LICENCES OF NON-CITIZEN HAWKERS (Number withdrawn)

Madam Chan Choy Siong asked the Minister for Health the number of licences withdrawn from hawkers who are not Singapore citizens in the last six months.

Mr Yong Nyuk Lin: Mr Speaker, Sir, it has been the policy of the Hawkers Department, as long ago as 1961, not to issue licences to non-Singapore citizens. During the recent reorganisation of the department, it has been discovered, however, that out of a total of 26,000 licences issued so far, 437 non-citizens, or 2 per cent of the hawkers, have been issued with such licences.

The circumstances as to how these came to be issued are being investigated into. The department is, however, being seriously hampered in its work, because many important documents and files are not available and claimed to have been lost during a mysterious fire which gutted the office building of the Hawkers Department at Canning Rise in October 1964 - three years ago.

So far, about 200 non-citizen hawkers seeking renewal of their licences have had their licences detained by the department, but they have been issued with authority slips to carry on business pending completion of investigation.

Madam Chan Choy Siong (Delta): (In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, to my knowledge, some non-citizen hawkers have been residing in this country for about ten years. They have not acquired citizenship because they have encountered difficulties in their applications for citizenship. Their licences were held up when they went to renew them recently. Will the Minister consider favourably their applications to renew their licences?

Mr Yong Nyuk Lin: As indicated in my reply, the cases of non-citizen hawkers holding licences are being investigated into, because it is the policy not to issue licences to non-citizens. So there is a possibility that non-citizens have obtained their hawkers' licences through corruption. We must, therefore, fully investigate the matter. I am prepared to consider their cases sympathetically provided the Members of Parliament of the respective constituencies are prepared to make their recommendations, and this is being done.

Mr Lim Guan Hoo: (In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, can the Minister for Health say whether, in detaining their licences, he has taken note of the principle of our work permit policy?

Mr Yong Nyuk Lin: It is the policy of the Hawkers Department not to issue hawker licences to non-citizens. If a non-citizen gets a hawker licence, therefore, something is wrong. If it is the work of an official who has issued the licence, then something serious has happened. The official has granted the licence against policy and, therefore, it is necessary to investigate fully into the matter - who is responsible for issuing that licence? And if, as the Member for Delta has said, the particular non-citizen hawker has been staying in Singapore for quite a considerable length of time, surely the Member of Parliament for that constituency should be in a position to ascertain that and to make recommendations which will receive our sympathetic consideration.