LEMBAGA GERAKAN PELAJARAN DEWASA BILL

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Order for Recommittal read.

Bill considered in Committee.

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

2.31 p.m.

Clause 5-

The Chairman: Before I call upon the Member for Tanglin, perhaps he could indicate whether or not it would be convenient to take the amendment in parts. Is it convenient to take amendments (i), (j), (k), (l) and (m) together or separate

Mr Thio Chan Bee (Tanglin): I would like to take them together.

The Chairman: Please proceed.

Mr Thio Chan Bee: Mr Speaker, I beg to move,

In page A2, line 34, at end, to add-

"(i) one member to be appointed by the Minister on the nomination of the Singapore Teachers Union;

(j) one member to be appointed by the minister on the nomination of the Singapore Chinese Teachers Union;

(k) one member to be appointed by the Minister on the nomination of the Singapore Head Teachers Conference;

(l) one member to be appointed by the Minister on the nomination of the Singapore Chinese Schools Conference;

(m) one member to be appointed by the Minister on the nomination of the Malay Education Council.".

Sir, the Hon. the Deputy Prime Minister in his speech at the Nanyang University inaugurating University Week said these wise words. I am quoting from the Straits Tunes of Thursday, 31st March:

"Wisdom came with tolerance and understanding."

Sir, the leaders of the Singapore Teachers Union, under the tutelage of the present Political Secretary in the Ministry of Education, who was the Secretary-General of the Singapore Teachers Union for many years, of course, learned to develop very independent minds on many questions. No doubt they did rub some Ministry officials on the wrong side and very likely they are not regarded as quite persona grata by the Ministry of Education. But all the same, Sir, the Singapore Teachers Union is the largest union of English school teachers and, as such, I think they should be allowed a representative on this Adult Education Board.

A great deal of the work will have to be carried out with the assistance of teachers teaching night classes, and I think it is only right that they should be represented on this Board to discuss policies and give advice and suggestions on planned schemes so that they will be workable. Also, Sir, if their representative is on this Board, they will naturally feel that they should co-operate more wholeheartedly.

The Member for Thomson, Sir, at one meeting of the Select Committee on this Bill, did say that teachers and head teachers were like drivers and conductors employed in the Ministry of Education, and that the Ministry was like a Board of Directors. Sir, I hope that is not the policy of the Government, because if it is, then one regrets to say that in the days when Singapore was governed by colonial rulers, there were representatives of teachers unions and head teachers conferences on the Education Advisory Committee. They took part in deliberations regarding plans and policies affecting education in the Colony.

I do believe, Sir, that if we take the attitude that teachers and head teachers are merely servants to be ordered about, then we will not get the maximum effort from them. There is a difference between people who are treated as servants and those who are treated as friends and partners. I believe that teachers and head teachers will produce the maximum effort if they are treated as friends and partners in the field of education.

Sir, the Chinese schools now being treated on a parity with English schools naturally would want representation on this Board. Of course, the ideal thing would be to have just one Teachers Union and one Head Teachers Conference to include members of the teaching profession teaching in the different media. But until that comes to pass, I am afraid, Sir, that we have to regard the situation as it now stands and invite the representatives from the different organisations so that they will be able to help the Government in its plans on adult education.

Sir, I understand that because of disagreement between the Ministry officials and some representatives of the Singapore Teachers Union, the Joint Consultative Committee was abolished.

Sir, reminding ourselves of the words of the Hon, the Deputy Prime Minister, "Wisdom came with tolerance and understanding," I am sure in that spirit teachers Will respond. It was this spirit which the Hon, the Minister for Labour and Law said was being implemented in the Industrial Relations Bill which has now become an Ordinance. The stages he advocated out of a deadlock were appeal -

The Minister for Labour and Law (Mr K. M. Byrne): I thought so!

Mr Thio Chan Bee: Re-negotiation or reconciliation, or final arbitration. I do hope, Sir, that in that spirit, this amendment will be considered and accepted

In the case of representation for the Malay Education Council, I hope it is appreciated that we are not stressing communalism, but we are re-emphasising what is laid down in the Singapore Constitution, that the Malays in Singapore must at all times be given special consideration.

