CRIMINAL LAW (TEMPORARY PROVISIONS) (AMENDMENT) BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

10.53 a.m.

The Chief Secretary (Mr E. B. David): Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

As hon. Members will recall the primary purpose of the provisions of Part III of the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Ordinance was to give effect to an arrangement with the Federation of Malaya for the regulation and control of the Straits of Johore in order to prevent the movement of persons and supplies designed to assist the Communist terrorists in the southern part of that State. With the gratifying success which has been achieved by the Federation authorities in the campaign against the Communist terrorists, it became possible at the end of last year for the whole of Johore State, adjacent to Singapore Island, to be declared a "white" area, and with the agreement of the Federation of Malaya Government, the Johore Straits Control Scheme terminated on the 31st December. It is consequently no longer necessary to maintain the provisions of this part of the Ordinance which confer the legal powers to implement that Scheme.

There are, however, two other matters covered by this part of the Ordinance. The first is the creation of the Port of Singapore North and the application thereto of certain provisions of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance. These matters are covered by sections 11 and 12 of the Ordinance, and in so far as the provisions are permanently required, they should more appropriately be embodied in the Merchant Shipping Ordinance itself. This is being effected by the Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Bill, introduced at the last sitting of the Assembly and which my colleague, the Minister for Commerce and Industry, will be putting through its remaining stages of the day.

The second matter relates to certain restrictions imposed on shipping using Telok Ayer Basin and the waters around Keppel Harbour, Pulau Bukom, Pulau Sebarok, and St. John's Island. These are dealt with in sections 13 and 14 of the Ordinance. Certain of these provisions have since been included in the Singapore Port Rules and are consequently redundant, whilst the security of the places listed in the Fifth Schedule to the Ordinance can, I consider, be adequately protected, where necessary, by appropriate declarations under the Protected Places and Areas Ordinance, 1955.

It is accordingly now possible to repeal the whole of Part III of this temporary Ordinance, and I accordingly 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 David].

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read the Third time and passed.