HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT BILL (Select Committee's Report)

10.02 a.m.

The Minister for Local Government Lands and Housing (Dato Abdul Hamid Bin Haji Jumat): Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise to move the motion standing in my name, viz.,

That the Report of the Select Committee on the Housing and Development Bill, as contained in Sessional Paper No. L.A. 20 of 1958, be adopted.

Sir, the Report of the Select Committee has been in the hands of hon. Members since November last. Hon. Members have had sufficient time to read the representations received on the Bill, and which were given careful consideration in Select Committee.

The only major amendment which has been made to the Bill is the deletion of the clause providing for the relaxation of building by-laws in connection with the Board's operations. Similar clauses appear in legislation in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, and while the Government remains of the opinion that the inclusion of the original clause would not be unreasonable, it considers that the arrangements with the local authorities for waivers has worked reasonably well in the past, and does not consider it necessary to press for its inclusion in the Bill. However, Government will do so by way of an amendment, if the operations of the Board are found to be hampered as a result of local authority by-laws. The remaining amendments to the Bill in Select Committee were mostly minor and of a purely technical nature, and were intended to improve the drafting of the Bill.

Sir, I beg to move.

The Assistant Minister for Local Government, Lands and Housing (Mr Tan Theng Chiang): Sir, I second it.

Question proposed.

10.05 a.m.

Mr Lim Cher Kheng (Changi): Mr Speaker, Sir, I am sure this House is at last happy to note that the Housing Authority can be put into reality. But certain details should still be patched up - especially those that raised consider, able debate in Select Committee. I wonder whether the Minister was aware that those points had been raised by the Opposition with very, very strong reasons behind them.

Sir, may I quote an example? The automatic transfer of the Singapore Improvement Trust staff without reference back to the Public Service Commission. To me, I think this is a most dangerous move. We are aware that the determining of posts is in the hands of a few persons. I just wonder what is the merit and purpose of the P.S.C., a body on which this country relies so much. To ensure the stability of a country the public service is of vital importance. This is especially true when we see the pocket-size government of the P.A.P. in the City Council. How the City Council employs its staff is seen in the policy of the P.A.P. Now the Minister proposes that the present staff of the S.I.T. be automatically transferred to the Housing Authority. Sir, maybe the public or this House has confidence in the present Minister and the present S.I.T. staff, but what about the future? Will filthy party politics play a great part in all public appointments? I wonder if this Housing Authority is keen to serve only certain Parties' interests, but not all.

Sir, because of this point, I strongly urge the Minister to consider putting in the hands of the P.S.C. the appointment of staff for the Housing Authority. Any grievance or any technical points of assurance raised by the present S.I.T. staff should, I think, be very easy to deal with. But if this Bill is now passed without any amendment and we accept it as it is, then let these few persons hold the extraordinary powers to determine any appointment in the new Housing Authority.

To me, Sir, what is the use of changing its name? Why not let us continue to use the name "S.I.T." rather than change it to the "Housing Authority"?

We hope, Sir, through the P.S.C. and through the wisdom of our Minister we can try to do something to improve the machinery of the S.I.T. - which undoubtedly has not satisfied the public demand for housing - and thereby help it to solve the housing problem.

Sir, despite the pros and cons of this important point, I hope the Minister will not only think twice but three times not to allow any political Party in power in the near future to use this Housing Authority for their own ends. Sir, I strongly urge the Minister to give me and this House a satisfactory reply.

10.10 a.m.

Dato Abdul Hamid: Mr Speaker, Sir, this question of the Public Service Commission having jurisdiction over the appointments of employees in the City Council has been debated in very great detail during meetings of the Select Committee. The fact is that the Select Committee was of the opinion that, for the time being at least as regards the category of employees who are already in appointments with the Board of Trustees of the Improvement Trust, it would be unfair for them to appear before the Public Service Commission to be confirmed in appointments in which they have been acting or working for the past few years. However, I can assure the Member for Changi that with the coming into being of the Housing and Development Board, Government will do its best to see that politics should not be introduced into the workings of the Development Board, because, in the first instance, appointments to the Board will be made by Government not on the basis of political affiliation but purely on the merits and ability of the member to serve on that Board. Secondly, Sir, Government may also endeavour to extend the services of the Public Service Commission to new employees of the Development Board as well as the Planning Section.