The Chairman: Order. I did try to indicate to the hon. Member that perhaps it would be convenient to take this amendment in two parts: one dealing with representation of teachers and head teachers and the other dealing with representation of the Malay Education Council. It appears to me that the Member for Tanglin has not indicated how the two are interrelated so that the debate could conveniently be undertaken on the whole amendment. Will the hon. Member please indicate that?

Mr Thio Chan Bee: Mr Speaker, Sir, I accept your correction. I will stop at amendment (l) and move amendment (m) later on.

The Chairman: Very well.

Mr Thio Chan Bee: Sir, on the Adult Education Board, the people would naturally expect the Teachers Union and the Head Teachers Conference to be represented, and if the Government does not want them to be represented, I hope they will give an adequate explanation with adequate reasons.

The Chairman: It has been moved as an amendment:

In page A2, line 34, at end, to add-

"(i) one member to be appointed by the Minister on the nomination of the Singapore Teachers Union;

(j) one member to be appointed by the Minister on the nomination of the Singapore Chinese Teachers Union;

(k) one member to be appointed by the Minister on the nomination of the Singapore Head Teachers Conference;

(l) one member to be appointed by the Minister on the nomination of the Singapore Chinese Schools Conference;".

The Question is, "That the words proposed to be added, be there added."

2.44 p.m.

Mr S. T. Bani (Thomson): Sir, how the Member for Tanglin chooses to interpret what I said at the Select Committee meeting is his privilege, and I certainly do not intend to tell him how to mind his business, but if it will please the Member, I shall repeat myself.

To say that teachers and head teachers must be represented on this Board because they are functionaries in the promotion of literacy is making a farce of whatever principle the Member is toying in his mind, because there are many other categories of workers who will be connected with adult education in one way or another. You have the inspectorate, the jagas who open and shut the classrooms and the kebuns who sweep the floor. What about all these people? Are they to be represented separately too? Is representation of these units to be given separately too? What about the clerks in the Ministry and those in the Cultural Centre who will do paper work in connection with adult education. Are they to be represented too? I am sure the Member is aware that Government has called for volunteers and it is very likely that the adult classes will be staffed with non-professional teachers.

2.45 p.m.

Members of the public, the civil servants, what about representation for these people? These are the people who will also be called upon to do work in connection with adult education. Sir, to suggest that teachers must be represented on this Board just because they are workers connected with adult education is not a valid suggestion. That is exactly what I say. But if we say: are workers as such to be represented on the Board? Is our working class as such to be represented on the Board? Is there a provision to this effect? I say there is.

The Trades Union Congress, which is the parent body of all categories of workers, has the privilege of nominating two members who, besides being active participants in the formulation of the policies of the Board, will have a moral obligation to look after the interests of the teachers. And exactly who should be appointed, is a matter for the T.U.C. to decide. Whether kebuns, or jagas, drivers or conductors, or a principal in the form of the hon. Member for Tanglin, I am sure the T.U.C. is competent enough to decide.

Mr Thio Chan Bee: Mr Speaker, Sir, I have not opposed representation on the Board by members of the T.U.C. What I did ask for was that there should be increased representation, because as at present composed or constituted, we have 7 Government nominees, 2 University nominees who could become Government nominees, and only 2 T.U.C. nominees who are, as it were, independently nominated. Surely the presence or the inclusion of a few more representatives from the Teachers' Union and Head Teachers Conference would be of assistance to the Board and would give the Board a slight leavening of an independent element which is really all to the good.

Sir, democracy is a system which works more slowly no doubt, but nonetheless more effectively, because those who are interested in an enterprise are invited to share their views and sometimes to share opposition views. If it is the purpose of Government to have on the Board just people who will say, "We agree", then of course the present composition is quite sufficient. But I envisage that it is the desire of Government to have also Opposition views which could be considered but it should not dominate the discussions. That I agree. Since it is a Government-financed organisation, the preponderance of votes must be under the control of the Government. That is understood. But to have just two nominated by the T.U.C. and the others nominated by the Government, I think, Sir, there is a case for having an increase.

