YANG DI-PERTUAN NEGARA'S SPEECH (Debate on the Address)

Order read for resuming adjourned debate on Question [20th July, 1959],

That the following Address in reply to the speech of the Yang di-Pertuan Negara be agreed to:-

"We, the Legislative Assembly of the State of Singapore, express our thanks to the Yang di-Pertuan Negara for the speech which he delivered on behalf of the Government at the opening of the present session of this Assembly." ' -(The Deputy Prime Minister).

Question again proposed.

2.34 p.m.

The Minister for Home Affairs (Mr Ong Pang Boon): (In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, my colleagues have during the past few days explained the policy statement of the Government in detail. Today I wish to emphasise a few matters on Home Affairs that are contained in the policy speech.

With the promulgation of the new Constitution of internal self-government and the formation of the first internal self-government, we the people of Singapore have entered into a new historic era. This is an important transitional period. On the one hand, the symbols of Colonial rules are on their way out and on the other hand is a new-born anti-Colonial self-government of the people - an internal self-government of limited powers. Since the masses of the people have handed this power to the P.A.P. Government, they have, at the same time, entrusted us their future happiness. Therefore, we must put our feet on the ground and shoulder the responsibilities that the people have entrusted us. Of course in an island of 225 square miles with a population of 1½ million people relying on entrepot for our livelihood, it is by no means an easy task to carry out socialist policy and socialist re-construction. The P.A.P. have repeatedly announced their long-term objective that only through a thorough socialist reform and re-construction can we improve and raise the living standards of the people. In order to achieve this we must pave the road for an early re-unification with the Federation of Malaya. It is only through merger with the Federation to become a State in an independent country that we can have the basic conditions for the establishment of a socialist state.

Since the power of internal self-government is already in the hands of the people today, we must fully utilise this advantageous political position to do our best during our term of office to create conditions favourable to an early merger with the Federation of Malaya. We must make our strife for national re-unification the most pressing and important task of the P.A.P. Government. We should not forget that over and above the government there is the Internal Security Council which decides on internal security matters affecting external defence. Therefore every responsible citizen should be fully aware of this fact so that we may do our work in a cautious and realistic manner. We wish to emphasise that rash adventurism, here and now, can only bring unfortunate consequences to the new government. Of course, we hope the Federation member on the Internal Security Council will understand the desires and aspirations of the people of Singapore.

As a mass Party in a predominantly Chinese city, we must adopt the most dynamic and imaginative steps in carrying out our task of national construction. We should point out early re-unification is to the mutual interests and benefits of the people of the Federation and Singapore. Of course, in carrying out this work in order to reach our objective, a small section of the people will always oppose us and show their dissatisfaction. But the Government must consider the long-term interests of the State as a whole. The interests of a small section of the people must be subordinated to the interests of the majority of the people - the Malays, Chinese and Indians.

Concerning the problem of law and order and in dealing with crimes and secret societies, we should not overlook their basic social and economic causes.

In the past, the former Government was being inept in tackling the problem of unemployment. Certain Assemblymen and even Assistant Ministers were seen mixing up with secret society gangsters and had no hesitation in making use of the gangsters in order to achieve their own personal ends. All these point to the fact that crimes and secret society activities have, to a certain extent, received official patronage. The P.A.P. Government will adopt a positive attitude in tackling these problems. Regarding our long-term measures, the Government has already announced that it will take active steps to expand industries so that the factors contributing to criminal and secret society activities, i.e., unemployment, would be improved and gradually solved. In the immediate future, the people will be encouraged to organise themselves to combat gangsterism, and the Police Force will be reorganised and strengthened and its efficiency raised. At the same time, we intend to amend the Criminal Laws so that the authorities will be able to punish more severely, those convicted of creating public disorders. In tackling these problems, the Government will pay special attention to more constructive measures in protecting the safety of the people and stopping the crime wave. In fact, from last month the Government has already taken measures to stop those activities leading to crimes, namely, yellow culture, juke-boxes and pintable saloons. We will actively continue our campaign in this direction. Also our prisons will be reformed so that more emphasis will be laid on the rehabilitation of the criminals.

