MALAYSIA AGREEMENT (Motion)

• The amended notice of motion, standing in the name of the Prime Minister, reads as follows:-

'In pursuance of the resolution of this House taken on the 10th June, 1963 that there should be an early settlement fair and just to both sides on the basis of the terms of the White Paper (Paper Cmd, 33 of 1961) and mindful of the long and arduous battle for merger, this House

WELCOMES the successful outcome in the final agreement reached in London on 8th July, 1963, which agreement contains the terms in the said White Paper with amendments made on a quid pro quo basis, Singapore getting a Malaysia Common Market written into the Constitution in return for a percentage of Singapore's revenue of national taxes instead of an annual lump sum as contribution for Federal services in Singapore, and

TAKING COGNIZANCE of the exchange of memoranda, on the financial arrangements as in Paper Misc. 4 of 1963 which sets out the basis on which the Singapore and Federation Governments arrived at their respective percentages and the component parts thereof, and

SUBJECT to the fulfilment of the conditions set out in the exchange of letters between the Singapore Government and the Federation Government and the Singapore Government and the British Government contained in Paper Misc 5 of 1963. this House

ADOPTS the constitutional provisions and amendments contained in Paper Cmd. 22 of 1963.'

2.53 p.m.

The Prime Minister (Mr Lee Kuan Yew): Mr Speaker, Sir, I must apologise to Members of the House in not being able to present them with a final version of the Malaysia Bill even right up till now. I discussed the matter with you, Mr Speaker, Sir, on Saturday and decided that rather than wait for more further amendments to be put in which will delay the debate, we would table the Malaysia Bill as it is and introduce the amendments. I hope, in the course of the debate but certainly before adoption by this House. The position is as follows.

Members who have read the exchange of letters will be aware that there were certain changes conceded and agreed to on the 8th July, the day when we signed or initialled the Agreement in London. In several cases, as in the case of one document which was signed by the Prime Minister of the Federation of Malaya, it was not agreed to till 9.15 on the evening when we signed the Agreement. That, Sir, has provided certain drafting problems. I have been busy this morning with the State Advocate-General who is in constant communication with his counterpart in the Federation. I would have preferred to have all these amendments included in the document presented, but I think time is pressing and I have undertaken to introduce the amendments before the provisions are adopted and then to produce a clean copy of the final Bill.

Mr Speaker: Order. I think the Hon. the Prime Minister mentioned the date as "8th July" when the Agreement was initialled.

The Prime Minister: Yes.

Mr Speaker: I have been a bit puzzled about this date because the Agreement itself, which is contained in Paper Cmd. 22 of 1963, gives the date as "9th July".

The Prime Minister: Sir, there was some difficulty about that. We foregathered at about a quarter to twelve. After 9.15 when we agreed at the Ritz, quite appropriately. Mr Speaker, Sir, the Prime Minister of the Federation took us all out to dinner to a place called the Omar Khayaam. We foregathered at Marlborough House at 11.30 and did not get down to business until 11.45. I am not quite sure at what exact time I initialled the Agreement, but I think there was some jesting with some of the participants of that Conference as to the date of it, because when the last signature was appended, the clock had moved on to Tuesday, the 9th of July. I think, for purposes of propriety, as far as I was concerned, it, was the 8th of July,. hut if the document says "9th of July", then so be it.

Mr Speaker: Order. Then will the Prime Minister agree to a typographical amendment to his motion

• instead of "8th July", it will be "9th July"?

The Prime Minister: Yes, surely, Mr Speaker, Sir. I am not quite sure when the Agreement was made - I mean the exact time when everybody put his signature to it - but I think it might be safer if we said it was the 9th of July.

The amendments that will be introduced - I hope some tomorrow or some this afternoon, and some the day after - are of two types. One is purely legal draftsmanship. The legal draftsman of the Federation Government, who has been seconded from the British Treasury, has suggested certain improvements in the syntax and phraseology of some of the Articles of the Constitution. There are no substantial amendments, and I think the House will not wish to quibble if the Federation wishes to take their draftsman's advice on these matters.

But there are several other amendments of substance. We managed to have one put into the Bill. Members will note that when the general elections for 51 seats take place - it will be any time between now and three months after 31st December, depending on the will of Members of the Opposition - the position of candidates and Assemblymen will no longer be quite the same. If those who are elected on the party platform and bear the party symbol break faith with the Party, either by resigning or by being expelled, then they automatically vacate their seats in this Assembly. In other words, there will be no more musical chairs in this Chamber. The next election is an election to decide who is to govern for the next five years.