The Minister for Finance (Dr Goh Keng Swee): Mr Speaker, Sir, I am not familiar with all the intricacies of the problem which we are now discussing. But it does seem to me that the hon. Member for Tanglin cannot get rid of his colonial past. The basic assumption in his argument is that any person appointed by the Government is there to act as a rubber stamp. It may be that his long experience as a Government nominee in the colonial government has fortified him in this belief. But I can assure you, Mr Speaker, Sir, that when we, the P.A.P. Government, appoint members to Boards, we do not expect them to do what we tell them to do; because if that were the case, then there would be no need at all for establishing such a Board.

Throughout his argument, the hon. Member bases the plea for greater representation from what he calls independent forces purely on the mistaken belief that the persons we appoint will be our stooges. I can assure him that we do not expect him perhaps to understand the whole philosophy on which our Party is based. But he is making a profound mistake if he thinks that members appointed by the P.A.P. Government will be of the same calibre as he himself and his other colleagues of the colonial days.

Mr Thio Chan Bee: Mr Speaker, Sir, if that reasoning is valid, then I would say that this Assembly should be abolished! There could be just another Assembly made up of appointees, because the appointees need not be told to be stooges; they can be independent. But, Sir, the procedure is most undemocratic - that is the point. If we are a Government that believes in democracy, the procedure must also be democratic, and in that case the representatives on the Board must be nominated by the bodies.

Dr Goh Keng Swee: I am not at all grateful, Mr Speaker, Sir, for this little lesson on democratic procedure from the Member for Tanglin. But there is no parallel between the functions and duties of a Board such as that we are considering today and those of the Assembly of this House. The Board's functions are to carry out the policies of the Government. It is essentially an executive body. Where an Assembly or a Parliamentary Assembly such as ours is the supreme policy making and legislative organ of the State, these two organs operate at completely different levels.

Mr Thio Chan Bee: Mr Speaker, Sir, if the Adult Education Board were to control assets belonging purely to the Government, maybe that sort of a policy could be defended. But I understand, Sir, that among the assets which would be controlled by the Board are assets contributed by private individuals and assets brought from the Colonial Development Fund. That being so, Sir, naturally it is not a purely Government organisation. If the public contributed to it, surely they would like to see representation from bodies which are allowed to nominate their own representatives.

The Minister for Labour and Law (Mr K. M. Byrne): Mr Speaker, Sir, yesterday I had occasion to compliment the sagacity of the Member for Tanglin because he chose the path of wisdom in deciding that silence was golden, when pearls of wisdom were dropping from the lips of my Friends opposite. But I must say that my confidence in him this afternoon has really been shattered and mistaken. Mr Speaker, Sir, I have accused my Friends opposite of never reading Government bills. It is a human thing to dislike Government bills, but I do not think you can ever excuse anybody for failing to read at least newspaper reports of these proceedings. It must have dawned on the mind of the Member for Tanglin that a new set up in the Trade Union world was being attempted by this Government. If he had taken the trouble to read the newspapers this morning, he would have found out that there is a provision in the new Trade Union Bill that only unions which are affiliated to the Trades Union Congress will be registered as trade unions. And when they cease to be affiliated to the Trades Union congress, they cease to be registered unions. He would have seen the report that whereas before any seven disgruntled persons can constitute themselves into a trade union, the Government now proposes that there must at least be 250 members in a trade union.

We are making a break from the past. In the past the Trades Union Congress was just one union out of 250 unions. We are putting an end to all that. And that is why we propose to compel affiliation to the T.U.C. before a union can be registered as a union.

Mr Speaker, Sir, the Member for Thomson has explained to the Member for Tanglin how ridiculous it would be if, say, any special group of workers were given any special representation in an organisation like this Adult Education Board. Why should the teachers be given any special representation? Other members of our community are also associated in these activities. If the teachers have a valid claim to any special representation, others who volunteer, may be in other organisations, also have an equal claim for special representation in these activities.

