MALAY AND CHINESE PUBLICATIONS OF GOVERNMENT POLICY AS REGARDS HAWKERS

Mr David Marshall asked the Minister for Health and Law whether he would consider publishing in pamphlet form, in Malay and Chinese, the Government's policy as regards hawkers and the plan of alternative sites being offered.

Mr Byrne: The Government's hawker policy aims at registering and licensing all hawkers who are not itinerant with a view to accommodating them in suitable pitches. These pitches are being measured out in selected streets by the Hawkers Department. This work has to be done street by street and will take some time. Before the hawkers are re-sited in the newly marked out pitches. The aims and objects of this exercise are clearly explained to them and their co-operation is sought. Most of the hawkers will be permitted to carry on their trade in the places where they are at present. Some may have to be resited. The bases for resiting will be:-

(1) where it is necessary for health reasons to move a hawker, then he will be given an alternative pitch. For example, if a hawker has a stall over a drain and this hampers the daily cleansing of the drain, then he may be resited elsewhere.

(2) hawkers may have to be resited if the through passage of normal traffic is obstructed, more especially in the case of an emergency. For example, in the case of a fire a traffic lane must be available for the police and the fire brigade to reach the afflicted area.

(3) in certain areas whole streets are used by hawkers as markets for specified hours because of the absence of sites for markets in congested areas. For example, in Sago Street and Syed Alwi Road. "No Entry" signs are put up and general traffic is not permitted during the specified hours. However, a single lane for emergency traffic will still have to be provided.

Hawkers will be grouped in pitches according to the type of trade they carry on. For example, in the case of food hawkers - vegetable hawkers, meat hawkers and fish hawkers - they will be separately grouped in the same street, and all non-food hawkers will be separately grouped together in the same street. Each area must be studied separately.

No useful purpose can be served in issuing pamphlets in Malay and Chinese. The resiting policy has been explained to the hawkers personally when action is taken to resite them in new pitches street by street. The hawker population will continue to grow and so will the problem increase until a viable basis for industrial expansion is established with merger and a common market, and our problems of unemployment become solvable.

Mr David Marshall: Does the Minister not consider that it would be fair for the hawkers and helpful to the Government if, in fact, there were pamphlets in the languages which the hawkers could understand showing plans of the sites and the exact policy and period for change, instead of depending on individual inspectors?

Mr Byrne: I do not agree because there would have to be a pamphlet for each street.

Mr Rajah: On the question of when a street is to be allocated for sites for hawkers, could the Minister inform the House whether the traffic police are con sulted before a particular street is allocated for such use?

Mr Byrne: Yes, Mr Speaker, Sir. We have what is known as the Hawkers Advisory Committee. We have Legislative Assemblymen and Assemblywomen, the Commissioner of Police, the Fire Brigade and the P.W.D. Road Department represented on that Committee.

Mr Tee Kim Leng (Pasir Panjang): (In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, can the Minister tell us when is the time to carry out the hawker policy and whether there is any representative of the hawkers in that Committee?

Mr Speaker: Will the Member for Pasir Panjang repeat that question?

Mr Tee Kim Leng: (In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, can the Minister tell this House when will his hawker policy be carried out within a specific time? The other question is, can the Minister tell this House whether hawkers are represented in this Hawkers Advisory Committee?

Mr Byrne: The hawker policy is being carried out now and the work is done on the basis of street by street. What was the next question?

Mr Speaker: The next question was whether the hawkers are represented in the Committee.

Mr Byrne: No, Sir. There are so many hawkers' associations that we feel it would not be right to invite, say, any particular association to be represented in the Committee, if we did, we would have to include representatives of all associations.

Mr Tee Kim Leng: (In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, if there are no representatives of the hawkers in the Committee, then the Committee will not be able to understand the hawkers well. This is disadvantageous to the hawkers.

Mr Speaker: That is a different question. Mr David Marshall.