SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISION (Sessional Paper No. Cmd. 41 of 1957)

10.40 a.m.

The Financial Secretary (Mr T. M. Hart): Sir, I have His Excellency the Governor's authority to move,

That this Assembly resolves that the sum of $30,310 shall be supplied to the Government under the heads of expenditure and for the services specified in the Schedule contained in Sessional Paper No. Cmd. 41 of 1957.

This, Sir, is a short message containing four applications necessary to close the 1956 accounts. The nature of these votes is explained in the message. Sir, I beg to move.

The Minister for Health (Mr A. J. Braga): Sir, I second it.

Motion accordingly committed to Committee of Supply.

Motion and Schedule considered in Committee of Supply.

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

10.41 a.m.

The Chairman: The summary is at page 2.

Head 14-

The sum of $800 for Head 14 ordered to stand part of the Schedule.

Head 32 -

Question proposed,

"That the sum of $13,805 for Head 32 stand part of the Schedule."

Mr Lim Choon Mong (Serangoon): Mr Chairman, I would like the Hon. the Financial Secretary to tell us after the expenditure of such a great sum of money what benefit has been derived from it - whether Singapore has increased its acreage under cultivation or has benefited in any other way by this expenditure.

The Minister for Commerce and Industry (Mr J. M. Jumabhoy): Sir, the benefits of such agricultural shows or trade exhibitions are not apparent visibly and at once. They are long-term benefits which arise as a result of people visiting these places, seeing things - manufactures and produce - which they have not seen before, and being attracted by the way these things are manufactured or produced; and therefore the benefit is one which is derived slowly.

Mr Lim Choon Mong: Considering the small acreage available for agriculture, then how much benefit can the Hon. Minister predict that we will have of manufacture deriving from such?

Mr J. M. Jumabhoy: Sir, as the Hon. the Minister for Local Government, Lands and Housing just now said in reply, I am no prophet, but the hon. Member must remember that it was not only agricultural products that were put up for show at the Agricultural Exhibition but there were also cows, pigs, poultry, fish and other things, and the hon. Member, I am sure, is well aware that the Government is concentrating now on increasing livestock breeding, pig-breeding, poultry rearing and so on, rather than on agriculture because, the island being of such a small size, we cannot have much agriculture in the real sense of the word.

Question put, and agreed to.

The sum of $13,805 for Head 32 ordered to stand part of the Schedule.

Head 41 -

Question proposed,

"That the sum of $13,138 for Head 41 stand part of the Schedule."

Mr Lee Kuan Yew (Tanjong Pagar): Sir, could the Hon. the Financial Secretary explain to us what these legends mean? - "P.E.". "O.C.A.R." and "O.C.S.E." - who were going to be the great "banana" colonels in this coupon-distributing spree,

Mr Hart: As I understand it, Sir, the first question of the hon. Member for Tanjong Pagar is what the capital letters refer to. I should have thought that after three years' consideration of the Estimates and the messages, which come up every month, he will know that these refer to Personal Emoluments, Other Charges Annually Recurrent and Other Charges Special Expenditure.

I understood him to ask also who the people were who operated this particular scheme. As far as I am aware, Sir, they had no rank - they were merely ordinary Government officials who were recruited for these posts because they fortunately had had previous experience of operating a petrol-rationing scheme and therefore were qualified to organise and control this department, and to make all the necessary arrangements for a petrol-rationing scheme. These two officers were in Division I; the rest of the officers in the temporary department were clerical officers, typists and two inspectors.

10.45 a.m.

Mr Lee Kuan Yew: I do not want to anticipate the item appearing in Paper No. Cmd. 42 of 1957 but could we be enlightened as to why this expense of the petrol rationing office has been split into two halves, one in No. Cmd. 41 and the other in No. Cmd. 42 when they apparently refer to the same office?

Mr Speaker: It would be convenient for hon. Members if both items could be discussed now.

Mr Hart: The petrol rationing office was set up in November, 1956 when the Suez crisis broke out and when we considered that there was a possibility that our petrol supplies might be interrupted. A certain amount of expenditure was incurred in 1956. It totalled - as can be seen from the application for supplementary vote - a little over $13,000. This, was incurred in 1956 and, under our regulations, must be brought to account in the 1956 accounts. The balance of the expenditure was incurred in running the office until it was closed on 30th June, 1957. This amounted - speaking from memory, Sir - to, I think, $34,000-

The Chairman: Can the Hon. the Financial Secretary please quote the item, number and the relevant paper?