We have heard him all the time talking about democratic principles and all that sort of thing, but he has never answered the point that the Member for Thomson has made. Mr Speaker, Sir, we have been indulgent in all these matters. We, as the Government, are quite ready to consider reasonable arguments, but we at least are realists. We stand to be convinced by argument, not by emotion. So far, Mr Speaker, Sir, I can assure you, speaking from this side of the House, that none of us has been convinced that there is any merit in the representation that has been made by the Member for Tanglin.

The Minister for Education (Mr Yong Nyuk Lin): Mr Speaker, Sir, one thing that can be said of the hon Member for Tanglin is this: if we were to listen to him long enough, we would imagine that we are attending a Sunday school sermon. The only defect is that he did not try to end it up with a loud "Amen".

I am somewhat surprised at the manner in which he seems to pop up and down, attempting to answer the speeches of my colleagues. His example reminds me of the gymnasium which I used to haunt in my younger days when I took up boxing, where there was the inevitable punching bag which, although you kept punching it, kept coming back for more punches. At yesterday's sitting of the House, I mentioned a very battered rubber stamp. We now see a very battered punching bag!

3.00 p.m.

Of the five amendments from the hon. Member for Tanglin, he has just raised issues on four of them, namely, nominees from the Singapore Teachers Union, the Singapore Chinese Teachers Union, the Singapore Head Teachers Conference, and the Singapore Chinese Schools Conference. He may not be aware that two out of the four already have nominees serving on the highest educational advisory body in the State, namely, the nominees from the Singapore Teachers Union, representing the English stream of education, and a nominee from the Singapore Chinese Schools Conference. It is not necessary that the nominee or nominees of organisations should be on every committee or board. It would be senseless. If we were to follow his argument, we might as well have all the Assemblymen on every board that the Government sets up.

The Member for Tanglin has suggested that there should be a nominee from the Chinese Teachers Union. May I draw attention to the fact that in June last year, as soon as the People's Action Party took office, and as Minister for Education, I had to advise this particular body of Chinese teachers how undesirable it was to organise a team of 33 Chinese teachers to visit Taiwan? So we can safely assume that their political philosophy, if any, requires education, perhaps lots of adult education, that is, loyalty to Singapore and not to that pimple on the face of free Asia, an island called Taiwan.

As regards the organisation known as the Head Teachers Conference, perhaps the Member for Tanglin is a member of this Conference. It is, I think, unnecessary that there should be classification of teachers - teachers who teach and teachers who administer. So I cannot see the necessity at this juncture for considering a nomination from this particular organisation.

The Member for Tanglin mentioned certain assets which this new Board would take over. In these assets he included sums of money donated by private individuals and from the Colonial Development Fund. It is the purpose of a Select Committee to consider such representations. The Member for Tanglin, who was a Member of the Select Committee on the Lembaga Gerakan Pelajaran Dewasa Bill, is well aware that no written representations were received by the Select Committee. It can therefore safely be assumed that there have been no loud protests over this transfer of assets. So there is certainly no foundation for stirring up the emotions of individuals that the assets are going to be lost to this new Board.

I further wish to add that if we follow closely the progress of this Bill, if we, for example, study the Official Report of the proceedings of the Select Committee, we will find the Member for Tanglin proposing that there should be nominees from the National Union of Teachers, and having been told that there was no National Union of Teachers, he then came up at a later stage with definite names. But he has got to be taught how to proceed with the amendments to Bills. At least, he is willing to learn!

I might take this opportunity, Mr Speaker, of making an announcement about the question of teachers and adult education. When the 4½ hours' extra session work was abolished, it was decided that we would call for volunteers to man the adult and literacy classes, which will be handled by this new Adult Education Board. I am very pleased to be able to announce the wonderful response from members of the public, the teachers and the civil servants. Of course, the greatest credit must go to the 400-strong Malay Teachers Union who passed a unanimous resolution to offer their voluntary services to the Government. To date, there are 2,140 volunteers who include; I am very pleased to say, six of my colleagues. By making this announcement, I hope I will not stop the response to volunteer, and that more will come forward because the Government intends to go very much further into the rural areas of Singapore.

