COMMISSION OF INQUIRY INTO FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS OF DE-REGISTERED SINGAPORE GENERAL EMPLOYEES' UNION, SINGAPORE BUSINESS HOUSES EMPLOYEES' UNION, AND SINGAPORE BUS WORKERS' UNION (Statement by the Minister for Labour)

The Minister for Labour (Mr Jek Yeun Thong): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to present a Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Financial Transactions of the De-registered Singapore General Employees' Union, the Singapore Business Houses Employees' Union and the Singapore Bus Workers' Union.

Hon. Members will recollect that on 11th December, 1963, I made a statement in this House concerning the setting up of a Commission of Inquiry to inquire into the mismanagement of union funds by the pro-Communist leaders of the de-registered unions. I mentioned then that while de-registration proceedings were pending against them, the leaders of these three unions were making desperate plans to withdraw large sums of money from the unions' bank accounts to finance the Communist united front campaign against merger and Malaysia. I also recounted to the House how these unions took advantage of loopholes in the trade union laws to sabotage measures taken by the Government to protect trade union funds in the interests of the workers. With the assistance of their legal adviser, Mr T. T Rajah, they contrived and succeeded in withdrawing $30,000 from banks in the second week of October 1963. When the Registrar of Trade Unions tried to ascertain whether this sum of money was properly and legally utilised, the pro-communist union leaders deliberately obstructed his inquiry. Even police investigations were hampered because of the sudden disappearance of the then General-Secretary of the Singapore General Employees' Union. These incidents caused concern to the public in general and the workers in particular. Naturally they had good reasons to be disturbed. The so-called leaders of the pro-Communist unions have been claiming all these years that they were the genuine champions of the workers and had dedicated their lives to the cause of the trade union movement. But what some of the workers did not know, because they were really misled, was that these bogus leaders were dedicated only to the anti-national cause of their political masters. They were not really interested in promoting the industrial interest of the workers but just made use of the workers as political pawns to achieve their anti-national objectives.

The public and the workers have a right to know the actual state of financial affairs in these unions. It is the duty of the Government to keep our citizens informed of the true facts concerning any matters of public interest. It was against this background that a one-man Commission of Inquiry was set up under the Inquiry Commission Ordinance by His Excellency the Yang di-Pertuan Negara on 21st December, 1963. Mr Tan Wee Kian, an officer of the Legal Service, was appointed the Commissioner. The Commissioner has now completed his work. In all, there were 38 sittings of the Commission. 116 witnesses were examined, and 324 exhibits submitted to the Commission. The report of the Commission was submitted by the Commissioner to His Excellency on 31st July, 1965. I now present a copy of this Report for the information of Members.

The Report of the Commission reveals a shocking state of affairs in these three de-registered unions. Their officials have been found wanting and have not discharged the responsibilities imposed on them by union rules. This group of political activists in the disguise of trade unionists were found to have displayed a flagrant disregard of the statutory provisions governing the custody of trade union funds. The unions' system of accounting was such that it provided ample opportunities for the manipulation of financial transactions. Even the unions' legal adviser, the self-styled spokesman of the workers, Mr T. T. Rajah, was found to be a party to the irregularities.

According to the Report, in the transaction for the purchase of new union premises by the Singapore Bus Workers' Union, Mr T. T. Rajah, who acted for the vendors and the purchasers, undertook conveyance of the property to three union officials who were not trustees, although the rules of the unions specifically provided for all properties, movable and immovable, to be vested in the union trustees. In addition to the disappearance of the union officials, minutes and documents of the Singapore Business Houses Employees' Union, the whole Set of account books was also found missing, and deliberate attempts were made to frustrate the Commission's investigation and to cover the malpractices of certain officials. The Commission also found that huge sums of union funds had been dissipated illegally.

The findings of the Commission in this respect, as summarised in its Report, are:

(1) That in the case of the Singapore General Employees' Union -

(a) Payments totalling $24,467 were unauthorised by the rules of the unions or contrary to the provisions of the Trade Unions Ordinance;

(b) $29,847.95 were incurred negligently by the Executive Committee of the Union; and

(c) $153,564.32 had not been accounted for.

(2) That in the case of the Singapore Business Houses Employees' Union -

(a) Payments totalling $13,550 were unauthorised by the rules of the unions or contrary to the provisions of the Trade Unions Ordinance;

(b) Mr Foo Yong Fong, Mr P. Govindaswamy and Mr Tan Siew Chwee were found guilty of gross negligence in dissipating a sum of $26,901.30 contrary to the union rules; and

(c) $35,654 had not been accounted for.

(3) That in the case of the Singapore Bus Workers' Union -

(a) Payments totalling $55,030.80 were unauthorised by the rules of the union or contrary to the provisions of the Trade Unions Ordinance;

(b) $2,535.20 was incurred negligently; and

(c) $12,523.69 had not been accounted for.

From the above, you will see that a total amount of $354,074.26 was either unauthorised, incurred negligently or had not been accounted for by these three unions over a period from 1st April, 1962, to 30th October, 1963. How much more was taken or misused by them nobody will know. This represents the largest amount of money the Communist union leaders had abstracted from the workers as far as records are concerned.

Sir, this is not the first time that the pro-Communist union leaders are found to have misused trade union funds. Such things happened eight years ago. Just before the de-registration of the Singapore Factory and Shop Workers' Union in February 1957, a sum of $100,000 was unconstitutionally withdrawn from its bank account and the money just vanished into thin air. Members will recall that on previous occasions when I mentioned in this House how the bogus leaders of the pro-Communist unions illegally dissipated funds of the workers for purposes inconsistent with the objects and rules of the unions to the detriment of the unions and danger to the State, Members across the House, for obvious reasons, jumped up to defend their character and integrity and accused us of smearing them. Members will also recall that in the past, when the Government introduced legislative measures to investigate trade union funds, we were accused by Members across the House of adopting Fascist and dictatorial methods to suppress the unions associated with them. When they receive the Report of the Commission, they may read it in silence or play the same old tune. But one thing is certain, and that is that no amount of false accusations from Members across the Floor of the House and their friends will be able to alter the facts and figures contained in the findings of the Commission.

Copy of Report submitted to Clerk.

2.44 p.m.