PRESIDENT'S SPEECH Debate on the Address (Third Day)

2.34p.m.

Order read for resuming adjourned debate on Question [30th July, 1971],

`That the following Address in reply to the speech of the President be agreed to -

"We, the Parliament of the Republic of Singapore, express our thanks to the President for the speech which he delivered on behalf of the Government at the opening of the Second Session of this Parliament.".'. - [Dr Chiang Hai Ding].

Question again proposed.

Mr Yeo Toon Chia (Kampong Kapor): (In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, in the addendum to the President's speech relating to the resettlement of hawkers, it is stated that a provision of $5 million has been allotted to the Ministry of Health for the acquisition of land to put up hawker centres in order to resettle the hawkers in Singapore. Mr Speaker, Sir, this announcement has come as a piece of very good news to the hawkers in Singapore. The life of a hawker is very hard indeed. This is particularly so for those hawkers who have a big family to support. Rain or shine they have to go out in the streets to earn a living. Their livelihood is a very difficult and precarious one. Some of them have been "illegal" hawkers for 10 to 20 years. They are not sure of the next meal, so to speak. Most of the present hawkers in Singapore became hawkers originally because of the unemployment situation in the past. Although many new factories have been established in Singapore after the implementation of our industrialisation programme and thus provide many job opportunities, these hawkers cannot be absorbed into the factories because they are not skilled workmen. Moreover, they have big families and the wages paid in these factories are too low to maintain a big family. The wages are only three to four dollars a day. Our hawkers are indeed a social problem.

According to the statistics supplied by the Hawkers' Department, there are about 25,000 hawkers in Singapore. About 56 per cent of this number, that is 14,000 have been issued with licences and they thus become licensed hawkers. The balance of 44 per cent are still unlicensed hawkers and they ply their trade at street corners, in back-lanes or on mobile vehicles. We cannot allow them to sink or swim by themselves. We should shoulder the responsibility of looking after their welfare, particularly those who have families to look after. We must first start with the registration of all genuine hawkers in Singapore and issue them with licences, so long as the places in which they operate are not areas scheduled for redevelopment and they do not cause traffic obstruction. In this way, all these hawkers will be given licences and thus their mental torture will be ended. They can, therefore, earn their living with peace of mind. This is an urgent task at the moment.

Mr Speaker, Sir, under the urban renewal scheme, I think the Hawkers' Department should go a step further and make a survey of all the hawkers in the various constituencies. It can get in touch with all the Members of Parliament in the various constituencies and, in conjunction with the State and City Planning Department, work out a scheme for the allocation of proper vacant places in areas to be used as markets and hawker centres. The scheme will thus help to resettle our hawkers on a rational and island-wide basis. Consequently, all the hawkers in Singapore will be able to do their business at ease in the proper centres provided.

Mr Speaker, Sir, it is gratifying to note that the Government, in conjunction with the Housing and Development Board, will build more hawker centres and let out the stalls at subsidised rentals. The hawkers will thus be able to do their business better and in an attractive and clean environment. However, I think the Government should go one step further in looking after the family and the children of the hawkers, particularly in regard to their long-term welfare. It must try to form a hawkers' association on a national basis for all the 25,000 hawkers in Singapore. Perhaps assistance can be obtained from some experienced unionists in the N.T.U.C, in organising the hawkers into a national association for hawkers. A dollar a day can perhaps be collected from each hawker. In this way, an insurance policy can be taken up or a savings account opened for them. They will thus be able to form a co-operative society through which they can buy Housing and Development Board flats under the home ownership scheme. In this way the survival of the hawker's family will be assured.

Mr Speaker, Sir, over the past few years, industrialisation has succeeded in providing many job opportunities in Singapore. However, the wages paid are low and they are only enough for meals, refreshment and transport expenses of the workers. The unemployed people are not attracted by the low wages paid because they have big families.

Some pioneer industries are protected by tariff laws. They also have the legal provision to stop the workers from asking for higher wages. They also have priority concession of the local market. In spite of all this preferential treatment, the products of these pioneer industries are still being sold at very high prices. This is indeed a pity, in spite of all that we have done. The prices of local products are going up with the setting up of pioneer industries. This generally increases the burden of the Singapore tax-payers. The cost of living is increased to some extent.

Mr Speaker, Sir, in the addendum to the President's speech, it is also stated that early next year when a comprehensive assessment has been made of the full effect of the British military withdrawal, the Government will make a review of its wage policy. This is indeed necessary, particularly so in regard to those pioneer industries and companies which have made very high profits over the past few years. We cannot allow them to treat labour as a commodity to be purchased at a very cheap price. We must recover the oriental traditional concept of the sanctity of labour, and raise the minimum standard of wages so that labour in Singapore will have the respect due to it. We must accord our labour a fair share of good living for the family as a result of our national prosperity and our economic growth.

Sir, I would also like to avail myself of this opportunity to stress another point in regard to the daily-rated workers in the Government or semi-Government organisations. There are about 7,500 daily-rated workers in the public cleansing service and in the Public Health Division. About 17 per cent of them are provided with quarters. In the Public Works Department, there are about 2,800 daily-rated workers, and only 36 per cent of them are provided with quarters. In the case of the Public Utilities Board, there are about 6,600 daily-rated workers, and about 24.2 per cent, namely, 1,600 of them, are provided with quarters. But in the case of the Housing and Development Board, which has 2,200 daily-rated workers, 54 per cent of them are provided with quarters. In view of this, a great number of the daily-rated workers in Government and semi-Government organisations have to pay rent for their private accommodation at $30 to $40 per room. On a small monthly salary of $120 to $130, they have to spend quite a considerable portion on rentals. The cost of living has been rising in recent years, and this has proved quite a burden to them.

Mr Speaker, Sir, the Housing and Development Board is building better accommodation for our people. Even the daily-rated workers in the Housing and Development Board have been given good accommodation at subsidised rentals. This is in fact a step in the right direction and is in keeping with our policy of providing better accommodation for the poor people in Singapore. But how is it that the daily-rated workers in the other Government departments and statutory bodies are not given the same privilege? We should give it to them so long as they are Singapore citizens. We should not discriminate against them. They should not be made to watch the daily-rated workers of the Housing and Development Board enjoy this kind of treatment when they themselves are not given the same treatment. I would like to appeal to the departments and authorities concerned to work Out a scheme with the Housing Board and the State and City Planning Office to provide better housing for their own daily-rated workers. They can also build low-rental high-rise flats in the suburban or rural areas so that all the daily-rated workers in Government service and in the statutory boards may be provided with proper accommodation. We should allocate some funds for such a purpose. If necessary, the rentals can be subsidised so that these daily-rated workers and their families will be able to live in a more congenial environment. This is necessary because many of these workers are living in squalor. When the workers are resettled in modern high-rise flats, all the shacks and attap houses in which they were living could be demolished and the land could be acquired for building better buildings and economic development beneficial to the country.

