CITY COUNCIL ELECTIONS (Radio time for Political Party Programmes)

5.09 p.m.

Mr Lee Kuan Yew: Mr Speaker, Sir, it is with considerable regret that I have to make a few remarks on this motion. It has already served its purpose. Political Party broadcasts have already started -

Mr Speaker: Is the hon. Member moving his motion?

Mr Lee Kuan Yew: I am, Sir. Tonight is the last of the Political Party broadcasts, but I shall nevertheless formally move to record my disapproval of the obstinate and completely indefensible stand taken by the Government on this matter. Sir, I move,

That this House is of the opinion that political parties competing in the present City Council elections should be given time over the radio to put over their party programmes for the City Council.

In civilised countries where the modern conveniences of communication have reached the level where almost every other working-class home has a T.V. set, the work of the politicians becomes much easier. He does not have to shout and rant at the mass of people. He puts over his programme in a quiet and friendly way. This motion was introduced to compel the Government to acknowledge that fact. You will remember, Mr Speaker, Sir, that I first took the occasion to raise the matter on a motion for the adjournment. As the position then was very uncertain, I decided that the best thing to do was to make it go to a vote, and I was quite right. This is definitely the way to compete.

Last night the Liberal-Socialist Party had 15 minutes of radio time. As I was travelling from one rally to another with my little car radio on, I heard their Party representative say, in his best parsonic manner, "And now this Victoria Memorial Hall - everybody blames the Liberal-Socialist Party for it. It is very dishonest. Because we were not the only people to blame. The Labour Front Government appointed nine people. Therefore they are also to blame for the Victoria Memorial Hall scandal." I said to myself, 'Fifteen minutes well spent. Proof to the people of Singapore, an admission from the representative of the Liberal-Socialist Party that it is responsible, if only in part, according to the admission, for waste of public funds.' And they have also shown to the people of Singapore what a lot of intellectual duds and buffoons they are.

That is the way the democratic system should operate. Put your programme over and if you cannot do it, then perish. I cannot think of any better way than to tell everybody sitting down quietly, under no obligation to listen, and without being able to do any greater harm than to switch the radio off if he does not like what he is hearing.

It is therefore with great regret that I find that I need to set this motion down, before the wheels of the Government machinery could be made to work, to allow Radio Malaya to give us radio time.

Sir, I formally beg to move, in order to allow other speakers time to make whatever remarks they like on this matter. But if nobody wishes to make any comment on what I have already stated, then I shall at some subsequent time beg leave to withdraw.

Inche Ahmad Bin Ibrahim (Sembawang): Sir, I second the motion.

Question proposed.

5.14 p.m.

Mr Lim Choon Mong: Mr Speaker, Sir, I find that when people cannot put ideas over to the masses, then they want a lot of ways to try to win them, and they ask for radio broadcasts and all that. For our Party, I think our ideas and ideals have been well known, and whether we have or we have not these radio broadcasts, we do not bother very much. Well, it is our idea that since the P.A.P. wanted it so very badly, we would help them out.

However, I feel that for a Member in this House to come over here and criticise those who have not the privilege to speak in this Assembly is not at all good. I think if you want to criticise anybody you should criticise those who are inside this House so that they have a chance to reply. In this instance, even on a matter of political radio broadcasts, he has something to say against broadcasts by our Party. Perhaps, Sir, the truth hurts. When other people know that the ideas and ideals of the Liberal-Socialist Party are the best for Singapore, they feel that they cannot let that go but that they should at least throw a few stones at it. We know that ideas can be propagated by action and not by just misleading the people and making them suffer for their political acts, by the action of the leaders showing that they really care for the people and will work for them and will not in any way put them into misery. Such, I think, will be a far better way of propagating your ideas than just asking for five-minute broadcasts.

We have helped them and I hope they will be grateful for our helping them out.

5.17 p.m.

The Chief Minister: Sir, I would not have risen to speak if the hon. Mover of the motion had not said that the Government was obstinate. We explained to the hon. Member when he first brought this matter to the attention of the House that Radio Malaya is a pan-Malayan Department and that we had to discuss a question of this kind of broadcast with the Federation Government. At the conclusion of the last sitting of this Assembly, I found time to have discussions with the Federation Prime Minister and we came to an agreement. That agreement was conveyed to the Members of the Opposition and there was a discussion as to how best this radio time could be utilised.

I therefore find it difficult to understand why the hon. Member should have found it necessary to rise and say something, to have digs here and digs there. I hope he is not doing it just because polling day is tomorrow.

5.18 p.m.

Mr Lee Kuan Yew: I am sorry if I cause the Government any embarrassment by pursuing this motion. I felt very strongly about it and I made my position quite clear to the Government that I intended to go through and force this matter to a division. It is vital, if we want competition of political ideas and political programmes, that the radio should be given to the political parties to put their programmes over. Now, Sir, I understood there were certain technical difficulties with the Federation Government but what I objected to, was that no effort was made earlier to clear the position until I had to table a motion. Only then was the effort made to clear the position.

Sir, this should have been completely unnecessary. When I raised the matter on the adjournment, the Government should have been in a position to say, 'We are in agreement in principle and we are clearing the position.' I would have been satisfied. But we had such a wishy-washy answer about the position and so forth, that I thought if the matter was not pressed hard, nothing would come out of it.

Now, Sir, as for the remarks of the Member for Serangoon, he said he wanted to help us out. Of course his Party is not really keen on radio time. My Party representative informed me that when all the Parties met in Radio Malaya, the Liberal-Socialist Party representative said he would not know what to do with the 15 minutes and he wanted three or four speakers to use them up. That is the real truth of the matter and the people of Singapore should know it.

You can cover up a lot of things by just issuing pamphlets or leaflets. But put a man over the radio, put the party programme over, and be it good, or be it bad, the people are there to listen and to decide without anybody disparaging whatever is being put over, without anybody interfering with your delivery. If under those conditions you are not able to put your political views over, then you are not likely ever to compete successfully under any other condition, no matter how favourable they may be. If a political party cannot compete on a par over the radio, then it can never compete at all.

Sir, I think I should take this matter further but will let it go until the vote is taken, because I would like to have it established that we are of the opinion that when political parties contest City Council elections, they should be given radio time. The matter will arise when the District Council elections come up in March, and will arise again when the Legislative Assembly elections come up in August or September. We should all make our position quite clear and if there should be a dissenting voice on this motion, then a division should be called.

Question put, and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House is of the opinion that political parties competing in the present City Council elections should be given time over the radio to put over their party programmes for the City Council.