ELECTION OF SPEAKER

The Leader of the House (Mr E. W. Barker) stood up, and addressing himself to the Clerk of Parliament said: Mr Lopez, I propose,

That Dr Yeoh Ghim Seng do take the Chair of this Parliament as Speaker.

Mr Ng Kah Ting (Punggol) stood up, and addressing himself to the Clerk of Parliament said: Mr Lopez, I support the proposal.

There being no other proposal, the Clerk then declared Yeoh Ghim Seng to have been elected as Speaker of Parliament.

Mr Speaker went to the Chair and sat down.

Then the Mace (which before lay below the Table) was placed upon the Table

2.32 p.m.

Mr Speaker: Honourable Ministers, honourable Members, it is indeed a great honour to be elected the Speaker of this House. I feel very privileged to be given this honour, and I thank honourable Members for bestowing on me this high office.

If I do not possess the clarity of a legal mind, so ably demonstrated by my very eminent predecessors in the conduct of the proceedings in this House, I pray honourable Members to bear with me in my shortcomings.

I have been associated with honourable Members in this House for some time and I am sure I can rely on them to assist me in accordance with the rules of procedure and with decorum. The dignity, the rules of procedure and the privileges of the House must always be safeguarded, and I shall do my best to uphold these at all times. If, however, in my endeavour to exercise order and firmness in this House, my occasional remarks should appear to be abrupt, incisive and perhaps even painful, I will attribute these to my professional training rather than to my nature. Thank you.

2.34 p.m

Mr Barker: Mr Speaker, Sir, may I, on behalf of all Members of this House, extend to you our congratulations on the occasion of your election as Speaker. You are, Sir, the fourth to be elected to this high office since the introduction of parliamentary government in Singapore. Your appointment, moreover, has broken what could, inadvertently, have crystallised into a convention - that the robe of the Speaker should fall on the shoulders of those with a legal training. The three previous Speakers were all members of the legal profession. This could be attributed to the judicial atmosphere which envelopes this particular office. A great deal of the ritual associated with the Speaker has a judicial flavour. Even functionally there is a great deal of similarity between the Judge and the Speaker. The impartiality both are expected to maintain between contending and contentious factions has to be, it is generally believed, judicial.

Sir, these may have been among the reasons for the choice of Speakers from members of the legal profession. Therefore, in electing a distinguished surgeon, whose professional regalia is the white robe and cap, the House has, quite rightly, denied that impartiality, even if it has to be judicial, is necessarily a monopoly of members of the legal profession.

However, let me add that in electing you to this responsible position, the House was not swayed wholly by your professional achievements, considerable though they are. It is also based on the high regard we have for your sense of social responsibility; for your belief that in this day and age it is not enough for a citizen to confine his interests and responsibility to the narrow field of his profession. We are all aware that in many developing countries professional men are paying a heavy price because of their steadfast reluctance to undertake the broader responsibilities of citizenship. As societies become more unstable and chaotic, not only are professional standards lowered but even the dignified practice of many professions becomes more and more difficult to maintain. So the increasing number of professional men who find it necessary to pack their bags and wander about the face of the earth in search of new pastures. They could have averted this tragedy had they manifested an active concern for the wider problems of the societies in which they lived. They and their children need not have, as many of them are today, become mendicants hawking their professional skills to such countries which would care to buy them.

You, Sir, are a professional man acutely aware of the wider responsibilities which professional men should shoulder to ensure their status and dignity. You have, despite the heavy demands made on you by your professional responsibilities, shouldered the responsibilities of citizenship as well. You stood for election twice in your present constituency. You have, as the Deputy Speaker of this House, as the Chairman of the Detainees Aftercare Association, as a Justice of the Peace, and as the Chairman of the University Council, concerned yourself with many public affairs.

These are among the many reasons which prompted this House to elect you as Speaker. We are confident that, with this wide range of experience, you will be able to discharge ably and judiciously the new and heavy responsibilities that have been entrusted to you. You can be assured, Sir, that for our part we will give all the cooperation necessary to lighten the burdens of your office. In some Parliaments the Speaker is exposed to hazards ranging from moral intimidation to mortal injury. But the Parliament of Singapore, I am happy to say, has, even where it has occasionally been boisterous, maintained a decorous purposefulness which, I am sure, Sir, you will continue to maintain. Thank you.

2.42 p.m.

Prof. Wong Lin Ken (Alexandra): Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise to welcome you to your office. On this occasion it seems to me appropriate to remind this Parliament and the nation that the office of Speaker occupies the highest pinnacle of prestige in the structure of our system of government.

Your office, Mr Speaker, Sir, embodies the dignity of a country's representative assembly. Much of your work will be formal and ceremonial in character, but behind all these rituals and forms of things lies a very grave and important responsibility of presiding over the debates of our Parliament, safeguarding its privileges, and acting as its representative. Mr Speaker, Sir, the nature of your office is judicial. Perhaps it was for this reason that the office of Speaker in Singapore had been previously occupied by eminent men from the legal profession. In the early days of our history, when parliamentary institutions were in the stage of transplanted infancy, the selection of men with legal training was, in retrospect, both wise and necessary. The letter and spirit of parliamentary rule required careful nurturing, and men with legal qualifications were the best possible and available candidates for the office of the Speaker. Mr Speaker, Sir, legal qualifications are not essential for the proper discharge of the duties of the Speaker. Indeed the technicalities of parliamentary procedure, I believe, can be learned from textbooks. The experience of countries with long traditions of parliamentary government has shown that there is absolutely no evidence to presume that only a lawyer can make a successful Speaker. What is more essential, Mr Speaker, Sir, is parliamentary rather than legal experience. This experience, Sir, you have acquired first as a Member of Parliament, and then as Deputy Speaker.

