the resources of senior citizens, women and youth can be tapped.
HDB PRIORITY ALLOCATION SCHEME FOR - GRASSROOTS ORGANISATIONS - (Inclusion of members of charitable - and social organisations) asked the Acting Minister for National Development how many Housing and Development Board flats have been allocated to date under the Citizens' Consultative Committee/Community Centre (or Club) Management Committee/Residents' Committee/Women's Executive Committee/Youth Executive Committee priority allocation scheme and whether the scheme will be widened to include those who work in bona fide charitable and social organisations.
HDB PRIORITY ALLOCATION SCHEME FOR - GRASSROOTS ORGANISATIONS - (Justification) asked the Acting Minister for National Development if he will justify the priority accorded to members of Citizens' Consultative Committees, Community Centre/Club Management Committees, Residents' Committee, Women's Executive Committees and Youth Executive Committees in the purchase of existing Housing and Development Board flats offered for sale and whether the scheme favours People's Action Party appointees of these various bodies and discriminates against other purchasers.
HDB PRIORITY ALLOCATION SCHEME FOR - GRASSROOTS ORGANISATIONS - (Justification) Mr Speaker, Sir, can I have your permission to take Questions Nos. 11 and 12 together because they are on the same subject?
HDB PRIORITY ALLOCATION SCHEME FOR - GRASSROOTS ORGANISATIONS - (Justification) All right.