ADJOURNMENT TO A LATER DAY MOTION

10.23 a.m.

The Deputy Prime Minister (Dr Toh Chin Chye): I beg to move,

That, notwithstanding the provisions of Standing Order No. 7, at its rising today this Assembly do stand adjourned to Thursday, the 16th of July, 1959, at 2.30 p.m.

Sir, under existing Standing Orders the House sits at 10 o'clock a.m. and adjourns at 12.30 p.m. It resumes sitting from 2.30 p.m. and adjourns at 4.30 p.m. The total time available for business in the House is altogether 4½ hours. It is proposed now that the House should sit from 2.30 p.m. to 8 p.m. This will give the House a total time of 5½ hours to attend to our business.

With the new Government and with the new Constitution, we have entered a new era. The lackadaisical, slipshod and inefficient methods of the past must give way to efficiency and earnestness in the conduct of Government.

It is the purpose of this motion to enable the Government benchers to attend to routine departmental work in the mornings. Under existing Standing Orders, Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries and our Assemblymen will not have time to attend to Governmental duties, nor will they have the time to meet the large numbers of public who are constantly interviewing us at the Ministries. This, Mr Speaker, is the main reason why I move this motion.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Culture (Mr Lee Khoon Choy): I rise to second the motion.

Question put, and agreed to.

Resolved.

That, notwithstanding the provisions of Standing Order No. 7, at its rising today this Assembly do stand adjourned to Thursday, the 16th of July, 1959, at 2.30 p.m.