Sir, although the time is not ripe yet to raise the wages of workers generally as it will affect our economic growth, we should be able to look after the lot of the daily-rated workers in Government service and the statutory boards in terms of wages now. There are some who are given only a five-cent rise in wages after five years' continuous service. All this is really a heritage from the colonial days. We should pay attention to this point and give serious considerations to the rationalisation of wages for the daily-rated workers. According to my own survey, most of the daily-rated workers in Kampong Kapor have big families to support and are in debt. So in order to make ends meet, they have to undertake some other tough job in the evening after a hard day's work in order to make more money to maintain their families. Sir, all this hard work throughout these years is actually a contribution towards our national economy. So why deny them the opportunity to enjoy a share, in the form of wage increase, in the prosperity arising out of our economic growth to which they have contributed? Perhaps they can he given a 10 per cent rise in their wages so that they will be so pleased that they will work even harder.

Sir, the President has also stressed in his speech that we must unite all the people in Singapore, and since stability and security are assured for several years ahead, we must make full use of this time to consolidate our own defence capability. We must build up our own expertise, produce our own engineers, managerial and marketing personnel in order to promote and cope with a faster and higher rate of economic growth, and be our own masters. This is a guideline for our country in future. Only then will we be able to raise the standard of living of our people. Only then can our children have better schools and a better environment to live in and enjoy better amenities.

Finally, on behalf of the people of Kampong Kapor, let me express my felicitations to the President on our future prosperity that is bound to come under his judicious guidance.

2.49 p.m.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education (Inche Mohd. Ghazali Bin Ismail): Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise to join my colleagues in thanking the President for his speech at the opening of the Second Session of the Second Parliament on the 21st of last month.

Sir, I would like to examine with you the internal situation we are in today. I am not so much concerned with the political and economic aspects, important as they are, as with the composition of our society. We are multi in almost everything. We have a diffusion of cultures, a diffusion of languages, a diffusion of religions and so on, and the very heterogeneous nature of our society, open as it is to the influence of Western ideas, makes it imperative for all of us to understand fully the implications of an uncritical adoption of certain aspects of Western culture. I am not saying that some of these aspects of Western culture are decadent, but I must say that some of them do not conduce to our efforts to consolidate our people into a viable and rugged nation. The Chinese, the Indians and the Malays, each has a distinct form of culture in which, in its various ways, is prescribed a code of ethical behaviour that has more or less withstood the test of time. Each has a built-in system of dynamic growth, and throughout the centuries, the cumulative effects of succeeding changes have made our respective cultures the floating-buoys to which we have clung, and from which we have derived our basic strength. Our religions preach the brotherhood of man, extol the qualities of the human mind, make the achievement of peace the supreme pursuit of life, and frown upon irrationalism in all its manifestations. In truth we have, each one of us here, a clearly-defined rule of conduct, adherence to which can ensure our survival as a united and strong people. We have nothing to be ashamed of, and yet today we see, among our youths, almost a total disregard for the values which we have accepted without question. We see before us the collapse of traditional values. Non-conformity, anti-collectivism, anti-establishment and divergent thinking - whatever that may mean -would seem to be the order of the day. We see manifestations of these in the outlandish dress of some of our youths, the taking of drugs, the reading of pornographic literature. Existential philosophy from Soren Kierkegaard to Jacques Maritain has been perverted to mean the denial of God and the ridiculing of all existing cultures and the mocking of social values dear to the older generation. Art for the sake of art has been venerated at the expense of the social ends that art is supposed to sub serve. Traditional faith and values no longer serve for some of our youths as the guide-lines of their life and pointers to their conduct.

It would be pertinent, at this juncture, to examine the root causes of this apparent weakening of our moral fibre and to think of ways and means of overcoming it by providing our youths with the appropriate alternative moral and ethical values, lest we plunge our society into chaos. We must at all costs, prevent the degeneration of our society into one that is effete and is immersed in the pursuit of material and sensual pleasures. We must think of alternatives to a society that thinks of humility, a society that thinks of pity for the weak and incompetent as vices.

The world that emerged from the Second World War had very little resemblance to the dreams of idealists before the outbreak of the conflict. There was hunger, fear, hopelessness, misery and unprecedented violence. The hopes of people for peace and security were rudely shattered. The revival of power politics, the fear of the spread of nuclear war, and the use of bacteriological means of destruction, the outbreak of conflicts in South-east Asia, the Middle East and South America, all these had their deleterious effect in moulding the thoughts of our thinking youths. The old order is simply not strong enough to ensure peace and understanding among nations. The great religions of the world have been found wanting, and, as established institutions, they had apparently served their purposes. Some idealism was still left behind. The spectacular advances in science, the achievement of independence by various countries which were former colonies of the imperialist powers, the emergence of newly-independent nations in Africa, the United Nations Organisation lent a ray of hope to a sick world, but apparently these did not contribute enough to sustain the idea that peace and plenty was at hand. Reactions of the most extreme kind began to make themselves apparent all over the world. The spread of education through the mass media merely accelerated the development of these deleterious trends and not even the authoritative pronouncements of church and of Government could put a stop to them. Overnight, certain countries that professed democracy chucked it overboard and imposed upon their peoples the most authoritarian of regimes. The world saw the rise of societies that insisted upon rigid conformity to the officially-preached code of conduct and of others that permitted and allowed the growth of irrationalism in their midst. In these fluctuations, the youths of the world have been the main casualties. They feel alienated from society, whether authoritarian or otherwise, and this feeling of alienation has led them to adopt the more nihilistic principles of life. The destruction of the old order - economic, political, cultural and religious - became paramount, no matter what the succeeding situation might prove to be.

We in Singapore have not escaped from the outbreak of such irrational rashes as those which are plaguing Europe and America today. We do not differ in kind but in degree only. We see such aberrations as the adoption of the hippie way of life among certain sections of our youths. We are now hearing of drug-taking by our boys and girls. We see other manifestation of this nihilistic philosophy in our midst today. The propensity to indulge in the pleasures of the senses for the sake of enjoying such pleasures, the ceaseless search for material comforts at the expense of the less tangible modes of life, the quest for quaint methods of escaping from the grim realities of life are all too real, and, given a measure of permissiveness, one never knows how far these trends might develop for the worse.

I would attribute the collapse of many of our traditional beliefs and practices to the indulgence of parents towards their offspring's. When a certain firmness is necessary, such a quality, when it is most needed, is found grossly wanting. One thing leading to another, it is such want of firmness that tends to lead our children to become undisciplined and disrespectful to us. I do not advocate a return to the days when the cane was the principal instrument for the enforcement of discipline at home. But I do wish that parents would exercise a greater firmness in deciding what is essentially good for their children. An understanding of their needs would be necessary but, at the same time, a clearer realisation of the goals they have for their children would, in no small measure, help them to show the correct path for them.

Sir, when I was in London last year, a British newspaper published a picture taken at Hyde Park showing a girl stripping off her clothes until she was completely naked. I did make a press cutting of the picture so that I can produce it here or anywhere as an illustration, but unfortunately, my travelling colleague, the Member for Mountbatten, to whom I had given the picture, told me he had lost it somewhere. It was reported that the girl strolled through the park, unashamed and apparently oblivious of the crowd around her. Strange to say, the crowd in the park on that summer day did not pay much attention to the naked girl. I was, to say the least, rather abashed at this display of defiance of the established etiquette of social conduct, and it was a surprise to me that such a thing should have been allowed at all. I fail to understand the social clime that could sanction such indecencies as this. I visited various other places in England and Scotland, and it would seem to me that many of the things that the English and Scottish youths did in public could not be condoned here, but it is possible that as a result of the permissive attitudes of the English and Scottish parents such things as those I have mentioned were everyday occurrences, and were accepted as such by them. Our oriental heritage would frown upon an excessive display of affection in public because we believe that the display of such affections can be made at more appropriate places. We see here, therefore, the existence of differing standards of measuring and evaluating conduct. It must be pointed out that such evaluation of conduct has validity only in the context of where it occurs, how it occurs, what personalities are involved and under what social circumstances such conduct is displayed. In an oriental society we would say that a departure from the accepted norms of sexual practices is contrary to our customs and would consequently produce harmful effects on us, and, therefore, we would insist on conformity in such matters as I have mentioned above.