The volunteers are as follows: Chinese, 1,125; Malays, 519, which include the 400-strong Malay Teachers Union; English, 472; and Tamil, 26.

Before I close, I only need to say this. I am unable to take seriously the proposals from the Member for Tanglin unless he does one of two things. Firstly, volunteer to do one year service for adult education, or become a pupil at one of our adult literacy classes and then give us suggestions for improvement.

Mr Thio Chan Bee: Mr Speaker, Sir, some of the points I made have not been answered. (1) Is it the policy of Government to treat teachers as their servants or as their partners in co-operation? The Member for Thomson said that they should not be represented on the Board because they are like drivers and conductors - the employees. The Hon, the Minister for Education, however, did say, Sir, that they are on his Advisory Education Council.

The Chairman: Order. I think it is only fair to the Member for Thomson that the hon. Member should quote the exact words the Member for Thomson used. The words are in column 80 of the Official Report of the Select Committee.

Mr Thio Chan Bee: Sir, the Hon. Minister for Labour and Law did say that -

The Chairman: Order. I think I must insist on the exact words of the Member for Thomson being quoted.

Mr Thio Chan Bee: Sir, to quote:

"Mr Bani: I feel that the reasons given by the hon. Member are no justification for asking that teachers be represented on the Board. As I see it, asking the head teachers or teachers to be represented on this Board is similar to having conductors and drivers - without prejudice to my socialist sentiments - on the Board of Directors of a firm."'

Sir, the Hon. the Minister for Labour and Law did give the impression that any Opposition Member who keeps quiet deserves the highest praise. Sir, if that is the function of the Opposition, then it is contrary to parliamentary practice. The Opposition should be free to express views, which have not been uttered. They may be contrary to or complementary to the views of the Government, but we are here for a certain purpose, and in every parliamentary system, there must be an Opposition to keep it alive. In fact, in most countries, the Leader of the Opposition is paid a certain stipend so that he can maintain the Opposition. But I notice, Sir that it is not so here. Maybe the purpose here is to kill the Opposition. Sir, I say this without first getting the permission of the Leader of the Opposition. I feel it should be said, because it seems to me that it is the feeling of some Government Members - I will not say all - that the less opposition there is to anything, the better. Sir, to keep the parliamentary system healthy, I think the Opposition must be kept alive, otherwise democracy in Singapore is dead.

The Chairman: I thought the Minister was praising the sagacity of the Member for Tanglin, and not suggesting that he should keep silent.

Amendment negatived.

Mr Thio Chan Bee: Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move,

In page A2, line 34, at end, to add-

"(m) one member to be appointed by the Minister on the nomination of the Malay Education Council."

The Chairman: I do not think the hon. Member should worry about the letter (m) .

Mr Thio Chan Bee: Mr Speaker, Sir, if it is the intention of the Government seriously to pay special attention to the Malay language, then surely, there must be a Malay member here. Perhaps, even though it is not so specified, the Hon. Minister will give an assurance that there will be a Malay member to safeguard Malay interests. But if he has not had any such plan, maybe he will consider appointing a member on the nomination of the Malay Education Council. The emphasis, Sir, is not on communalism, but on the language medium. In fact, if the Government were to give an assurance that they will also appoint a member to represent the Tamil language, we will welcome that assurance.

Sir, it is not that we want to be vexatious, but we feel that where there can be a contribution, we would like to make it and let the Government with a majority of the votes decide.

3.15 p.m.

Mr Yong Nyuk Lin: Mr Speaker, it will be very useful if Members of the Opposition, with the same persistency and tenacity as the hon. Member for Tanglin, keep reminding Members on the Government Benches how to run their various Ministries.