There are two other important amendments. One, Members will notice, is contained in a letter I wrote to the Tunku, enclosing a document he signed in which it has been agreed that the power to detain gangsters even after merger and Malaysia will rest with the Singapore Government. This is a matter of some importance, Mr Speaker, Sir, particularly as we know that in certain parts of the country and certainly before 1959, gangsters played an important role in elections. Well, I am afraid they will not be able to do so at the next general elections, whether it be before merger or after merger. The power, the executive authority, under the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Ordinance, rests with the Singapore Government. I think it is to the good of the peace and good order of this country. I am sorry some Members on the other side may have friends who were in Pulau Senang, but they will remain in custody. This is a matter of sufficiently grave importance for it is to be carefully spelt out in the Constitution.

Next is the question of migration control. Under the Constitution we have afforded the Central Government authority to prevent specific persons under the Restriction of Residence Ordinance from staying in a particular part of the country. Members will remember how one Said Zahari came back to Singapore and suddenly found the ban across the causeway. He then resided in Singapore and added to the mischief that was then going on. Well, I think, in fairness, we should have a reciprocal right that we shall have no more Fong Swee Suans, or, for that matter, Lim Ching Siong, whose family is from Pontian and who will be proved ultimately to have come from Pontian; James Puthucheary, Mr Woodhull. Mr James Puthucheary was a political friend of mine, now he is only a friend. I do not see why they should add mischief to Singapore. There will be reciprocity. In other words, we will keep our bad hats in Singapore if the Federation Government so wills it, and we will have the right to request the Federation Government to keep their undesirables on the other side of the causeway. In this way, I am quite sure Singapore will become a much more peaceful and salubrious place. This power extends not only to political undesirables, but also to secret society undesirables. It may be, Mr Speaker, Sir, that just before the election, whether it is held between now or three months after the end of the year, trainloads of young men, whose political skill Consists of the bicycle chain and the knuckle duster, will come from places like Ipoh, Penang and other parts of Malaya, where they do not have the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Ordinance to detain them. Members will notice that every time there is an election in a town, there is always an anguished plea for fair play by the Opposition. I leave Members to draw their own conclusions. But I say, first of all, we do not want these gentlemen to come here either before or during an election. I know of several bus owners whose business ramifications spread over the rest of Malaya and who, I am quite sure, will be able to provide quite a number of cohorts for these matters. Youth leaders, the Youth League, first they cannot come here because we will have the right to ask the Federation Government not to allow them entry; secondly, if they do slip by, they will be detained under the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Ordinance. Insofar as is humanly possible, we will try to keep Singapore the clean, sober and reasonable city that it always has been.

For these reasons. Mr Speaker, Sir, it was not possible to give Members the Malaysia Bill until sometime, I think, yesterday morning -

The Prime Minister resumed his seat.

Mr Speaker: This is for the record. The paper arrived here at 9.15 a.m. We started to despatch at 10.30 a.m. and it took the whole day until 7 o'clock in the evening.

The Prime Minister: Well, I apologise for it, Mr Speaker, Sir,I do not think it is the Government Printer's fault. He had 500 pages of electroplating to do, the Rueff Report, the Malaysia Bill, the various financial papers and the exchange of documents. I think, in all fairness, Members should read the Malaysia Bill before the debate commences. I read in the newspapers, that the Member for Anson, who was not present, said he had read the Malaysia Bill. He had bought a copy from London and had ordered hundreds of them for the Press. Well, I am sorry he has done so, because I think these copies will be a little bit out of date. They will need a lot of corrigenda. By tomorrow I hope the drafting amendments will be in, and the gist, if not the final form, of at least two of these important constitutional provisions. Therefore, I propose under Standing Order 33 (2) (b) to name tomorrow 2.30 p.m. as the date for the commencement of the debate. In the meanwhile, if my Office or the State Advocate-General's Chambers can be of any use to Members on the other side who are genuinely interested in the Constitution, we shall give whatever explanation is required.

Mr Speaker: The motion will be before the House tomorrow. Now I take it the Leader of the House will move the adjournment?

3.09 p.m.