Our island state, strategically placed as it is at the cross-roads of the East and West, has become almost a melting pot for various races to mix and rub shoulders. We now enjoy a mild economic boom, but apparently the Republic's economic success has gone to the heads of a considerable segment of our more affluent youths. Unfortunately, these are the youths who set the trends and the pace which are too willingly imitated by our less affluent youths, with disastrous consequences. I say so because the more affluent youths of our society are, on the whole, better educated and consequently are in a better position to apprise their actions than the less affluent youths. The former are in a better position to recover from their misdeeds and more quickly than could the latter. That is my assessment. I must say that there are more less fortunately placed youths than the rich ones, and whatever these youths do might have more far-reaching repercussions upon our society. They might not be trend-setters or pace-setters, but the fact that they uncritically ape and imitate the ways of the less inhibited affluent youths is an indication of the trends towards a society the principal characteristic of which is permissiveness. These youths, I feel, are alienated from society due to a lack of understanding of their roles. This lack of understanding of their roles, in my opinion, is attributed in a large measure to some deficiencies in our society. The people that count-parents and teachers, community leaders and certain public figures in industry and commerce-have failed to imbue in our youths the feeling that living in a developing society such as ours would need them to sacrifice their pleasures and devote much of their time and energy towards more constructive efforts rather than the mere pursuit of mundane pleasures.

Mr C. V. Devan Nair, the N.T.U.C. Secretary-General, had occasion last year to mention the danger of becoming complacent about the economic and social success of Singapore. He mentioned the increasing proneness to insular smugness, self-satisfaction and self-centredness which was completely unjustified because Singaporeans live in one of the hottest trouble spots of the world. As a remedial measure to ensure that such complacency is shattered, he suggested that "large therapeutic doses of geopolitical realism was the only way the distorted and self-satisfied insular perspectives could be corrected. Only then can we, as a people, get our priorities right." I cannot but agree with what has been said by Mr Nair. It would seem to me that only the most concentrated efforts on our part are necessary to instil in our youths the need for an understanding of the realities of our situation. We must, if it is necessary, jolt our people into a serious and thoughtful mood. We must ask ourselves if we can survive as a nation without the ingredients of national survival, national unity and national progress. We must ask ourselves how the poor can be uplifted from their poverty, and how everyone of us here can be secure in our society. We must ask ourselves how we can ensure that the racial sensitivities of our people are not hurt, and how we can inculcate in our youths a feeling of loyalty to this country. These are imperative questions and our answers to them pave the way either to progress and prosperity, or to chaos and destruction. An awareness of all these in our youths may conceivably lead to a shedding of the fetishes they have so uncritically taken from the more irrational aspects of Western culture. In my opinion, in the interest of our survival, governed as we are by the imperatives of the moment, we have to set up the machinery to re-educate our youths in the ways that point to our survival as an entity. Such practices as the sporting of long hair, the smoking of ganja, the taking of drugs, the wearing of outlandish sartorial fashions and the like are alien to our way of life and cannot fill the cultural and spiritual vacuum that we are supposed to experience today. In other words, we must have our priorities right, and to do so we must develop in ourselves a capacity to understand the day-to-day implications of the significance of events that move around us, around our nation, around our people and around our region. We must be proud of our own respective cultures, only drawing upon other sources that enrich and strengthen them. We must discard anything that tends to enervate and encourage the growth of others that give new impetus to the development of our own. In this way, we can not only ensure the continued survival of our cultures, but also their strength, so that they become the source of our own power, the fountain of our creative energies and the guarantor of our civilization. Our youths must be made aware of this, as such an awareness is the catalyst to pride and joy in being nurtured to full manhood, through an appreciation of the achievements of our forefathers, of the tribulations they underwent, and of their triumphs in the face of great adversities.

I think Asia today is poised for great changes. We are part of these changes and we are in them. If the sixties have given us much, we can expect more from the seventies but we need to develop a maturity of understanding so that, in anticipation of these great changes, we are not looking at things through the perspective of a stagnant, backward and un-progressive society. The dynamics of survival in a turbulent corner of the world should serve as a spur to us to accelerate performance in all the fields of human endeavour so that, in a world torn by strife and dissension, we can serve as a beacon, as a light for others to emulate and to follow. Our youths must know this, and they must realise that the imperatives of survival are paramount and must take precedence over all else. The alternative to this awareness, I think, is stagnancy and death.

I think I have already spoken at some length on the inherent dangers that permissive attitudes have or dangers that can result from being permissive. I have now to go a little further into the matter. By being non-permissive, it must not be construed that I am advocating that our society should be a closed one. There is always the fear that if one is not permissive, then one is logically authoritarian. This does not necessarily follow if we understand that in being disciplined, one proceeds in a manner socially acceptable in going about one's business, and that none of one's actions are outside the framework of the norm. The question of permissiveness does not arise here, as what one is doing is within the accepted framework of social conventions. For instance, all legitimate intellectual endeavours must not only be sanctioned but encouraged and nurtured as furthering our own cause. In matters of cultural pursuits, any that does not conduce to the furtherance of our culture should he frowned upon. A body of ideas, be they philosophical, religious, political and economic, which do not run counter to the general welfare of the masses, that is, they are not inimical to the state, ought to be supported. That is my opinion.

In the final analysis, a pragmatic approach to the complex mechanics of survival should be the criterion with which we judge our actions. Our youths should be critically discriminating in their choice of Western ways. The perennial questions to ask are: Are these useful to us? Do they conduce to the overall development of our state? Do they lift us to a higher stage of life? If the answers are in the negative, we should instantly reject such ways and be emphatic in our denunciation of them. Any protagonist for the adoption of such ideas must be out of his mind and he must quickly be put right before the youths of our state are corrupted. After all, certain aspects of our life have a more permanent value: respect for our elders, personal honesty and integrity are universal qualities. On the other hand, such qualities can be mocked at and be looked upon as quaint survival of a past age, but what substitutes can we have for them? Can the transitory pleasures of the pipe, the irrationalism of hippie behaviour and psychedelic music replace the more lasting satisfaction of having honestly done a day's work? Only a sick society can permit itself to be permissive in matters that mean the difference between life and death. Only a sick nation can be indifferent to the destructive forces that are in its midst. And only a nation that has ceased to struggle can tolerate a philosophy that extols the qualities of negativism. We live in a state of constant change, of tension, of an incessant urgency to improvise and innovate. Surely the more reasonable approach, and perhaps the only logical approach to our problems, is the cultivation of the virtues of leading a more Spartan life. The vital question is to know our priorities. Here we cannot be in two frames of mind. We know in which direction we are heading, and this awareness should determine the pace and the trends of our developmental patterns. Our priorities will dictate our policies and they will, taking precedence over all others, determine the shape of our society.