He should, however, realise the fact that, when Bills are being put forward before the House, serious consideration has been given to various aspects; how boards, when constituted, would be managed in the best interests of the State. This Government is not going to be pushed around with last-minute suggestions coming from the hon. Member for Tanglin. The remarks I made previously apply also in respect of the nomination from the Malay Education Council in that their nominee serves on that highest advisory body known as the Education Advisory Council, which meets once a month. The nominee of this Malay Education Council also serves as a member of the Malay Education Advisory Committee, which advises the Minister on Malay education. It is, I think, superfluous on the part of the Member for Tanglin to ask for assurances from the Minister for Education that at least a Malay will be appointed on this Adult Education Board. It does not require such assurances because the People's Action Party is a Party, which believes in action - deeds and not words. When we produce the results of our deeds, people who have the same beliefs as the Member for Tanglin get startled. They get ruffled, just like chickens on the farm when something takes place. They talk of progress when they mean retrogression. They say things, which they do not mean. We, on our side, plan and think carefully before we proceed. Listening to what the Member for Tanglin has to say reminds us of an old record, which is played again and again ad nauseam. He is also somewhat like the mosquito, which you find buzzing inside a mosquito net. It is quite a nuisance. It does nothing else except, perhaps, to irritate the man in bed who wishes that he could just give it a hard swipe. I regret, therefore, that his proposed amendment is not acceptable to the Government side.

Inche Mohd. Ali Bin Alwi (Kampong Kembangan): (In Malay): Mr Speaker, I congratulate the Hon, the Minister for Education when he said that there are various stages where a nominee from the Malay Education Council is represented for the purpose of working together with the Government, in the sense that he participates in the planning of Malay education in Singapore.

Mr Speaker, this is the third time that I have appealed to the Government, particularly about the position of the Malay Education Council, whose members are not represented on this Board. I believe that fact will not be a loss or a gain to the Government. Perhaps it is considered that the Malay Education Council can be represented on other bodies, but not on the Board which it is proposed to set up in this Bill which will become law in Singapore, and which Will use the Malay language for the first time.

If the Minister for Education is of the opinion that Malay education is of a low standard, I would like to emphasize that not only the representatives from U.M.N.O. and the Party Ra'ayat, but also members from the People's Action Party (who are the Government) have served on the Malay Education Council right from its inception until today. And they play an important part in the task of the Malay Education Council.

Mr Speaker, I am not trying to coax the Government but merely to bring to the attention of the Government the difficulties, which we are now facing. I feel we may be accused of taking a communalistic attitude. I do not wish my arguments to be based on communalism or what is embodied in the Preamble to the Constitution. This is for the purpose of fostering and encouraging the Malay language so that it will become the national language and be taught to those who are not well versed in it and who are eager to learn it. So if there are institutions or bodies like U.M.N.O. particularly, or Party Ra'ayat or other Parties it may be that, in the eyes of the Government, if they are to be represented, this matter cannot be put into practice, on a board on which the Government has full power. I merely wish to draw the attention of the Government to this, because on numerous occasions I have been castigated by the Government side who have said that language reflects the nation, So if this saying could be carried out in practice, it will not be a loss to the Government to appoint a nominee from the Malay Education Council so that he could co-operate with the Government in matters of planning.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for National Development (Inche Yaacob bin Mohamed): (In Malay): Mr Speaker, I appreciate the views expressed by the Member of the Opposition who has pleaded persistently on behalf of the Malay Education Council. However, on the Government side, we have never looked with contempt upon the Malay Education Council, nor have we ever made the accusation that the struggle of the Malay Education Council is communal. I am surprised that the Member for Kampong Kembangan, in supporting his colleague, constantly repeated whether he would be accused of being a communalist champion. Mr Speaker, I am greatly surprised. Why? A cock that crows lays no eggs. I think perhaps the reason is this - this is only the feeling of the Member for Kampong Kembangan. But the Government has never accused the Member for Kampong Kernbangan of being an upholder of communalism. The Government has never accused anybody on this issue. But we always remind them not to stir up communal feelings, because of the disastrous consequences. This is what we have always reminded them. I feel, Mr Speaker, if people can boast of the existence of the Malay Education Council, I will associate myself with that sentiment. because I am one of the founder members of the Malay Education Council and I have served on it until today. Therefore, Mr Speaker, I know the exact situation of the Council. I also know that two Members from the Opposition side are serving as committee members on the Malay Education Council today. I feel Government has already put the Malay Education Council in the same privileged position as the Singapore Educational Advisory Council, whose function is to advise the Minister on matters affecting Malay education or the development of the Malay language in Singapore. Mr Speaker, the problem of the Malay language does not merely concern the Malay people. The Malay language has now become the national language. It has become more or less the property of all those domiciled in Singapore-not just the Malays. It is not surprising, therefore, that in the course of advancing and developing the national language; it is not necessary that Malays should be represented. In some cases in the University of Malaya, from what I know, lecturers in Malay are not Malays. Therefore, Mr Speaker, the development of the national language does not lie solely in the hands of the Malays. What is more, Mr Speaker, the Malay language has become the national language. Where there is a will, there is a way. We can draw on linguistic Malay experts from either the Chinese or other streams. About the absence of a representative from the Malay Education Council, Mr Speaker. Sir, it does not follow that it is because the Government has belittled the Malay Education Council; but, on the other hand, propositions put forward by the Malay Education Council have been accepted by the Government, who have considered that they are in the interests of the development of the Malay language in Singapore. Mr Speaker, if there are certain quarters who hold the view that the Government belittles or looks down with contempt on the Malay Education Council, that may be because of sinister motives. For, as the Member for Kampong Kembangan said just now, language reflects the nation. This matter will not rest only on one race but on all the peoples who live in Singapore.