In respect of immigration, we have to consider carefully the problem of increasing unemployment in the country. During the past few years, the average number of immigrants per year is 6,000. In the first half of this year, however, the number of immigrants has exceeded 4,000. It is estimated that by the end of the year, the number will probably reach 10,000. Add to it will be another 10,000 or more people per year coming from the Federation to live in Singapore. The problem is further aggravated by the startling rate of natural increase of the population. All these point to the fact that if we allow this situation to develop, then our unemployment problem is going to deteriorate further and our entire national economy will undoubtedly be faced with greater difficulties.

Large-scale immigration will not only worsen our unemployment and population problems but it will also create political problems. How can we assimilate these new immigrants whose thinking and outlook are not Malayan and how do we instil in them Malayan loyalty?

We are a Government elected by a great majority of the people to serve their interests. We must give prior consideration to the interest of the people of Singapore. In order to avoid a worsening of the unemployment situation, we must, of necessity, adopt a more restrictive attitude in the matter of immigration, so that more opportunities may be given to the people of Singapore.

We, the People's Action Party, in accepting the mandate to form a Government have long ago realised that we will be facing these grave and difficult problems. However, we have a disciplined party and a concrete political programme, and with the continuous support of the great masses of the people, we are confident that in the next five years, the new Government will be able to lead the people of Singapore one step closer to a peaceful, happy and democratic Socialist Malaya!

2.50 p.m.

Madam Hoe Puay Choo (Bras Basah): (In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, I give my full support to the motion moved by the Deputy Prime Minister. Before the elections, our Party clearly made known our policies to the electorate so that the people could make their choice. For instance, in connection with our policy on women even before the election, our Party had clearly enunciated its policy. In the policy statement, we have very clearly explained the conditions that are faced by women in our present society and also what we will be doing after we have been returned to power.

Everybody knows that in the old decadent society, certain men, because of their wealth and their power, frequently had three wives and four concubines and, as a result of this, family tragedies were always the order of the day. This is a great insult to the dignity of women. Of course, there are certain women who do not dare to face reality, and because of the pressure mounted against them by social conditions and because of the fact that they have been denied opportunities for education, perhaps, for instance, some of them feel that because of the comfortable life given to them therefore they are prepared to accept the life of a concubine of some rich man. We are going to educate such women so that they will realise their own dignity. We will make them discard the old luxurious way of living. We will make them no longer desirous of having a comfortable luxurious life. We want them to be women of a new society. We also hope that sensible men will also realise that a system of multiple wives will fail to create more family happiness and there will be no peace, so that wives and children will all be fighting one another, as a result of which tragedies will arise. We are going to encourage women to leave the kitchen and ask them actively to participate in political activities to struggle for the rights that belong to the women. We will ask that there will be more creches to be put up so that the professional women may be able to leave their children in these creches and they can peacefully do their work outside. Further, we are going to do our utmost to protect women from being exploited and harmed, and we will investigate the conditions of women working in bars and other places of entertainment. We are going to punish seriously those who entice women to take part in unlawful activities. At the same time, we are going to increase the scope of possibilities for women to be employed and we will do our best to see that the wages paid to women are not lower than men's and also to investigate the conditions under which women are compelled to work overtime. We will also insist that during the prenatal and post-natal period they are given sufficient leave.

Today, our Party is in the Government and we will progress step by step in order to carry out our policy to improve the political and economic position of women in this new society of ours. I am a woman and, with regard to the problems of women, I have very high ideals and strong sentiments, and I am sure that many Assemblymen have the same kind of sentiments that I have. In the near future, we are going to pass legislation stipulating, under the law, that every man may have only one wife so that we can create a happy life in the homes of our new society.

Mr Speaker, in the policy speech made by the Yang di-Pertuan Negara concerning the Government's administrative policy, the Member for Cairnhill has given his viewpoint on the united labour movement. He stated that his Government had allowed the trade unions to develop at random and that they registered any union which wished to be registered. His viewpoint and ours are totally different. We all know that if we let the trade unions to be registered as they are formed this will merely result in the breaking up of the solidarity of the workers. The Member for Cairnhill said that he is a trade union leader, but has he ever thought that if we allow several more unions of the same trade to be registered, what kind of position or status the workers will have in their negotiations with employers? If he had thought of this point, perhaps he would not have said that during the period when his Party was in power, they would simply register any union that wished to be registered. We look at this problem in a different manner. We all know that if we allow different unions of the same trade to be-

Mr Speaker: I think the hon. Member is now debating the Trade Unions (Amendment) Bill which will be before the House on the 13th of August. Perhaps she would like to reserve her remarks when that Bill comes up for Second Reading.

