WAR DAMAGE (AMENDMENT) BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

2.43 p.m.

The Acting Financial Secretary (Mr Oon Khye Kiang): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

Sir, the purpose of the proposed amendment to the Ordinance is, as pointed out in the Explanatory Statement to the Bill, to enable the accounts of the War Damage Commission, which have been kept on a Pan-Malayan basis, to be audited as before by the Federation Auditor-General. The former Director of Audit, Malaya, used to have jurisdiction over the Federation of Malaya and Singapore. Following independence in the Federation of Malaya, it was no longer possible for him to continue on this basis. His post has been renamed Auditor-General, Federation of Malaya, and the former Singapore Deputy Director of Audit has now been renamed Director of Audit, Singapore. As the War Damage Commission accounts are kept on a Pan-Malayan basis, the audit will continue to be carried out by the Department of the Federation Auditor-General at Kuala Lumpur as before.

Sir, I beg to move.

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.-[Mr Oon Khye Kiang].

Bill considered in Committee.

2.44 p.m.

Clause 1-

The Chairman: There is a note of an alteration,

In page 1, line 5, to leave out "1958" and insert "1959".

That will be done.

Clause 1 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 2 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Bill reported without Amendment; read the Third time and passed.