SINGAPORE CITIZENSHIP BILL (Report of Select Committee)

3.29 p.m.

The Chief Minister: Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise to move,

That the Report of the Select Committee on the Singapore Citizenship Bill, as contained in Sessional Paper No. L.A. 18 of 1957, be adopted.

Sir, the Singapore Citizenship Bill was committed to a Select Committee at the sitting of the Assembly held on 11th September. Sessional Paper No. L.A. 18 of 1957 shows that the Committee held five meetings. The minutes of these meetings can be found in Appendix III and Appendix IV contains the minutes of the meetings at which the Committee heard oral evidence from various individuals and from representatives of certain organisations. Hon. Members will note that careful consideration has been given to the representations made both orally and in writing and as a result certain changes have been made to the Bill. Certain of these amendments are technical ones designed to improve the drafting of the Bill and I do not propose to go into these in detail as they are fully explained in the official report on the proceedings of the Select Committee. Possibly, the most notable change has been the reduction of the residential qualification from ten years to eight years. As a result of further consideration and discussion, it has been agreed that it would be easier from an administrative point of view to reduce the qualification to eight years. This will greatly simplify registration as identity cards were issued late in 1948.

Another important amendment, Sir, is the proviso added to clause 12 of the Bill which provides that before the Minister refuses an application, he shall refer the case to an Advisory Committee consisting of three persons appointed by the Governor in Council. In making his decision, the Minister shall have regard to any report made to him by this Advisory Committee.

Hon. Members will also notice that a new Part VI has been added to the Bill. Sir, as is well known, the main purpose of the Bill is to enable persons who are qualified to become citizens under this law to take part in the general elections next year and it is therefore necessary for the initial registration of citizens to take place as quickly as possible in order that the electoral rolls can be prepared. It is an All-Party decision that a three-month period for initial registration is sufficient for people to have their names put on the electoral rolls and so take part in the forthcoming elections. At it is now going to be made so easy for people to be registered, it is necessary for the Minister to have powers to cancel that registration. Following such cancellation, the person concerned can reapply for registration in the normal way.

These are the most important amendments and, as I said before, the others are designed to improve the drafting of the Bill.

Sir, I beg to move.

Mr Braga: Sir, I second the motion.

Question proposed.

3.37 p.m.

Mr A. R. Lazarous (Farrer Park): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move,

At the end, to add "subject to the recommittal of the Bill in respect of clauses 3 and 8 and one new clause immediately after clause 5 to a Committee of the whole Assembly".

Mr Speaker: Can I have that in writing, please?

Amendment handed in.

Mr Speaker: The amendment is in order. Please proceed.

Mr Lazarous: Sir, this Assembly is going to enact a law by which it proposes to give, under certain conditions, citizenship status to the people who reside or are domiciled in Singapore.

Sir, when I went through the Select Committee Report, I found that a certain section of people made certain representations. They claim that those who are already registered as Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies should be recognised automatically. Sir, I think that that is a very reasonable suggestion which, I beg to submit, the Select Committee completely ignored. These people have unmistakably shown their loyalty to Singapore by swearing allegiance to Her Majesty the Queen and to Singapore. It is not right to insist, every time there is a change of government, that citizenship registration should be renewed. According to this Bill, I think about 60,000 people who are Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies will be asked to register again.

Sir, we are not asking anything new by this registration. The same forms are to be filled in by the same section of people, swearing allegiance to the same person, that is, Her Majesty the Queen, and to the same country, that is Singapore. I think the Government finds pleasure in making more people come forward and register but the Government is not encouraging people to come forward and register because it is now creating a feeling amongst those who have expected themselves to be citizens of Singapore that they are completely ignored because they are asked to register again. The Government is really discouraging people from coming forward to register.

When Singapore was directly under the colonial rule a new method of registration of citizenship was imposed on the people. I think, Sir, in 1946, the people were asked to register. Many people did go to register and there was an election. The result was that Mr C. C. Tan became the head of the then Government. When he became the head of the Government, he discovered a new method of registration of citizenship. By this new method, he deprived those people who elected him of their voting rights. After Mr C. C. Tan, our former Chief Minister Mr David Marshall proposed a new method of registration of citizenship. Now the Hon. the Chief Minister Dr Lim Yew Hock has invented a new method of registration of citizenship. As there is going to be an election in 1958, there will be another Chief Minister. Surely there will again be another method of citizenship registration. Sir, by these tactics, this Government must realise that the citizens of Singapore are losing faith in it. Whenever there is a change of government, a new method of citizenship registration will be devised.

Another irony is this. This Assembly is not a constituent Assembly. This is a legislative Assembly. We were elected under the Rendel Constitution and we represent the interests of a certain section of the people. Not only are you not doing that, but you are depriving those people who elected you of their right to vote. The people who are Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies whom you are asking to register are the very people who elected you to this Assembly.

Mr Speaker: I was never elected.

Mr Lazarous: I am sorry, Sir. By "you", I mean the Government, and that is a most unfortunate thing. This Government is finding ways and means of depriving the voters who elected them of their voting rights.

Therefore, I propose this amendment and if it goes to the Committee stage. I will explain it in detail. My proposed amendment reads:

"Every person who immediately on the coming into operation of this Ordinance having been registered as a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies shall be a citizen of Singapore."

Mr Lee Choon Eng (Queenstown): I second the motion, reserving my right to speak, Sir.