3.30 p.m.

Inche Mohd. Ali bin Alwi: (In Malay): Mr Speaker, Sir, what I mentioned just now was not of my own free will, but it has been quoted from a Member of the Government when the first sitting of this Assembly was held.

Mr Speaker, Sir, it is not my intention to labour on this point. But I would like to reply to the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for National Development on his allegations and assumptions about myself. Sir, has he forgotten that at one time he could be said to have planted a fiery feeling which I could say, with sincerity, I learned from him? So if it is his intention to accuse me, I would like to -

Inche Yaacob Bin Mohamed: (In Malay): On a point of order. On the subject, which the Member for Kampong Kembangan has learned from me, that is irrelevant to the subject matter under debate.

The Chairman: If the hon. Member thinks that is offensive, I suppose the Member for Kampong Kembangan should withdraw that expression. But I was under the impression that the Parliamentary Secretary would be quite pleased to know that somebody has learned from him!

Inche Mohd. Ali: (In Malay): Mr Speaker, Sir, the position is that this matter has arisen. If I was dug out yesterday, then today I am ferretted out! But I would like to be frank on a friend-to-friend basis. If we want to lay our cards on the table, let us do so openly. Some may consider that I am a communalist. I am not a communalist nor am I a fanatic. If I am accused by the Government for being a communalist, then I must point out that I have never quoted verses from the Koran in this Assembly, as I feel that it is not proper to do so here. I would like to bring home the fact that I do not base, my appeal on the Preamble to the Singapore Constitution, nor on communalism.

I merely ask the Government to bring the different bodies closer together on a social and friendly basis.

Inche Yaacob Bin Mohamed: (In Malay): Mr Speaker, Sir, I think the Member for Kampong Kembangan has repeatedly expressed his desire to co-operate with the Government. We, on this side, have given full co-operation to the Malay Education Council of which the Member for Kampong Kembangan is a member. Therefore, this matter does not arise. In spite of the fact that the Malay Education Council is not to be represented on the Adult Education Board, nevertheless the Government has given special consideration to it, in that the hon. Member sits on the Education Advisory Council for the development of the Malay language in Singapore.

Mr Yong Nyuk Lin: Mr Speaker, I feel that what I have to say will come as a surprise to Members of the Opposition because I am unable to accept the suggestion to extend the membership of the Board to include nomination from the Malay Education Council under the proposed clause 5 (1) (m).

I wish to go back however to clause 5 (1) (a) where the Minister has power to appoint a Chairman, a Deputy Chairman and one member. In view of the fact that the Malay Teachers Union have set a most inspiring example by coming forward to support the Government in its programme to popularise the national language, I can give this assurance, that one of the three members to be appointed by the Minister under clause 5 (1) (a) will come from the Malay Teachers Union and not from the Malay Education Council.

Amendment negatived.

Clause 5 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

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