Dato Abdul Hamid Bin Haji Jumat resumed his seat.

Mr Lim Cher Kheng rose -

Mr Speaker: Is it a point for clarification?

Mr Lim Cher Kheng: Yes, Sir.

Mr Speaker: The Minister has sat down. The Member is too late!

Question put, and agreed to.

Resolved,

That the Report of the Select Committee on the Housing and Development Bill, as contained in Sessional Paper No. L.A. 20 of 1958, be adopted.

Third Reading

Mr Speaker: Third Reading, what day?

Dato Abdul Hamid: Now, Sir. Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read the Third time."

I would like to draw your attention, Sir, to a note in clause 1:

In page 15, line 7, to leave out "1958" and insert "1959". Similar notes* are also applicable to clauses 2 and 27, and I seek your permission to effect the alterations.

• The notes are as follows:-

Clause 2:

(1) In page 16, line 31, to leave out "1958" and insert "1959".

(2) In page 16, line 31, marginal citation: to leave out "1958" and insert "1959".

Clause 27:

(1) In page 23, line 4, to leave out "1958" and insert "1959".

(2) In page 23, line 7, to insert marginal citation "Ord. of 1959".

Inche Mohamed Sidik Bin Haji Abdul Hamid: Sir, I beg to second.

Mr Speaker: The alterations will be made.

Question proposed.

10.15 a.m.

Mr Lim Cher Kheng: Mr Speaker, Sir, I am sorry to take up so much time of the House, but I would like to raise a few points. The Minister in his reply has not satisfied me. Sir, as I said, the first point is that the P.S.C. should solve the technical difficulties of the present staff of the S.I.T. and to assure them of the security of their jobs. Secondly, I am sure the Minister has not understood me correctly. I said, at the present, maybe this House and the people have confidence in the Minister and his Permanent Secretary, but what about the future, Sir? I have already quoted one practical example and that is the present well-known method of employment in the City Council - if you want to seek a City Council job, you must be a member of a political Party, and you can then be sure of getting a job. Sir, it is obvious that party politics are creeping into our public service and the appointment of staff from the S.I.T. to the Housing Authority, which is such an important body, can only be determined by the decision of the P.S.C. Sir, let them determine who should remain or who should be asked to resign; or who should be humiliated and forced to resign. We have known that Mr Marcus of the City Council had to resign. Why should he resign from the Hawkers Department? It is evident that party politics are being played in the public service and therefore a principle is involved - should Singapore preserve a clean public service or not? Otherwise, if party politics are permitted to get into our public service, candidates would try to bribe or find a way to by-pass the Public Service Commission. That I think is the most dangerous, disastrous and sorrowful thing for the people of Singapore. Why allow one-

Dato Abdul Hamid: On a point of clarification, Sir?

Mr Speaker: If the Member will give way.

Mr Lim Cher Kheng resumed his seat.

Dato Abdul Hamid: In regard to the present or future employees of the Singapore Improvement Trust, is the Member for Changi trying to say that the present employees of the Improvement Trust should be confirmed by the Public Service Commission in their appointments in the future Development Board?

Mr Lim Cher Kheng: Yes, Sir, I want all the present staff of the S.I.T. to be confirmed in their appointments since the S.I.T. is to become a Government authority; unlike in the past when the S.I.T. have for years been a statutory body. Once you allow this new Government department to by-pass the Public Service Commission in its appointments, then I am afraid many, many more Government departments would follow this Housing and Development Board. Therefore, by implementing this Bill, we create a very, very bad precedent.

