CIVIL LIST AND PENSION (AMENDMENT) BILL

[Mr N. Govindasamy in the Chair]

The Prime Minister: Mr Govindasamy, Sir, I have the Acting President's recommendation to proceed with this Bill. Sir, I beg to introduce a Bill intituled "An Act to amend the Civil List and Pension Act, 1970 (No. 10 of 1970)".

Bill read the First time.

Second Reading

Mr N. Govindasamy: Second Reading, what day?

The Prime Minister: Now, Sir,I lay upon the Table a Certificate of Urgency signed by the Acting President in respect of the Civil List and Pension (Amendment) Bill.

Certificate of Urgency handed in.

Mr N. Govindasamy: The Certificate is in order. Have typed or printed copies of the Bill been circulated to Members?

The Prime Minister: They have been circulated, Sir.

Mr Govindasamy, Sir, when the Civil List and Pension Bill was taken through Parliament earlier this year, the doctors who were treating the late President were optimistic that he might be able to serve his full term before retirement. But it was not to be.

Had he retired at the time of his death, the late President would have been entitled to a pension of $ 17.466 per year, or $1,455 per month. As he was 60 years of age, he could have taken a gratuity of $72,777 (one-third of his full pension x 12 ½ years), together with a reduced pension of $970 per month. This formula for computation applies to all Ministerial pensions.

The late President left behind a widow and three children, the youngest of whom is 18. Under the present law, Puan Noor Aishah will only be entitled to a gratuity. This could not have been more than the gratuity the late President would have been entitled to. She is only in the second half of her thirties and so has a considerable life expectancy. My colleagues and I decided that we should amend the Civil List and Pension Act for her special circumstances, without making it a precedent for the future.

By this amending Bill, we shall provide her with a pension of $2,000 per month for life. As in all pensions to widows, it will cease in the event of re-marriage. There will be a further $500 per month for her children, until the youngest one has reached 21, or on her marriage if it is before 21.

As their house has not yet been built on her piece of land, we have made available to her a government bungalow she has chosen from a number which were suitable. She will pay one-quarter of the economic rent of the house for a period of three years. During this time her own house could be built.

In the declining years of the late President, she carried more of the social responsibilities of his office. I am sure the House will be with my colleagues and me in wanting to make these provisions for her and her children. This amending Bill will give her more than what the late President himself would have been entitled to. But there are special reasons why we feel justified in seeking to make the necessary provisions set out in the Bill.

Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

Question put, and agreed to.

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

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [The Prime Minister].

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.