SINGAPORE ARMY BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

6.14 p.m.

The Minister of Defence (Dr Goh Keng Swee): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

There is a common saying among the Chinese masses which goes as follows:

[The Minister read the quotation in Mandarin which he then translated into English as follows]:

`Good men do not become soldiers; good iron does not go into making nails.'

This popular Chinese saying originated among the Chinese folk. The reason for it is not far to seek. China's long history is interspersed with years of violence. Then, as the fortunes of imperial dynasties declined, ambitious men rose to contend for mastery over the empire. And it was the fate of the ordinary people to provide or to be press-ganged into military service for one or the other of the contending parties. It is not surprising, therefore, that military service is not popular when a soldier risks his life not for his country or for his people, but for the advantage of one contending group or another. Whoever wins, he loses.

The position we are facing in Singapore today is completely different from that of dynastic struggles of former imperial China. Accordingly, the Chinese saying I have quoted becomes dangerous folly. Our army is to be engaged in the defence of our country and people against external aggression. Today we are unable to do this task by ourselves. It is no use pretending that without the British military forces in Singapore today, the island cannot be easily overrun within a matter of hours by any neighbouring country within a radius of 1,000 miles, if any of these countries care to do so. Everybody - and this includes the Barisan Sosialis - can see that at least one of our neighbouring countries does care to do so. The Barisan Sosialis hope that when this happens, they would be "top dogs", or rather I should say "top running dogs". So they hoped before 30th September this year!

British military protection today has made quite a number of our citizens complacent about the need to conduct our own defence preparations. These people assume that this protection will be permanent. I regard it as the height of folly to plan our future on this assumption. And if there is any basis on which we, as an independent country, can plan our future, it will be on the opposite assumption, that is, the removal of the British military preserve at some time in the future. Nobody - neither we nor the British - can say when this will be. It may be 5, 10 or 15 years - maybe longer, maybe shorter. Whatever the time maybe, it will be useless then to think of building up our defence forces. The time to do so is now, and the Bill before the House provides for the establishment and maintenance of the Singapore Army.

Sir, coming to the main provisions of the Bill. Part II provides for the establishment of the Army and its Reserve. Part III provides for the establishment of an Army Board, the Chairman and Members of which will be appointed by the Minister. The Board will be responsible for the overall administration and discipline of the Army. It is empowered, subject to appeal to the President, to vary the conditions of service to permit a soldier to extend the term of his commitment or be placed in the Reserve. It may also, with the approval of the President, vary the basis of persons to be enlisted in the Army.

Part IV of the Bill deals with discipline and provides for punishable offences and due execution of the sentences imposed. Provision is also included for the convening of courts-martial and the appointment of a Judge Advocate - General. Part IV is applicable not only to the Army but also to the other Services, such as the Navy and the Air Force, if and when they are formed. Now the offences of mutiny and sedition in the Armed Forces are punishable with the maximum sentence of death. Those falsifying statements and documents shall receive a sentence of two years' imprisonment. In order that the jurisdiction of the Civil Courts will not be interfered with, provision is included that a person who is subject to military law shall not ordinarily be tried by court-martial for offences such as treason and murder, unless the offender was at that time on active military service. Although a court-martial may try person subject to military law for any offence, provision is contained in clause 63, subclause (2) that the President shall have power to mitigate or remit any sentence passed by a court-martial. Clause 64 provides for the appointment by the President of a person in the legal or judicial service with not less than five years' service, or a person qualified under the Advocates and Solicitors' Ordinance with not less than five years' experience, as a Judge Advocate-General. The duties of a Judge Advocate-General shall include the appointment of a Judge Advocate at court-martial, and the tendering of advice to the Army Board on the validity of the findings and sentences of courts martial.

Provision is included in Part V of the Bill for the commissioning and promotion of offices by the President, who is also empowered to cancel commissions. Provision is also included in this Part for the President to grant honourary commissions to suitable persons.