I wonder why the Minister cannot find any means to solve the technical difficulties of the S.I.T. staff, who are much worried and feel insecure in the confirmation of their appointments by the Public Service Commission. Sir, it is just a minor difficulty which I am sure the P.S.C. and the Minister can find a way out to solve, rather than embark on the implementation of this Bill. We want our public service to keep entirely away from politics. I have just quoted the example of party politics having already infiltrated into the City Council. You cannot deny it, Sir, and I hope the Minister for Local Government can take notice of such happenings. If you want to get a job in the City Council, you must be a member of such and such a political Party, and that is -

Mr Lee Kuan Yew: (Tanjong Pagar): On a point of information, Sir.

Mr Speaker: If the Member will give way.

Mr Lim Cher Kheng resumed his seat.

Mr Lee Kuan Yew: Will the Member enumerate three specific cases, instead of making these unfounded allegations?

Mr Lim Cher Kheng: I want to quote the case of the Hawker Inspectors. When the City Council advertised in the Chinese newspapers for many more Hawker Inspectors, certain required qualifications were made known. You must have a Senior Cambridge School certificate or a Chinese Senior Middle School certificate. I learned from a reliable source that many applications -

Mr Lee Kuan Yew: Name three!

Mr Lim Cher Kheng: -came from India. These applicants even possessed B.A. degrees and they applied as Hawker Inspectors. There were still others who possessed even higher qualifications, but all these applications were turned down. If the hon. Member for Tanjong Pagar wants to know the details, I think he can get the information from his colleague in the City Council, because an Assemblyman like myself has nothing to do with such political manoeuvring. I can only gather such information from persons who approached me for jobs. Many of these job-seekers have approached me these last few months since the results of their Senior Middle School examinations were published. They tried to get jobs in the City Council. I would like to quote a few names: Chan Yin Fong, who has just graduated from the Chung Cheng High School; another one, Miss Ng Teck Choi from Chung Hwa Girls' School. They approached me for jobs and the question that confronted me most was that they wanted me to recommend them to a, say,. Singapore People's Alliance or Lib-Soc. City Councilor. I asked the girl about the registration, and she said, "Oh, I have got through because I have enrolled as a P.A.P. member." Sir, these are the facts. Whether these applicants were really seeking jobs in the City Council or not, I have no right to question, but it is true, on their own words, that if you are seeking a job in the City Council, you must prove your political leanings. As they say, Sze Siang Tsen Chueh, which means that with a right political mind, you have more chances.

Therefore, I strongly oppose the passing of this Bill without any amendments, particularly in view of the great danger of allowing this Government Department to by-pass the P.S.C. and I am afraid it is going to create a very serious precedent which a political Party in power in the future might follow. Then Singapore's days will be numbered.

10.25 a.m.

Mr Lee Kuan Yew: Mr Speaker, Sir, I must congratulate the Minister for Local Government, Lands and Housing, for being able at last after a period of four years, to present us with his Housing Authority. My only regret, Sir, is this: that whilst the Government has been giving its parliamentary draftsmen a great deal of practice on how to draw up Bills, many will be subsequently scrapped, because there is not enough time for the Government to get on with its ideas before it is thrown out of office. If I may remind the former members of the Labour Front, this was one of their key planks in their last election platform. They talked about it for four years and now, when they are on their way out, they present us with this Report of the Select Committee.

Sir, it is not without significance that the senior staff of the Singapore Improvement Trust are concerned about their future and want to entrench themselves before this Government goes out of office. That is a well-known fact. It is also a well-known fact that they would like to build themselves into new jobs - unlike what happened to the City Council senior officers who were unable to get the old Council to put protective amour-plating around their jobs before they, the old councillors were swept out of office.

We have no objections to this Bill being passed, but I do ask the Minister to consider seriously whether he should embark on the implementation of such an important task when he knows full well that his Government has got only another eight weeks to go. The next government may well have very different ideas as to how this Bill should be implemented, even though it may be of the opinion that there should be an independent or separate Housing Authority. The next government may well be of the opinion that this Housing Authority should be under the direct control, direction and drive of a Minister for Housing, and not under an appointed Chairman.