3.15 p.m.

Mr Low Yong Nguan (Crawford): (In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, we gather once again to examine the past and to plan for the future.

In a democracy, Parliament has a solemn duty to the people, as the decisions made in this Chamber will gravely affect their livelihood. For this reason, the Government's decisions and policies must be thrashed out in this Chamber. And as representatives of the people, we have no choice but to carry out this duty without being affected by personal considerations.

A fundamental question that we must ask is: for whom are we planning and working, and in whose interest are we asking the people to work harder and make sacrifices?

The answer to this question will spell out our basic political beliefs and objectives.

We must work for the creation of a fairer and more equal society for all, and not just for any minority group. This will guide us in our work.

First of all, let me thank the Government for assuring us that, as soon as we can ascertain and overcome the overall effects of the British military withdrawal, we will rethink and adjust our existing wage policy. I hope and believe that this is not an electioneering tactic, but a clear-cut acknowledgment of our workers' contribution to our country's economic growth. In the past, our workers have worked hard, accepted stricter discipline and contributed much to our nation's economic progress. Foreign and local investors have obtained good returns for their investments. It is now time for us to consider rewarding our workers.

We have to make a rethink of our policy to ensure that we are able to distribute the fruits of our progress more fairly and equally.

This does not mean that our people, especially those in the front line of the "battle" - our workers - can now relax. Far from it. We have to work harder to get better results.

In a progressive society, our immediate task is to afford better and up-to-date facilities for workers to learn and acquire better skills in keeping with the progress in science and technology. This is one sure way of increasing our workers' productivity and contributing to our country's future progress. This will be in the interest of the people as a whole and they can make further and greater contributions.

We cannot hope to continue for long to attract foreign investments by providing cheap labour with the blood and sweat of our workers. We have to be proud of our right-thinking workers who are better equipped and skilled in attracting foreign and local investors and in carrying out the task of ensuring our survival.

I consider it to be unwise to attach too much emphasis on widening the gap between the rich and the poor as conducive to economic growth. This may be applicable to countries dependent on foreign aid where many economic theorists gain honour for advocating such thinking. Such thinking will inevitably strengthen the roots of a society in which man will exploit man. It advocates that human beings should worry only about material gains and discard the higher ideals of life. It converts society into a gathering place for monsters and walking dead. It denies man the opportunity to develop normal relations with his fellowman, and, in so doing, affords economic aggressors the opportunity to exploit contradictions between men. Finally, it will degrade the poor working-class to the level of labouring tools for the rich, who are only conscious of their ability to work and produce. The end result of their hard work will only enhance the growth of the pyramid of wealth of the rich.

I do not think this is agreeable to hon. Members whose basic political convictions are based on a socialistic outlook and the enhancement of human dignity.

At this stage of our development, in order to ensure that our economic growth rate is not impeded, we have to place greater emphasis on the cultivation of sound knowledge and greater skills in our workers and the elevation of the level of their thinking in the interest of the country. We have to ensure that the dignity of every citizen is protected and enhanced, so that with greater determination we can achieve greater gains. This will ensure that both foreign and local investors will have greater faith in us. Coupled with proper governmental planning and guidance, we will then be able to achieve greater heights of prosperity.

Since entering politics, our new Minister for Labour has demonstrated without reservation that he is a far-sighted and capable leader. He not only cares for the working-class, but also identifies his interests with theirs. I am sure he will not disappoint the people but will work for greater protection of the workers' right and dignity.

As a result of rapid industrialisation and urbanisation, and the improvement in our material well-being, Singapore, like many other countries in the world, is daily faced with imposing environmental problems.

I propose that the Government immediately set up a statutory board with sufficient powers to look into and deal with problems associated with urban renewal, land use, planning and pollution.

In the past, we have not been able to look more closely at the chain effects which industrial and economic progress has on our environment. In order to achieve a higher growth rate of our GNP, we have not paid enough attention to the more subtle "social cost" involved. This is regrettable indeed.

I think we have to look boldly at the problems, and the following are basic guide-lines:

(1) We have not reached the stage of some of the more affluent countries. To a certain extent, our people are still preoccupied with the basic requirements of daily subsistence. We have to depend on further economic growth to elevate the standard of living of our people. However, economic progress and the protection of a gracious living environment need not be contradictory if proper policy planning is made of the use of land and the distribution of population.

(2) No environmental planning should run contrary to the intellectual requirements of man. We should primarily consider the proper development of interrelations between communities, and between man and his fellowman.

(3) No plans that will curtail the full development of individual potential and add undue stress and strain on the individual should be approved without sufficient reasons.

(4) We have to emphasise the intangible "social cost" involved in the evaluation of any economic programme.

(5) The public must have sufficient say in any plans affecting their living environment. We have to encourage public participation in our planning process and not be solely dependent on the technocrats and experts.

For example, urban renewal is meant partly to enhance the living conditions of our people. Therefore, our urban renewal planning should be made to suit the needs of the people. The best way to do this would be constantly to consult and listen to the views of the people.

(6) As problems relating to the environment and anti-pollution measures are involved and extensive, we have to rely on the co-operation of the more advanced countries for up-to-date techniques in these fields.

(7) In any anti-pollution measure, we have to stress more on the educational aspects than depend heavily on the enforcement of the law. I believe we will make progress in these fields.

Talking of anti-pollution measures reminds me of our water problem. I think we have to try to solve it from three directions, namely, by:

(1) increasing our sources of water supply and ensuring that these sources are not polluted;

(2) strengthening our water management techniques, and employing up-to-date methods in the case of water management; and

(3) educating our citizens on the value of water.

Sir, any programme aimed at increasing our sources of water supply is expensive. Very careful consideration must therefore be given to prevent a wrong decision being taken. Most of the scientific methods of water purification and desalination are still in the experimental stage, although much research and progress have been made in this field. I agree we should not attempt to adopt any scheme that has not been tried on an industrial scale elsewhere. We cannot afford to experiment.

I hope the P.U.B, has assigned specialists to study the water problems so as not to make any grave mistake. Any mistake we make in this respect will cause us severe financial losses and we may not have the time to make good our losses.

On the question of water management, I think we should send some of our younger technicians to the more advanced countries to study and acquire expertise. Water management techniques are progressing at a fast pace. We cannot expect to tackle these problems by staying stagnant.

In the interest of our security, and in ensuring that our future generation will have a better chance of survival, we cannot fail. We have to educate actively our people to preserve and care for our water supplies. Within limits, incentives must be given to those who are exemplary in this respect. I think the Government must work harder.

In a multi-racial country like Singapore, anyone who, wittingly or unwittingly, ignores the potential danger of fooling around with the language issue is looking for trouble. Anyone who wants to stir up communal frustration is playing with a time-bomb which, when exploded, will hurt the player first. This will do nobody any good. When an individual or group displays any such tendency, it is the duty of the Government to put a stop to it.