The qualifications of persons for enlistment and conditions of discharge and transfer to the reserves are included in Part VI of the Bill. In brief, a person for enlistment must, among other things, satisfy the qualification of Singapore citizenship. The enlistment or commissioning of others on the recommendation of the Army Board is also provided for in clause 97. A soldier may be discharged on sentence by court-martial or by order from the President.

Part VII includes general provisions like summoning of witnesses for courts-martial and the rules of evidence. The conduct of proceedings at courts-martial and the admission or rejection of evidence shall be subject to laws made by Parliament. Rules of evidence as adopted at proceedings at courts-martial are the same as those followed in civil courts in Singapore. Other provisions included in Part VII are of a routine nature.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question proposed.

Mr Ng Kah Ting (Punggol): Mr Speaker, Sir, I speak in support of the Singapore Army Bill introduced by the Hon.Minister of Defence. I am not going to touch on the Bill in detail, but I shall touch on matters of general policy. I must stress that the building up of a Singapore Army is an absolute necessity. We need to build an army to protect and defend our national integrity and sovereignty because we must always beware of the territorial ambitions of a hungry neighbour whose country is many times bigger than Singapore.

Sir, it is because we are a small country that we must be prepared at all times to meet any emergency. There is an order in an army parade - that is, the order "On guard" is occasionally used to test the alertness of the soldiers when a parade is held. So this House will fully agree with me that we must be on guard at all times.

Sir, as Singapore is a small multi-racial nation, I therefore think our army that is to be built should also be multi-racial in character. As I have just mentioned, Singapore is a small island nation. But the very fact that Singapore is a very prosperous nation in which her people are enjoying the highest standard of living in South-East Asia is amongst her bigger and stronger neighbours. This may, therefore, tempt her bigger and hungry neighbours to try to swallow us up, not only to rob us of our hard-earned wealth, but also of our homes and also with a view to enslaving us.

Sir, I am sure you yourself would not like to be shackled nor put in chains. Further, I think all able young men who have the interests of our country at heart should choose army life as a career. They can be assured of an interesting and adventurous life in the army. In doing this, we will show to our neighbours that even though we are a small nation, yet we are not an easy prey for them. We have the determination to ensure our survival as an independent and sovereign nation. We mean to keep what we have built and achieved in the past six years, and also to chart a course in which an equal and more just, muiti-racial, multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-cultural nation will emerge.

Lastly, Sir, to those anti-national elements who think they can create trouble in our midst, I have this to say. I think the army is not going to lie or keep still while the interests and security of our country are threatened. The army, I am positive, will deal a strong blow at such elements. So, all in all, I strongly urge this House to give its fullest support to the Bill.

Inche Mahmud Awang (Kampong Kapor): (In Malay): Mr Speaker, I rise to support this Bill because our nation needs a national defence based not only on equipment but also on people with the spirit of dedication, and a desire to have peace in the Republic of Singapore. Our Republic must be defended at all costs and by all means against our external and internal enemies. They intend to create trouble or invade our country. The responsiblity of the people of the Republic of Singapore is to defend their integrity to the last drop of their blood.

Mr Speaker, not only do the Barisan Sosialis have no interest at all to defend the Republic of Singapore, but they intend to surrender our sovereignty to their foreign masters, like the Communist Party of Indonesia, with the fate of its leader, Aidit, still unknown. The Barisan Sosialis have acted in an irresponsible manner towards the country. I think there is a small responsiblity on the part of the Barisan Sosialis to carry, and yet they have failed to discharge it. When I say "small responsiblity", I mean voicing their arguments in parliamentary debate. What is more, Mr Speaker, we cannot depend on them to defend our country.