Madam Hoe Puay Choo: (In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, on the matter of the trade union movement, it is because the Member for Cairnhill had made certain remarks about it that I only wish to reply to what he had said.

Mr Speaker: I think the hon. Member will recollect that I did stop the Member for Cairnhill from continuing on that line, and I think the Minister for Labour and Law also did agree that he would reserve his comments when the relevant Bill is debated. I think the hon. Lady will have a great deal of opportunity when the Second Reading is debated.

Madam Hoe Puay Choo: (In Mandarin): Regarding women's problems, there are a great many things that are not to the advantage of women. We will continue to improve the status of women, and we will put away the obsolete measures that have been left to us by the former Government.

3.01 p.m.

Mr Tee Kim Leng (Pasir Panjang): (In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, 30th May, 1959, was a day for the people of Singapore to march forward. On that day all the people in Singapore, by constitutional means of evolution, voted our 43 Members into power in the Assembly. We will follow the wishes of the people and will do our best to implement our Five-Year plan. Furthermore, we will establish a happy, prosperous and good Singapore. We will do our best to merge with the Federation.

Although the former Government superficially was prosperous and built good buildings for the people, the livelihood of the people was poor. This kind of thinking could be thought of only by them but not by us; we think differently. The rich live in big houses, ride in cars; whereas the poor people live in cottages and sometimes cannot even enjoy their daily three meals with satisfaction. We will unite the people of Singapore to work peacefully in order to build a happy, egalitarian Singapore.

For the past hundred years the people had been oppressed by the colonial rulers and their livelihood was difficult and although they worked very hard they could not improve their livelihood, not to mention the provision of water and sanitation and the development of facilities in school, and so on. Therefore, those corrupted conditions existed as if there was no Government.

Now this is a Government of the people. We will put emphasis on the livelihood and rights of the people. We will work and enjoy with the people of Singapore. We will do our work as responsible citizens. This work should be done by all the people who should conscientiously work together.

Mr Speaker, the other day, the eyes of the Member for Cairnhill were blurred. It was because formerly he was on this side of the House, and now he is on that side. Tears came from his eyes, and so his eyes were blurred. He thought that his colleague, the Member for Tanglin, said that in our country the deficit must be borne by all the people and not by a minor section of the people. I think this is the wrong view. We must know that today's Government represents the poor people. The money got from the poor people must be used for the good of the poor people. The wealthy are able to obtain thousands of dollars in salary but the poor can only get a very small pay, and if the reduction in allowances is to be borne by all the people of Singapore, it is most unfair. Furthermore, this is only a reduction in variable allowances. There are many low-paid Government employees who support our measures. I met a low-paid Government employee the other day who told me that what the Government did was quite right. He also said that in the past they had to pay 70 cents for a kati of sugar, but now it is only 20 cents a kati. A number of years ago, if anyone wanted to buy a car, he had to pay coffee money, but now they can buy a car without paying coffee money. In the past if I wanted to buy a shirt, I had to pay something like over $7 but now I only pay about $3. That goes to show that the prices of daily commodities have greatly reduced. We are only reducing the allowances of Government employees who are receiving high pay, and I feel that this would not be a very great loss to them. Furthermore there are a great many people in Singapore who do not have to bear a higher tax burden.

3.09 p.m.

The Minister for Culture (Mr S. Rajaratnam): Mr Speaker, there was one moment during the debate last Friday when I felt really anxious about the Member for Cairnhill. That was when at one stage of his peroration he took off his glasses to wipe them so that he could get a better view of Members on this side of the House. If I remember correctly, Sir, he was at that moment preparing to fix his gaze on the Minister for Labour, and he might have succeeded but for your timely intervention. I was a little perturbed by this obviously well-rehearsed gesture because the one thing you cannot help noticing in this House, even without glasses, is our Minister for Labour and Law. In fact, Sir, I had to take a quick glance in the direction of our Minister for Labour and Law to reassure myself that nothing untoward had happened to him. But even if the Member for Cairnhill had some difficulty in recognizing the Minister for Labour and Law, he must have been in pretty bad shape not to be able to see the Government benches. Sir, you have only to look at the seating arrangements on this side of the House to become aware of this fact - the benches are packed to full capacity. On the other side you see a thin, wavering line of Opposition front benchers lost in a vast wilderness of empty back benches - all fronters and no backers. It then occurred to me that the trouble was not with the hon. Member's glasses as with his political vision. His political vision was not particularly keen before the elections, and it appears to have faded more than somewhat since then.