The Government has pledged to treat equally all the four languages, religions and races. In the interest of the people, we have to support unreservedly the Government's efforts in this direction. Of course, we also expect the Government to demonstrate, in concrete and tangible form, this policy of equality for all the races, languages and religions.

As a Member of the governing party, I call on the Government leaders and those directly connected with us to demonstrate unreservedly their faith in this policy. No one irrespective of his position, must be allowed to be hypocritical about this and make statements contrary to the Government's proclaimed policy. Otherwise we will only increase our enemy's firing power and weaken our own camp.

Whether or not we can produce in as short a time as possible a good number of young Singaporeans conversant in two or more than two languages will determine to a large extent our chances of survival as a sovereign country. Of course, we will require the younger generation to receive their education first in their mother tongue and then learn a second, or even a third language. History has shown that through the "mother-tongue education", we have been able to produce hard-working and proud "sons of Singapore". In our history, the majority of those who fought colonialism and stayed at the front line of industrialisation on the factory floor are the products of the "mother-tongue education". Without them, we would not be here today.

The language problem is a sensitive one. When trying to examine the problem, no amount of hysterical outcry will help. Similarly, to clamp down on the discussion of the problem is also unwise as this will only sweep the problem underground temporarily. Both these methods can be exploited by our enemy.

Let me take as an example the case of one of our neighbouring countries. They have mismanaged their language problem. At one stage they encouraged open and unreserved discussion. They got into trouble and many people were killed. They then had to stop the discussion by force and ultimately had to impose a constitutional clamp on discussions of such issues. Their mismanagement had caused irreparable damage to their own country!

I consider the best way to solve the question is by a concrete and tangible policy and to demonstrate our faith and belief that a multi-racial approach is the only workable solution. We have to be sober and alive to the problem from the long-term point of view and interest. This cannot be a simple problem, otherwise there would not have been so much bloodshed all over the world on such issues. However, it is a problem that will decide our survival and we have to face up to it.

I will now turn my attention to the problems of our youth. This is also related to the problems of continuity in our leadership. No government can escape this problem. It is the duty of the Government to lead our youth along the path of righteousness and pro, vide our country with vitality so that our progress can be further enhanced.

Let us admit that our young people are no different from others. They are never satisfied with the present realities of life. They ask for changes which may be considered extreme. If they do not have ways of expressing such dissatisfaction, they will develop certain tendencies that might well destroy the establishment.

At present, in view of our material prosperity and also because of the overemphasis on materialistic achievements, such youthful desire for changes may not be apparent. However, is not the path taken by the youth in some of the so-called advanced countries an eye-opener to us?

This temporary phenomenon, which runs contrary to human nature, will soon come to pass. Our youth will soon wake up. No one has succeeded in suppressing the problems of youth by force or the erosion of their enthusiasm by harmful cultures. This can only exacerbate their resentment.

There is nothing wrong with young people being enthusiastic and idealistic. It is precisely because members of our present Government in their young days were prepared to be "action-packed" and willing to fight for their ideals that we have the Singapore of today. Therefore, we have to call on our young people to be prepared to make sacrifices for the cause of high ideals. Then and only then can they contribute and bring us to greater heights of achievements.

But just what do we see? Our society is one of glorifying in greater materialistic achievements and of encouraging achievements without regard to the rightness of the means employed to achieve them. There is a lack of ideals and respect for the better side of human life. We have not provided our youth with the right atmosphere and infrastructure to constructively bring about changes for the better. In their upbringing, as it were, we have only inculcated in them the ability to listen and to follow, and not the ability to question and find out the truth. Are we moving backwards? It is time for us to ponder.

Mr Speaker, Sir, quite a few years have passed without any opposition in this House. Obviously, the people will pass judgment on our performance under these circumstances. The surest way to destroy Singapore is to deny the people their rights under a democracy. Our task as loyal Backbenchers is made more than difficult under existing conditions. Luckily, both the Government and we ourselves possess sufficient courage to accept criticism and are willing to make adjustments where necessary in the interest of our people.

For example, the recent announcement by the Government to increase the compensation for those affected by resettlement and new measures for tackling the hawkers' problems are laudable. They must not be taken to be electioneering tactics but a demonstration of the Government's will to submit to the wishes of the people, and the Government's profound understanding of the people's difficulties.

In the years to come, the Government will have to strengthen its resources in ascertaining the views of the people to ensure that they will be attended to. This will enhance our chances of surviving as a united nation.

Reporters and editors of the press must know their obligations to the people under existing circumstances. Similarly, I call on the Government, through its Ministry of Culture, to enhance the social status of our journalists and writers, They are able, to a great extent, to reflect and bring forward the thinking of our people. We ask them to fulfil their obligations. Therefore, we must also recognise their social status. This is one of our basic tasks in protecting and enhancing the principles and practice of democracy in our country.

No one will be naive enough to deny the inevitable return of opposition to this Chamber. But we must annihilate all those who are working for foreign interests and wish to gain ground in cur confusion. We should also not allow anyone to disrupt the unity of our people on the pretext of airing democratic views but with sinister motives.

Recently, people of all descriptions have been busily organising political parties. Some pro-labour intellectuals are even airing the view that, as they are uncertain of the political stand of the successors to the present Government, they propose that at some opportune time a new political party should be organised to protect labour interest. All these are adding colour, confusion and complications to the political scene.

Come what may, the Government must fearlessly carry out its policies in accordance with the basic interest of our people. In the end, I am sure our people will solidly give their support to those who are working in their interest.

This is an era when President Nixon, the leader of a nation proud of its military might, will be visiting China, a country that thrives on the sheer will of her people. In such an era let us keep reminding ourselves that no other country owes it to us that we should survive.

Only we ourselves can ensure our own chances of survival, and if we fail there will be no one to regret our destruction.

Sir, I beg to support the motion moved by the Member for Ulu Pandan.

3.40p.m.

Mr J. F. Conceicao (Katong): Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to refer to a particular statement in the President's speech, and generally voice my thoughts on it. The President has declared, "If we are to remain a cohesive people, we must concentrate on the factors which bind us together, and not those which will divide us."

Sir, let us view some possible areas in the life of our people wherein we may highlight those factors which tend to unite us. We may then decide to stress the development of those unifying features of our society. Perhaps we can discern more clearly such areas of common purpose if we bear in mind the aspiration and striving of our people for a better and ever better life in all ways. One such important area of common striving is the area of the economic life of our people.

At work, Sir, co-operation between workers and management continues to be crucial to economic progress. One significant way in which such cooperation can be fostered is in the ways and means through which the quality of Singapore products may be ensured, thus resulting in increased productivity. To do this, the experience of our workers will have to be married to the skill of our managers and technologists.

In this regard, I therefore welcome the declaration in the addendum to the President's speech related to the Ministry of Science and Technology to the effect that among incentives being considered to stimulate research and development in the industrial sector is the possible provision of tax relief for expenditure on equipment and technical manpower used for quality control.

Management should take advantage of such incentives when they are offered. At the same time, after management has been persuaded into introducing quality control and maintaining it, the benefits of increased productivity should be passed on to workers, who will also have incentives to co-operate in the progress of the enterprise they work in. Here, it may be interesting to note the success of quality control circles in Japan where such circles have been introduced. It would appear that the Q.C, circle is "a group of workers and their supervisor, who organise themselves for the purpose of working on a specific quality control problem related to the work of their section of the plant." (I am quoting from page 1 of a little publication called The Quality Control Circle by a Professor Niland, published in 1971, in collaboration with the Asian Productivity Organisation.) I notice from a perusal of this little book that great praise has been lavished on the achievement of the Q.C. Circle movement. Perhaps, Sir, we should take a closer look at this concept of co-operation to see if it will work in our own industrial situation.