By being the first non-legal man to be elected Speaker, you, Sir, have made history in Singapore. As in all walks of life, some Speakers are better than others. But whoever assumes the Speaker's mantle inherits the dignity and the responsibility that go with the office. In breaking precedent with the past, we in this Parliament firmly believe that you will guide its proceedings with dignity and impartiality, and with credit to your surgical profession.

Mr Speaker, Sir, superficially, one may not see the relevance of some ingredients of success in the surgical profession to the qualities which are deemed to be necessary for the successful discharge of the duties of the Speaker. If one examines the specialised competence that distinguishes surgery from other professions and occupations, one may be inclined towards this view. Yet there are other qualities in the career of a successful surgeon that are relevant in the discharge of the duties of the Speakership. These are, Mr Speaker, Sir, integrity, judgment, common sense, patience, tact, a sense of humour, self-confidence, presence of mind, and firmness tempered with courtesy and kindness.

Mr Speaker, Sir, for the dignity of your office you will be rewarded by the strain of long hours in the Chair. You have exchanged the right to generate heat and passion for the obligation to sit with an unruffled demeanour through more speeches than any other of my Parliamentary colleagues will probably wish to hear. You sit as the Judge, and will be exercising your judgment all the time. You have been with us long enough to have acquired an intimate understanding of parliamentary life the individual and collective problems of the Members, and their strengths and weaknesses. For this reason we are confident that you will not allow an over-technical interpretation of the rules of procedure to restrict debate, and when a situation calls for interruption you will give a stern rebuke if it merits sternness, or supply a touch of humour, which can dissolve a strained situation in a burst of laughter, provided, of course, Mr Speaker, Sir, the laughter is that of human beings and not that of gibbons. It is the nature of the office that the Speaker seldom speaks, but when he does he speaks with authority, and this authority comes from his impartiality and its acceptance by the Members. When you speak, Sir, it will be the voice of authority, for you have demonstrated your impartiality during your apprenticeship as Deputy Speaker, and this Parliament has indicated acceptance in the unanimity of its support of your candidature.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I believe I have the endorsement of my Parliamentary colleagues when I say that we will do our best to make your work less tedious and more pleasant by working within the framework of the best of parliamentary traditions, that is, to give and take with firmness but with courtesy. It was once said with reference to a Speaker in the British Parliament that, and I quote, Sir, "The office of Speaker does not demand rare qualities, it demands common qualities in a rare degree." And with this, Mr Speaker, Sir, permit me to congratulate you.

2.48 p.m.

Inche Abdul Aziz Karim (Kallang): Mr Speaker, Sir, I wish to congratulate you on the occasion of your election as Speaker of Parliament. I believe hon. Members of this august House do warmly welcome a gentleman in your person as Speaker. I am sure, Mr Speaker, you will be a living symbol in Parliament of our democratic society.

Mr Speaker, Sir, may I be permitted on this occasion to introduce a personal note in my tribute to you, because your many accomplishments and qualities have evoked a great deal of admiration. I believe many know you now as a surgeon of repute and skill. But it is interesting to note that you first obtained your Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and Master of Arts degrees at London and Cambridge Universities before obtaining your Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree at Cambridge University. I understand that you were also no mean sportsman, having excelled in cricket and tennis during your student days and represented your university in badminton. If I may say, Mr Speaker, you are a forerunner of the kind of individual we aim to build up among our young citizens, always excelling in all pursuits and endeavours. We note with the greatest sense of pride your international status and renown as a Fellow of the Colleges of Surgeons of England, Australia and America. We are grateful that in recent years you have devoted your time and skill to the training of our local surgeons. I believe you have not only devoted yourself to your profession but have actively undertaken the task of rehabilitating political detainees.

Mr Speaker, Sir, you undoubtedly possess the qualities of a man of the mind, hands and spirit. I will follow you as a guiding beacon in our deliberations in this House.

Mr N. Govindasamy (Telok Blangah): Mr Speaker, Sir, let me join my colleagues who spoke before me in congratulating you on your election to this high office. Sir, in expressing my views, I am sure that I will also be expressing the views of all the Members present here when I say that we have no doubt that the choice of you as Speaker of this House is the most appropriate.

Sir, your experience as Deputy Speaker during the past two years will stand you well for the high office that has been entrusted to you. We are aware that your acceptance of this office will mean further sacrifices on your part. Your professional activities as one of our eminent surgeons in Singapore will have to be curtailed. I am sure the House and the people of Singapore will be grateful for the sacrifices that you have agreed to make in accepting the office as Speaker.

We are well aware that you will discharge your high office as Speaker of this Parliament most justly and aptly. Sir, in the course of your duties, if you find us Members of the House at fault for lack of understanding of the Standing Orders or making tiresome and boring speeches, I am sure you will bear with us. We are well aware that sometimes some of us ask supplementary questions followed by more supplementary questions. You may sometimes feel like participating in the debate yourself which your high office does not allow you to do so now. Your task is made more difficult by the fact that all of us are Members from one party and, as such, you will have to bear with us, especially the Backbenchers, in sometimes criticising the Government or commending it on any particular issue. With your guidance. I am sure this House will be able to discharge its duties honourably.

Sir, I know it will not be out of place for me at this juncture to pay a tribute to our last Speaker, Mr P. Coomaraswamy, who has always given us, especially the new Members of Parliament, a helping hand in discharging our duties as Members here. His friendly approach and guidance will always be appreciated by us and we look forward to similar guidance and assistance from you.

Mr Speaker: Being the Speaker of this House, I will always have the last word! I would like to thank the Hon. Minister and hon. Members for showing me so much kindness. Before I become too sunburnt as a result of basking in this sunshine of praises so generously showered on me, I propose to get down to work!

2.55 p.m.