SINGAPORE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS (AMENDMENT) BILL

10.26 a.m.

First Reading

The Assistant Minister to the Chief Secretary (Mr M. P. D. Nair): Sir, I beg to introduce a Bill intituled the "Singapore Legislative Assembly Elections (Amendment) Bill" (Chapter 53 of the Revised Edition).

Bill presented and read the First tune.

Second Reading

Mr Speaker: Second Reading, what day?

Mr Nair: Now, Sir. Mr Speaker. Sir, I lay on the Table a Certificate of Urgency signed by His Excellency the Governor in respect of this Bill to enable this House to proceed with it through all its other stages today.

Certificate of Urgency handed in.

Mr Speaker: The Certificate is in order. Are typed copies of the Bill available?

Mr Nair: Yes, Sir.

Typed copies of the Bill handed in to the Clerk and distributed to hon. Members.

Mr Speaker: Please proceed.

Mr Nair: Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

This Bill proposes amendments to the Singapore Legislative Assembly Elections Ordinance which are rendered necessary by the enactment of the Singapore Citizenship Ordinance, 1957. The present qualifications of electors are laid down in section 5 of the Singapore Legislative Assembly Elections Ordinance, part of which reads as follows:

"...any person who-

(a) is a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies by virtue of the provisions of the British Nationality Act, 1948, or was born in any of the States or territories now included in the Federation of Malaya o the Colony of Sarawak or the Colony of North Borneo or the State of Brunei; and

(b) was ordinarily resident in the Colony on the 1st day of April in any year; and

(c) was not less than twenty-one years of age on the 1st day of July in that year, shall be entitled to have his name entered or retained in a register of electors in that year."

Singapore is to attain the status of the State of Singapore as a self-governing territory, and the Assembly will be a fully elected body when the Legislative Assembly elections under the new Constitution are held. They are expected to be held next year. Hon. Members will recall that at the sitting in October this Assembly approved the Singapore Citizenship Ordinance, a charter by which we have achieved what we longed for years - the creation of a status recognisable in all parts of the Commonwealth for all those who regard Singapore as their home and the object of their undivided loyalty.

Those who are citizens by birth and descent have the right to vote. The proposed amendment to section 5 is very significant. Thousands of our adult population who, although not born in Singapore, have been resident here for long periods and have contributed to the prosperity of Singapore, and are enthusiastically becoming Singapore citizens and declaring their allegiance to Singapore. It is important that the new status of Singapore citizenship should carry with it the right to assist in the procedure of democratic government, and this Bill seeks to grant our new citizens their first democratic right-the right to vote for election of the people's representatives to sit in this House.

The general purpose of this Bill, therefore, is to provide that the right to vote in the Legislative Assembly elections shall be granted to citizens of Singapore and to Singapore citizens only, in a self-governing Singapore, it is no longer desirable to offer voting rights to those whose bodies are in Singapore but whose hearts and minds are elsewhere. If the newly won Constitution for self-government is to be implemented in the spirit in which it was framed, it is essential that the hearts and minds of all people participating in the government of Singapore should be in Singapore itself, and that their outlook and undivided loyalty should be centred here. Therefore, voting rights should be accorded only to citizens of Singapore.

Clause 2 (ii) of the amending Bill proposes that the relevant residential date shall be the first day of February instead of the first day of April. This is necessary in order that the work of preparing registers in 1958 should be commenced as early as possible. Paragraphs (iii) and (iv) are consequential to the previous amendment.

Clause 3 proposes that only persons who are or who become citizens of Singapore on or before the first day of February 1958, and who are resident in an electoral division on that day, shall have their names included in the first register. The existing subsections (2) to (4) of section 10 of the Ordinance are deleted in order to avoid any delay in the completion of the registers. This simplified procedure is in conformity with that laid down in the Local Government Elections Ordinance, 1957.

Clause 4 provides for the revision of the registers in each year following the year 1958.

Clause 5 repeals the Singapore Legislative Assembly (Temporary Provisions) Ordinance, 1957.

Sir, I beg to move.

The Minister for Commerce and Industry (Mr J. M. Jumabhoy): I second it.

Question proposed.

10.35 a.m.

Mr Lim Choon Mong (Serangoon): Mr Speaker, Sir, of course we agree to this Bill to give the rights to the citizens but I think the more important thing is after the passing of this Bill we should see that citizens should be accorded their rights. I am talking about the executive acts of the Government. We have noted that with all the good intentions Government has, there are still many waiting for their turn to swear allegiance to Singapore. They wait in long queues; they wait for days. They wait for teams to go for them to swear allegiance, but they have to wait for a very long time.

They want forms to sign up but there are not enough forms. Forms are taken out one by one by people who would want to fill up for them, but none is available for the public. Forms are sometimes sold, as alleged in the newspapers, at 50 cents or a dollar each.

This is most unsatisfactory. Government must wake up to the need of the people. Everybody wants to register before 1st February. They must be given that opportunity. They want to exercise their vote. Let us give them that vote. They have shown their loyalty. It is up to Government after the passage of this Bill to see to it that every person who wants to be a Singapore citizen is accorded his full rights and not made to wait.

10.37 a.m.