If our country has no army, inevitably all our property, including that of Dato David Marshall, will be confiscated and plundered. If our enemies, like the army of the P.K.I., were to conquer the Republic of Singapore, there would be no more law or the right of property. Land and propery will be confiscated by our enemy without compensation at all. Dato David Marshall has expressed his anxiety for the right to own property which must be written into the constitution. Mr Speaker, Sir, this Bill will safeguard not only land belonging to Dato David Marshall but also the property of all the people of the Republic of Singapore.

Mr Speaker, Sir, we cannot always depend on our neighbour's soldiers to defend us, although our neighbour has given an assurance that it will help us. We must have second thoughts. Because of political developments, we fear that our country may be invaded by enemies. Our neighbour says that they will send their troops to defend us. Their troops are stationed in Perlis, Penang, Sarawak and Sabah. If we have to wait 24 hours for their arrival, our country will be saved. But if we have to wait for one week, our country wilI be destroyed, for when the reinforcements arrive. I think they will be of no use to us. Therefore, Mr Speaker, Sir, the army of the Republic of Singapore must be strengthened so that we can defend our independent and sovereign State.

Mr Speaker, Sir, this matter of defence is the bounden duty of all of us who owe our loyalty to the country. We have to defend not only our property but also to preserve international law and order. On that note, I end my speech. Mr Speaker, Sir.

6.36 p.m.

Mr S. Rajoo (Farrer Park): (In Tamil): Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise to support the Singapore Army Bill. With Singapore's independence, it becomes the responsibility of our citizens to defend the State. The British were responsible for our defence, and we had no need for an army of our own. But it is not desirable for us to depend on foreign forces all the time. When we were part of Malaysia, the Central Government bore the responsibility of defence. But after we were ejected, our defence has become our own problem.

During the last world war, we had known what would happen to a country which depended on foreign forces for its defence. In December 1941, the Japanese bombed Singapore. Although there were 100,000 British troops here, the Japanese were able to capture this country in two months. And now, two neighbouring countries - Malaysia and Indonesia - are not maintaining the best of relations with us. Therefore, we should be alert to defend ourselves in all circumstances.

When the Deputy Prime Minister spoke, he referred to the Three Kingdoms of China. We should not face such a situation. There were two racial riots in Singapore, and it is our responsibility to maintain peace so that there is no such repetition. There are subversive forces which would like to bring about confusion. They have not been eliminated. If we have sufficient security, we will be able to manage any situation. The defence of the nation and the maintenance of peace need our own army. That is why I praise the Minister who has tabled the Singapore Army Bill. There are forces like the Barisan Sosialis who propagate that the people of Singapore should not join their own army. When we were part of Malaysia, when people were being enrolled in the security forces, the Barisan Sosialis came out in opposition. At that time, the reason they gave was that such an army was being raised to fight Indonesia. Then they were in favour of Indonesia. At the same time, the Indonesian Army sent its agents into Malaysia and Singapore to carry out subversion and sabotage. When Indonesia sought volunteers for West Irian, the Barisan Sosialis sent their friends secretly to Indonesia for training. After 30th September, there were big clashes in Indonesia between the Communists and the Army, and the Barisan Members are now in a state of hopeless confusion.

They are issuing statements asking the Indonesian Army not to strike or work against the Indonesian Chinese and the Peking regime. But the Indonesian Army is crushing the Chinese in Indonesia. If we are going to prevent the Indonesian Army from crushing us in Singapore, we should establish an army and we should support it. I therefore support this Bill.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole Assembly.

Assembly :immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Dr Goh Keng Swee].

Bill considered in Committee.

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

6.43 p.m.

Clause 1 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 2 -

Dr Goh Keng Swee: Sir, I beg to move,

In page 3, line 36, to leave out "Singapore Volunteer" and insert "People's Defence".

It has been decided that the Singapore Volunteer Force be renamed the People's Defence Force. I think the nomenclature that we are proposing to use is more appropriate in the present circumstances. This amendment is as a result of this decision.

Amendment agreed to.

Clause 2, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clauses 3 to 158 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Bill reported, with an amendment; read a Third time and passed.