In fact, Sir, when listening to the speeches of the hon. Members opposite on the Speech by the Yang di-Pertuan Negara, my mind kept going back to the little story about seven blind men who tried to describe an elephant.

Dr Toh Chin Chye: Eight!

Mr Rajaratnam: I am sorry, Sir, I stand to be corrected. It might be eight. In that story, one of the blind men caught hold of the trunk and was quite sure that the elephant was a snake. Another caught hold of the ear and-

Mr Speaker: Order. I suppose the hon. Member is entitled to his exordium, but I think he has probably taken a bit too much time on that exordium. Talking about elephant trunks and snakes, I do not think, will help us to make any progress with the motion.

Mr Rajaratnam: Mr Speaker, Sir, I m really building an elaborate structure which will eventually reveal what the elephant stands for and what the blind men stand for. With your permission, Sir, I think there are times when a very important political point might have to be got over in terms of parables for which I believe there are precedents elsewhere.

Mr Speaker: Order. Of course, I suppose the Minister can convince the Chair that all this is relevant. To me, at the moment, it seems to be very irrelevant.

Mr Rajaratnam: Sir, the point of that story is that the hon. Members opposite appear to have groped about as unsuccessfully with the Speech by the Yang di-Pertuan Negara as the seven blind men did with the elephant.

Mr Speaker: I understood the Minister to say eight.

Mr Rajaratnam: I am sorry, Sir, I think the revised version of the story should read "eight", and I will stick to "eight".

For example, Sir, the representatives of U.M.N.O. complained that the elephant had only four legs and said that its fifth leg was missing; and the Member for Cairnhill complained that the P.A.P. elephant was in fact a modified version of the Labour Front mouse. He claimed that there was no essential difference between the P.A.P. programme - I am getting to the point at issue - as embodied in the Yang di-Pertuan Negara's speech and what the Labour Front - latterly the S.P.A. /U.M.N.O./M.C.A. Coalition Government - had been trying to do during the last four years. This belief that the Government's objectives are essentially the same as the Opposition's prompted the Member for Tanglin to outline in this House the role the Opposition intends to play. The Member for Tanglin, who obviously has a nautical turn of mind, saw himself and his colleagues as ancient mariners helping the Government to guide the ship of state. He compared, Sir, the Government to the crew of a ship and the Prime Minister to its captain. He alarmed us, Sir, by saying that the Opposition would keep a weather-eye open, and warn the crew and the Captain whenever the ship was heading for the rocks. The assumption - a completely incorrect one, as I shall show later - is that we and they are heading for the same port. Now, Sir, even if this assumption is true, the last thing this Government intends to do is to take advice from shipwrecked captains. If the hon. Members opposite had known anything about navigating ships of state, they would not be on the political rocks today. They would not be marooned sea captains.

Without appearing to be unduly immodest, I think our navigation charts are more reliable because, as you can see, Sir, after four years of struggle and effort, the captain and crew on this side of the House have reached their first port of call safely. On the other side, Sir, you see slightly seasick captains, minus passengers, crew and ship.

In view of this, I was just wondering how they intend to reach the next port of call five years from now. I have no doubt. Sir, that they genuinely believe that even if they have no ship or crew they can swim for it. Sir, the next journey - this five-year journey - is through uncharted seas, and if the Members opposite think they can swim for it, then they must be rasher men than I thought they were. Therefore, I submit, Sir, that there is a world of difference between what we stand for and what the hon. Members opposite stand for. Ours is a world of the living. Theirs is a world of the dead. In fact, Sir, listening to some of the speeches from the hon. Members was like listening to voices from the grave. They are part and parcel of a Colonial society which gave birth to them and nourished them. Their attitudes, their ideas, and their approach to politics are the by-product of a Colonial society now in the process of being laid to rest.