Mr Hart: I beg your pardon, Sir. The paper is No. Cmd. 42 of 1957 and the item is 207 - Head 40 Supplies, New Subhead, Expenses of the Petrol Rationing Office. The office continued in existence until 30th June, 1957 and the expenditure incurred in 1957 is charged to the 1957 accounts.

Mr Lee Kuan Yew: Arising out of the estimate in paper No. Cmd. 42 of 1957, it says in the explanatory note:

"The Petrol Rationing Office, which was established in November 1956, continued in being until June 1957, when it was decided that there was no longer any likelihood that petrol would have to be rationed."

So, it did not appear to the Singapore Government that petrol would not have to be rationed until June 1957. Now, Mr Chairman, as I remember it, the British Government announced that it was abolishing petrol rationing in April 1957. Why did the Singapore Government take another two months to decide that it was no longer likely?

Mr Hart: Subject to correction, Sir, I think petrol rationing was removed in May, not April, in the United Kingdom.

Mr Lee Kuan Yew: Well, why June then in Singapore?

Mr Hart: It was not until the end of May that the Prime Minister in the United Kingdom stated that British tankers would use the Canal. The office had been in existence since the middle of November. We had progressively run down our staff throughout that period until, at the end, in June, there were only two or three people still employed. They were employed in tying up the loose strings of a petrol rationing scheme which could be pigeon-holed and introduced at short notice at any given time.

Mr J. M. Jumabhoy: Perhaps, Sir, I can enlighten the hon. Member further on this. In January, we had a staff of a petrol rationing officer, a deputy petrol-rationing officer, a chief clerk, a financial clerk, 14 clerks and two office boys. In February, we discharged the chief clerk, the financial clerk, nine clerks and one office boy, so that we had cut down the staff by about two-thirds. In March, the petrol-rationing officer's services were terminated, so that the staff from March onwards was only very small.

Question put, and agreed to.

The sum of $13,138 for Head 41 ordered to stand part of the Schedule.

Head 57 -

Question proposed,

"That the sum of $2,567 for Head 57 stands part of the Schedule."

Mr Lee Kuan Yew: Mr Chairman, we do not get much joy out of twisting the Government's tail - it has been twisted out of joint so often now that one is alarmed that it might be twisted out of place altogether! But it does seem strange to me that the sum of $2,567 was inadvertently posted and not corrected before the accounts were closed. And what seems even stranger is that now it is corrected we are supposed to pay out $2,567. I should have thought that, as this was just a posting error, one could so juggle the posting that we do not have to pay anything. Why is it that we have to pay $2,567 because of inadvertent posting?

Mr Hart: First, Sir, as regards the inadvertence, the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Communications and Works went on leave and it was agreed that his post should be filled temporarily by an officer in the Chief Secretary's Office, and it was agreed at the time that that officer's salary would continue to be paid from the Head "Chief Secretary". Inadvertently, this salary was debited to the vote in the Ministry of Communications and Works, with the result that it was over-expended. Now, this was not realised at the time. When the accounts have been closed, we find that expenditure has exceeded the voted provision. This has often happened in the past. Votes have often been exceeded, perhaps because bills from the Crown Agents have been posted late or for other reasons, and we have not had an opportunity to come to the Assembly before the accounts were closed to obtain funds to balance the account. All we are seeking to do now is to obtain a small vote to balance this particular account. There were of course savings on the Chief Secretary's vote owing to the inadvertent posting.

Question put, and agreed to.

The sum of $2,567 for Head 57 ordered to stand part of the Schedule.

The sum of $30,310 for the Heads of Expenditure and for the services specified in the Schedule ordered to stand part of the motion.

Motion and Schedule reported, without Amendment.

Question,

"That this Assembly resolves that the sum of $30,310 shall be supplied to the Government under the heads of expenditure and for the services specified in the Schedule contained in Sessional Paper No. Cmd. 41 of 1957."

put, and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this Assembly resolves that the sum of $30,310 shall be supplied to the Government under the heads of expenditure and for the services specified in the Schedule contained in Sessional Paper No. Cmd. 41 of 1957.