Another machinery of industrial cooperation is the Works Council. I understand that a Works Council is intended to bring about direct communication between workers and management for the purpose of promoting understanding and better industrial relaxations between the two parties. Every support and encouragement should be given to such consultative bodies aimed at promoting harmonious relations between workers and management, as such a relationship conduces towards industrial efficiency, and is yet another integrative feature in our society.

Another area in which we can, and indeed must, generate attention to the factors which bind us together is the area of urban living. Very soon half our people will be living in flats and high-rise dwellings built by the Housing and Development Board. In such dwellings multitudes of our people live in dense proximity, not the average 8,000 to a square mile, but 20,000 or even 30,00() to a square mile. We have to arrange for these people to feel happy where they live, to own a sense of belonging to their particular local community, to adjust to this way of living and to adapt themselves to one another. Our President has said that the approach of the Singaporean to problems is generally practical and tolerant. It is in the circumstances of close urban living that we have indeed to make the resort to the practical and tolerant solutions to problems, especially those affecting human relations, ingrained and spontaneous.

How do we do this? Our various campaigns to keep Singapore clean and green, and pollution free, and to conserve water will have tended to make people more conscious of their responsibilities one to another. We should constantly remind our people who live crowdedly close to one another that they have to show fraternal consideration for one another in respect of noise, litter, cleanliness and a general sense of community well-being, the understanding of one another's sensitivities, and so on.

I remember having occasionally watched a T.V. programme in Chinese which depicted episodes in the lives of some who lived in H.D.B, flats. Would that we had writers of plays who could aptly portray the comedy and drama of life in our housing estates. Not with gauche propaganda or with clumsily concealed exhortation, but with art and subtlety conveying the nuances of human interaction. Do not the circumstances of living in the housing estates provide material for satirical or for more serious presentation, so that we may be moved to laugh at or ponder over the comedy or drama of our way of life? Our choreographers and artists - could they not be concerned with incorporating in their creations features that may make us sensitive to our circumstances? For our life - life soon for one out of every two people - will be life in a housing estate.

Meanwhile, while we are waiting for our poets and artists to get cracking, let us encourage the formation of residents' associations in order to facilitate co-operation and adjustment in community living. Our Citizens Consultative Committees and the management committees of community centres are rendering sterling service. Members of a community, however, cannot leave action for community benefit in the hands of a few. It is good for as many people as possible to be involved in looking after their community. Residents' associations will give a chance for people to come forward and make their community contributions, each in his own way. The only way for a community to develop is through self-help. Self-help will generate confidence, self-respect and a sense of belonging to a community.

Through the ancillary help of residents' associations our community centres may be revitalised. There are many useful services that can be mobilised through the community centre organisation. Supervised study can be arranged for children who would otherwise be distracted by the crowded conditions in which they live. Such supervised study may be held at a school near the community centre and near the housing estate, in the same circumstances as supervised study sessions, opportunities may be provided for children to have oral practice in their second language. One of the reasons why second-language studies are so retarded today is the dearth of opportunities to have oral practice in the second language. For the purpose of both supervised study as well as second-language practice, the resources of a particular community may well be sufficient for its own needs. Office workers, older students, teachers, retired people - all sorts of people living in a community may be persuaded to volunteer a very modest bit of their time. But a sense of community must be developed to sustain these contributions.

In order to develop a sense of identity with a locality, perhaps a judicious sense of rivalry with other localities could also be generated through games, friendly matches, debates, raising of scholarships to send children or residents for special or higher education, and so on. Anything that can give a distinctness to a community should be fostered. But never a sense of jarring competition!

If the possibilities are adequately exploited, residents' associations could well be a social institution of some significance in Singapore. Already we have had examples of residents' associations organising for security in precincts, or to protest against an increase in property tax, to help the consumers' movement, to arrange events for the children of residents, and so on. What is needed is a sustained life of such associations.

Allied with close living is the problem of recreation, in our society there is a grave and necessary emphasis on work orientation. There has not been, in my view, adequate realisation of the importance also of leisure. Ours has been to a fair extent a Spartan emphasis. It is useful to note that as long as the Spartans were geared for strife they flourished, but as soon as they experienced prosperity they began to degenerate. I think it was Aristotle who said that the Spartans were secure as long as they were at war. But they collapsed when they acquired an empire. Sebastian de Grazia, author of a, I think, definitive work on leisure, has stated that a citizenry unprepared for leisure will degenerate in prosperous times.

Defining leisure very simply (I hope this is not an over-simplification), I would equate leisure with the time for healthy recreation. I think the need for recreation is basic to man's nature inasmuch as he needs to relax from the effort and tension of work and thus preserve a physical, psychological and spiritual harmony. There are certain aspects of compulsion in our work situation. Recreational activities and interests are chosen freely and thus they meet more fully people's needs and predispositions. Work is not always compatible with temperament and the hidden cravings of the worker. Recreation as a safety valve is thus essential.

Equally important is the fact that recreation provides all sorts of opportunities for our people to come together in the social and integrative atmosphere of recreational activities. When people are living in close proximity, their collective instincts seek expression. A desire for association is enhanced. Recreational opportunities are therefore, in such circumstances, not merely desirable but essential.

Another argument for greater urgency to be given to the provision of recreational facilities is that cultural interaction, tolerance and broadmindedness all result from the influences that people exert on one another. I have heard of plans to organise recreation on a constituency basis. It is important that such plans are brought to early fruition. I am sure various Citizens' Consultative Committees, community centre organisation's and associations of residents and house-owners in Housing and Development Board estates could be got to co-operate in such enterprises yielding yet another opportunity for collaboration.

But what we must have are more areas set aside for recreation - for basketball courts, badminton halls, swimming pools and the like. 1 think we should look a little more closely at our current provision of golf courses to see if this is an economic use of land for recreational facilities.

Coming back to the provision of possibly more optimally used facilities, and with specific reference to my own constituency. I wonder if the space enclosed by the bend of Mountbatten Road opposite Fort Road may be looked into as a venue for recreation for the people living in the crowded Tanjong Rhu Housing Estate. When I think of the swimming pools in Queenstown, the badminton hall in Mountbatten and other amenities in other constituencies, I feel extremely envious and I feel impelled also to make representation for added facilities for those in my constituency who need these provisions. At the same time, I would hope that the pedestrian bridge that I have asked to be erected in the vicinity of the Tun Sri Lanang School be erected with greater expedition than seems to be demonstrated at present. Other less crowded vicinities have had this facility. I wonder why there should be a delay in the provision of this facility in this instance. This bridge is necessary also in order to get people across to recreational facilities which 1 hope may be provided soon.