Mr Lim Koon Teck (Paya Lebar): Sir, while we are glad that the residential date should be 1st February, 1958, I cannot help but join our Party leader in stating that by publishing this date we shall increase the fears of the people who wish to be registered, fear from thinking that they may not be able to get themselves registered. I have asked for registration teams from the Central Registration Office to go out to some of the outlying areas and only last week when I asked for a date, I was told that the dates available are 24th. 25th, 26th and 28th January. That is a rather disturbing feature, if at the present moment I ask for teams to go out to take the oaths of people who have signed their forms in certain areas, I am told that the only dates that are available are those nearing the end of the last date for registration.

I would urge Government to take steps immediately to see that more teams are available so that when we apply for dates for the oath to be taken, we can be given them instead of being told that we can only get dates just a few days before the close of the register.

10.39 a.m.

Mr Hoffman: Mr Speaker, Sir, I am glad to be able to reassure the House that extra teams have been recruited and will be in operation shortly. We have based our extra teams on the calculation that we have made so far and aim at registering 300,000 persons by the target date if there are that many who will come forward. I can assure the House that this matter is very much in the minds of the Government and we shall take all necessary steps to see that everyone who wants to be registered as a citizen will have an opportunity to do so before the target date.

10.40 a.m.

Mr Lee Kuan Yew (Tanjong Pagar): Mr Speaker, Sir, we welcome this Bill because it is the first of a series of steps to rationalise the foundations upon which we hope to build this State of Singapore. When I fought the last general elections, I could not help but think how stupidly obtuse the draftsman of the last Bill was in trying, by hypocritical legislation, to disqualify those born and bred in Singapore who have been away for three out of the last 10 years preceding the elections, although he allowed those, who were in no way connected with Singapore other than the fact that they had dwelt here for the last seven out of the last 10 years and made money out of it, to contest such elections. And the unholy spectacle of so many prominent Members of this Assembly taking their oaths of allegiance so late in the day is, I think, a salutary reminder to them and to the founder-members of the people of Singapore, namely, those born and bred here, that unless they rise up to their responsibilities then they deserve to perish.

I am convinced that those born and bred here like myself do not intend to perish. We intend to fight and found this healthy and vigorous state which we hope one day will be part of the Federation of Malaya. And I would also like to remind all those who are enthusiastically applying for membership of this nation that it is not just a matter of going through the drill which the Registrar of Citizens assured me would not take more than eight minutes if efficiently done. He demonstrated it to me. I had the privilege of an actual demonstration of how a team of clerks could put a person through the mill in less than eight minutes, and I shudder to think what would happen if those eight minutes were the only impression which remained on the minds of the new citizens.

It is the duty not only of the Government but of every political Party and every political leader to bring home the responsibilities and the meaning of citizenship, of what has so glibly been called "undivided loyalty". The test, very plainly and simply, is this: are you taking out citizenship because you think it is temporarily to your advantage, or are you swearing, now and forever more, that this is your home, that you will stand by it and fight for it? When we bring that fact home, then I say we have made the first step in our march to greater nationhood.

10.43 a.m.

Mr Nair: Sir, I do not think I have very much to answer to the hon. Members. My hon. Friend the Chief Secretary has already made his reply. But I must point out one factor in this, Sir, and that is that ever since registration came into force, there has been a terrific and spontaneous response to the call to be registered as citizens, and it was because of this spontaneous response that in the beginning we found that there was an enormous number of people asking for forms. The distribution of forms was very uneven. Those organisations and Parties which came up and demanded 2,000, 5,000 and 6,000 forms were all given forms in the complete faith that they would fill up those forms and help the registration officers to register the people as citizens. To date we have issued 320,000 forms and it is surprising that our forms have gone out of stock. It is hoped that these forms are not put into any waste-paper basket but all those organisations have been able to fill them up and keep ready for the registration officers to come and take the oaths.

What I would like to appeal is this. Sir, that all Parties and organisations should have a little bit of patience so that the Registrar of Citizens will be able to organise the teams properly and systematically and without any confusion. That is the appeal I want to make to all those people who are helping in the voluntary registration of citizens.

Question put, and agreed to.

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

Assembly immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. [Mr Nair].

Bill considered in Committee.

[Mr SPEAKER in the Chair]

10.46 a.m.

Clauses 1 and 2 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 3 -

Mr Lee Kuan Yew: Mr Chairman, Sir, because this Bill has been presented for the first time today, no doubt for very good reasons, I would like the Hon. the Attorney-General to clarify this point in sub-clause (i) paragraph (a):

"...all persons who were on the 1st day of February 1958 - (a) resident in such electoral division;...".

There will be all kinds of interpretation difficulties over this word "resident". What happens? I have not had the time to look up the matter but it might be arguable that if somebody were not physically residing at a particular electoral division he is not resident there on that particular day. Were I, for instance, to be away from Singapore on that day, am I resident in Singapore on that particular day? To obviate such difficulties, would he not consider the amendment of the word "resident" to "ordinarily resident" in such electoral division?

The Chairman: The proper method is for the hon. Member to move an amendment in the first instance and if he is satisfied with the explanation given he can always beg leave to withdraw the amendment; otherwise the matter cannot be discussed.

Mr Lee Kuan Yew: Yes, Sir. Mr Chairman, I beg to move,

In sub-clause (i), paragraph (a), after "(a)" to insert "ordinarily".

Amendment handed in.

The Attorney-General (Mr E. P. Shanks): Sir, that amendment is acceptable.

Amendment agreed to.

Clause 3, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clauses 4 and 5 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Bill reported with an amendment; read the Third time and passed.