I therefore submit this view for the Government's consideration - that the administrative apparatus of the Government should not be strained to breaking point by last-minute switches in policy. If the Government goes on with the implementation of this Bill, and the next government disagrees with it, in a matter of weeks all these gears will be thrown into reverse. That will not be good for the country - and they know it.

I would also ask the Minister to remember this. Whatever the views of permanent Civil Service may be, and whatever the views of the S.I.T. Senior Officers are, the final decision has to be made by a political head. As the political head, he must assume final responsibility for what happens to the S.I.T. and this Housing Bill. I would also ask the Minister, if he has any confidence at all in his programme and his policy and what he intends to do, to place it before the electorate and get a mandate to get on with it.

10.28 a.m.

Mr Lim Koon Teck (Paya Lebar): Mr Speaker, Sir, the hon. Member for Tanjong Pagar has now served us with notice as to what may happen to all Government Bills and Government planning if his Party gets into power. I am glad he has made clear the position of his Party, but what I do hope is that, should his Party get into power, the whole of the Government and its administration will not be in the same sorry state as the City Council is today -

Mr Lee Kuan Yew: It has never worked so well!

Mr Lim Koon Teck: -as a result of irresponsible and rapid changes of administration of its office and of its administrative officers without regard to the public of Singapore as a whole.

Mr Lee Kuan Yew: On a point of information, Sir.

Mr Speaker: If the Member will give way.

Mr Lim Koon Teck: No, Sir, I think, except for the extremists in Singapore, everyone will agree with us that the affairs of the City Council are not what they should be at all. And if this were to happen to the administration of the island of Singapore, then I shall be very, very sorry for all of us who think on exactly the opposite lines. I must therefore forewarn everyone of us to be prepared to meet that challenge.

Mr Lim Koon Teck resumed his seat.

Mr Lee Kuan Yew: On a point of clarification, Sir.

Mr Speaker: The Member has sat down!

10.30 a.m.

Mr R. Jumabhoy (Telok Ayer): Sir, I did not intend to say anything on this Bill. I agree with the hon. Member for Tanjong Pagar that, of the Bills which have been passed last week or the previous month, some of them are very important, and should have been held over after the elections, so that the people who get the mandate can introduce them. But the present Government - most of the Members have changed their labels - have thought fit to bring up this important Bill on, I would say, the eve of their misrule of office. I would suggest that though they will get the Bill passed, it should not be implemented till the new Government comes into power. I am not going to enter into party politics as others have done, but it is the people who will elect Members to this Assembly on the basis of their past performance, and it is those people who have been elected who should implement this important Bill.

10.33 a.m.

Dato Abdul Hamid Bin Haji Jumat rose-

Mr Speaker: Dato Abdul Hamid, in reply?

Dato Abdul Hamid: Yes, Sir, I think there is very little to reply. With regard to the statement made by the hon. Member for Tanjong Pagar, I am somewhat unhappy to learn that, on the one hand, he supports the Bill and, on the other hand, he does not support its implementation. Sir, whether the Bill has come up in the first year or the second year or the third or even the last year of office of the present Government, we, on this side of the House, will, within the political and legal life of this Government, implement what is right.

The Member for Changi was again harping on the question of the Public Service Commission. As I have said earlier, Sir, it is against all accepted service principles to insist that the present employees of the Trust should be rubber-stamped by the Public Service Commission in appointments which they have been holding for years and years. Furthermore, Sir, there is no comparison at all, in my opinion, between the City Council and the future Development Board. The alleged happenings in the City Council could probably be because that body is a fully elected one. The Development Board, on the other hand, will have members who will be nominated by Government and who will not be elected members, as it is in the City Council or even in this Assembly. So the chances of politics getting into the Development Board would, in my opinion, be very remote. I still say, Sir, that it is unwise, and we should not attempt to introduce the powers of the Public Service Commission into the Housing and Development Board, at least in the case of the present employees who have been with the Board, some for twenty or thirty years.

Dato Abdul Hamid Bin Haji Jumat resumed his seat.

Mr Lim Cher Kheng: On a point of information, Sir.

Mr Speaker: The Minister has sat down.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read the Third time and passed.