Yet another sphere in the organisation of the life of our community, important to its integration, is the sphere of adult education. When people attend adult education classes, they are united in their purpose of improving their life's situation. They experience an encounter with different views. They acquire a deeper respect for democratic exchange. They become more disposed to resort to rationality; yet they imbibe a pro-founder cultural awareness

More emphasis must be given to adult education, especially through our community centre organisation. Of course, the atmosphere in the adult education situations that the community centre may provide will be less formal than a classroom situation, but the provision will be valuable all the same. I suggest that regular programmes of community education talks be scheduled at community centres. I have myself helped to get speakers (in Hokkien and Mandarin and a coming one' in Malay) for talks at one community centre. I think these talks have resulted in a worthwhile social and educational experience for those who attended them, including the speakers. The situation that prevails, so far as I have noticed up to the present, is quite unlike that in a classroom, where these talks are concerned. For one thing, the mothers have brought their children along. For another, other- children have come along, for the fun of it.

The speakers have to be provided with microphones and loudspeakers, and have to be the best available for the topics concerned. We must expose the community to experts. Those who are academically disposed are given a chance to come to grips with Singapore at grass-roots level. I do not think it beyond the ingenuity of the People's Association to get speakers for its community centres, if this idea of community education strikes it as worthwhile pursuing. One thing about such talks as 1 have described, they do not possess a "campaign" atmosphere. They are not a vehicle for propaganda. They are educational.

In connection with these talks and in view of the growing necessity to get our people to understand better the operations of our bureaucracy, I suggest getting the co-operation of senior civil servants for occasional talks at community centres, in the situations I have described, on the work, policy and aims of various departments.

Another possible use of adult education for community development is the organisation of TV viewing groups. This would, of course, depend on TV Singapore being able to provide programmes that would lend themselves appropriately for discussion. At the community centre level, a group is organised to watch the programme and to discuss the programme topic further, or even the programme itself if it happens to be, for example, a dramatic presentation.

Yet another area in which a sense of a united people is generated is in the area of national service. Not only does the establishment of our defence credibility ensure internal security and offer a force that will co-operate readily with others to ensure stability in our region, but national service also gives opportunity for our people to be trained together, to work together, to eat together, and to live together. In this way, our young people who are called up learn to rub off, the rough edges of their ethnic or cultural affiliation and adjust themselves smoothly to the ways and behaviour of others. I agree with what has been stated in the addendum to the Presidential speech related to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that a prerequisites for our survival as a distinctive people is national cohesiveness, and this cohesiveness is certainly developing in national service and finds national service a most appropriate arena to develop in.

Finally, Mr Speaker, Sir, I come to that humble area of community service in which the parliamentary backbencher operates. This very address which we are debating and the various addenda contain an indication of how backbenchers. while conscious of their obligations to the Government, have adequately represented their constituents and the people generally. Higher rates of compensation to tenants and squatters, rural electrification, anti-pollution measures, incentives for quality control, recommendation for better bonuses for workers, industrial health and safety, amendments to the Workmen's Compensation Act, emphasis on language teaching, plans to strengthen the existing system of social welfare services- all these measures have at one time or another been agitated for by backbenchers who have thus contrived their own balance to the cohesive development of our community.

I associate myself with my other colleagues in thanking the President for his speech to Parliament.

4.00 p.m.

Mr Ho Kah Leong (Jurong): (In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, in the last few days Backbenchers and certain Members sitting opposite have spoken at length on the policy speech delivered on the 21st of last month in this House. The debate has been lively and thought-provoking. Although the Members in this House all belong to the same party, however, we, the Backbenchers, are not forgetting our role as such. We have been able to make certain frank and constructive criticism of the implementation of policies and of certain aspects of the policies. As the Member for Katong has just said, many of the original views of Backbenchers have been incorporated in the policy speech. This shows that our Government is able to accept and follow the views of Members of Parliament, namely, those of the people. Our Government is elected by the people and its policy has to be based on the wishes of the people. This goes without saying.

The policy speech has inspired and enlightened us and has given us a lot of food for thought. It has filled us with confidence for the future of our country, which is the most important aspect of it. It is gratifying to note that after six years of independence we have been able to make progress on all fronts. However, we must avoid a sense of complacency permeating our society. We are just at the initial stage of nation-building. Although we have been able to surmount many difficulties and problems, the tasks ahead and the problems facing us are still enormous and thorny. They await our resolute solution, especially so when we are living in this region of super-power politics. As a small island-state, we should he cautious and prudent in our policy and in our actions in order to ensure our survival. Hence, national interest should take priority over everything else. Any force threatening our survival, whether from inside or outside, should be countered vigorously by all our people in unison.

Sir, one of the inadequacies of our natural resources is the limited land we have. This cannot be overcome in a short time. Although our reclamation schemes are being carried out day and night, they take years to complete. In order to keep on progressing and developing, we have to acquire more land to development. On these lands, properties and the means of livelihood, etc, will have to be resettled elsewhere. It is gratifying to note that the Government could appreciate the difficulties and hardships of the people affected by resettlement. Recently, the Government has announced that higher rates of compensation will be awarded to those affected by resettlement. As there will be financial losses and inconvenience resulting from resettlement, those who are carrying out the resettlement scheme should, where possible, see that the settlers should not suffer any unnecessary hardship. They should be helped to tide over their difficulties in the transitional period to resume their livelihood. They should abide by these principles of the Government.

Although in the last ten years the resettlement scheme has been smoothly carried out, the Resettlement Department, which can boast of its efficiency, has assumed a very burdensome and onerous task because of rapid development. This seems to be difficult for the department to cope with, thus affecting the settlers adversely. For example, in Jurong, when a certain area is earmarked for development, the farmers in that area would like to move out to a new place quickly, because if the period of waiting is long, they would not be able to carry out their normal activities, thus resulting in a reduction in their income, Also, because of reclamation work around the area, some of the roads are blocked out causing difficulties in traffic. Because of the fleet of lorries conveying earth from one place to another, even the wells from where the farmers get their drinking water are polluted. However, these are not the worst of their problems. The most distressing problem which is causing the deepest anxiety among them is that the ditches and drains are silted and choked, causing floods whenever there is a heavy downpour. Their chicken-pens and pigsties and even their dwellings would then be soaked in water, and their crops destroyed. The losses could be quite considerable. I have been to such areas and I personally have seen that the ditches and the drains have been silted and choked to such an extent that dredging them is impossible. The only\ solution to their problems is to help these farmers resettle in a resettlement area as quickly as possible.

Sir, a few months ago, when making an adjournment speech in this House. I touched on certain problems relating to resettlement. However, these problems have not been entirely solved up to now. The authorities have not been able to give speedy and adequate compensation once and for all to the ground squatters in new resettlement areas. This has given rise to disputes and confusion between the ground squatters and the new settlers and has thus slowed down the resettlement scheme.

According to my understanding, the Resettlement Department is very shorthanded. Unless it can recruit enough personnel, it would not be able to cope with our rapid development. I hope the Minister will take note of this.

