RAFFLES NATIONAL LIBRARY BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

10.50 a.m.

The Minister for Education (Mr Chew Swee Kee): Mr Speaker, Sir, I wish to signify to the House that I have His Excellency's consent to move the Bill.

The Assistant Minister for Education (Inche Mohamed Sidik Bin Haji Abdul Hamid): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

Sir, the need of a Bill to provide for the management and control of the Raffles National Library is the same as that for the Raffles Museum Bill which I moved earlier. I pointed out then that Raffles Museum and Raffles Library have worked for many years under an out-of-date Raffles Societies Ordinance, and that it is in the interests of both institutions that a separate Ordinance should now be provided for each.

I wish to mention that a generous donation by the Lee Foundation in 1953 has given us this opportunity to provide not only for the setting up of the Raffles National Library but also for the extension of the library services to all parts of the island.

The various functions of the National Library are set out in clause 5 of the Bill and it will be several years before all these functions can be implemented. I wish to draw the attention of the Assembly especially to clause 8 of the Bill which provides for the constitution of a Raffles National Library Board to advise the Minister on the operation of the Library. It must now be accepted that because it is a national library, the interests of the various races living in Singapore must be met in the way of books in the various languages. We hope that in the not too distant future the Raffles National Library will not only have a collection which can be read by the many races living in Singapore, but also will provide services in every nook and corner of the island

I beg to move, Sir.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole Assembly.

Assembly immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. [Inche Mohamed Sidik].

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read the Third time and passed.