Yesterday, the Member for Jalan Kayu said that the Government should pay attention to the rehabilitation and welfare of resettled people. At the very least, they should be provided with such social amenities and services as they used to get before they were resettled. I fully agree with what the Member said. However, what puts me in a daze most is that whenever the authorities intend to carry out certain resettlement schemes, no provision is given to the building of schools as part of the resettlement blue-print. Thus the farmers who are affected by resettlement are worried by the prospect that their children would not be able to get places in the schools. Sir, I think there is no need for me to stress the importance of education here. To the poor farmers in particular, it is very important that their children should get a good education. This is a means to improve their economic position whereby they can bridge the gap between the haves and the have-nots. It is regrettable to say that no provision or consideration is given by the authorities concerned for the building of schools in resettlement areas. For example, in my constituency, Loke Yang School was asked to make way for development. After so many appeals, the school could only get about $30,000 as compensation and a piece of land in the Lim Chu Kang resettlement area from the authorities. That is the end of it. The farmers are expected to build the school by themselves. Although many farmers are very keen on donating to the building of a school, however, as settlers, they are not economically strong enough, though their hearts are willing. Even with the donations they get added to the compensation given by the Government, they still would not be able to build a standard-type school. If a substandard school is built, with lack of equipment and facilities, how are they going to raise the standard of education of the pupils? In the addendum to the President's speech, mention is made of the raising of the quality of education. How are we going to achieve this? I hope the Minister will remember that the Government labels itself as a socialistic government. When the farmers have been resettled elsewhere, the educational needs of their children should be well looked after. I hope the Minister will personally take the initiative to see to it that in the resettlement areas, enough schools are built, for which he will be amply thanked by the resettled people.

Sir, talking about building schools, let me deal with certain questions of education. From the policy speech, we know that there will be a greater flexibility in the field of education so that every child will be given an opportunity to learn two languages. Thus, in the coming years, our publicised multilingual system with four official languages will be given a true meaning and will have a bright future. Sir, in the past, the problem of bilingualism centred on the time available for the teaching of the languages. However, the number of subjects remains the same. Although we are now stressing the importance of learning a second language, the total time available for teaching is the same. We have rigid lesson plans which cannot be changed. We know that certain subjects, whether in primary schools, secondary schools or pre-university classes, are repetitious in nature. No doubt the subject contents have been progressively graded. However, I think it is not necessary to go deeper into these subjects repetitiously, and we should not spend so much time on the same subjects. I hope in the new curricula for the primary schools, the Ministry will give recognition to this. We realise that we have educational experts engaged in research into the new curricula, and the success or failure of [his reform will affect both our present and future generations and our national future. So 1 hope the Government will invite educationists from the various educational bodies in the communities to participate In more of such research and to give their views. I agree that more time should be spent on the teaching of second languages in the primary schools. Bilingual education should commence when children are in the primary schools. No doubt, this will be at the expense of certain other subjects. But these subjects could be taught later on to allow more time for teaching second languages. However, the curriculum should be properly planned and balanced by our experts. Otherwise, our pupils will acquire only a superficial knowledge of languages, lacking in certain important information. This will not help meet our social requirements. More flexible subjects such as physical education, the fine arts, handicraft and music might he taught in the second language to provide more scope for our pupils to practise their second languages. This will help raise their proficiency in the second language. However, when implementing this policy, the Ministry of Education should not be too hasty. It must ensure that the status and position of teachers are not affected and changed. The characteristics and traditions of the various language-stream schools should be preserved. It is important to have more language periods. On the other hand, we must also ensure that essential information, necessary for children growing up, is imparted to them. One good feature about Chinese education is that character training and ethics are taught right from the beginning in the primary schools. This feature is worth preserving.

Mr Speaker, Sir, education is a long-term process. The effectiveness of our education policy will largely affect the future of our nation. We should therefore be cautious in implementing any new policy. We should not be too hasty if we want to get good results. Experiments and pilot schemes should be carried out to test whether the new theory is workable before implementation. Thus it would involve many facets of education. Whether or not our education policy will be successful mainly depends on the Teachers' Training College's efforts in producing efficient teachers. There is a saying that if you want to do a thing well, you must sharpen the tool first. The effectiveness of the T.T.C, will have very far-reaching effects on whether our education policy will he successful or not. I believe that in our educational reforms, the T.1'.C, should play a more effective and important role. In fact, it should become a centre for theoretical studies and research. The findings of the centre could then be implemented by the Ministry of Education with full participation by all the schools. In this way, the effects of educational reforms will be more beneficial.

Judging from the enrolment of Primary T pupils in the last few days we can see that it is a very good sign. This shows that parents are deeply concerned about their children's future. They were pre, pared to queue up day and night am! even went without food in order to get a place for their children. This deserve our commendation. On the other hand, we have to ask ourselves this question: why should parents queue up to get places for their children? This is not desirable. If foreign tourists were to pass by these schools, they would be under the impression that there was an influx of refugees from other countries. What is more serious is that certain unscrupulous characters exploited the situation by occupying some places in the queue and selling them at exorbitant prices to waiting parents. I feel the Ministry of Education should not shirk its responsibility any more. It should make an overall review of the registration system for Primary I classes to stop similar occurrences.

Sir, I associate myself with the Member for Ulu Pandan in thanking the President for his speech to this House.

4.20 p.m.

Mr Cheong Yuen Chee (Toa Payoh): I rise to speak in support of the motion of thanks to the President's speech to this Parliament. The first point which I wish to comment upon represents one aspect of the rapid rate of development of the building industry in Singapore. We are all proud of the fact that the success of the Housing and Development Board can be clearly seen in the towering blocks of flats which, in some cases, stand on formerly swampy ground or wasteland. Statistical evidence of such success is to be found in the fact that approximately one-third of the population of Singapore is accommodated in the various housing units put up by the Housing and Development Board. It is also a matter of congratulation that, with the policy of the Singapore Government to allow C.P.F, contributions to be used for the purchase of Housing Board flats, a substantial portion of residents in such flats are owner-occupier. The desirability of residing in or owning a Housing Board flat is one thing, but the ability to do so is another thing. Such is the demand for Housing Board flats that the procedure governing the allocation of such fiats has to be strictly adhered to, in order to ensure fair play for everyone concerned, not least the applicants themselves.

It is a well-known fact that only persons who are victims of a fire or any other natural catastrophe, or persons who are affected by urban renewal schemes involving the Housing and Development Board or the Government, may be given priority in the allocation of these flats. In all other cases, the applicants have to take their turn in accordance with the order of registration. There is, however, a substantial group of persons who are not fortunate enough to be classified as fire victims, or persons displaced by the Government's urban renewal scheme, but who are in the same and equally desperate position in respect of housing as that of other persons. I refer to those persons who have been staying, in some cases, for two or three decades in areas which are now acquired by private developers with the intention of putting up blocks of luxury flats or shopping complexes. It is true that some private developers pay out fairly liberal sums of monetary compensation to those persons who have been served with quit notices. There are developers who pay only a token sum in order to obtain early possession of the site. I have been approached by a number of such persons who seek my assistance in obtaining Housing Board flats. It appears that by far the greater majority of such persons prefer to utilise the monetary compensation to purchase Housing Board flats. Such persons are confused and puzzled by the predicament in which they have found themselves through no initiative of their own. The alternative housing which they can afford, and for which there is a long waiting queue, seems to be the monopoly of the Housing and Development Board. On the other hand, their homes have been demolished by the private developers to make way for luxury blocks of flats or shopping complexes which are beyond their means, even with the monetary compensation provided by the private developers.

I urge the authorities to do something for these unfortunate people. Granted that a certain amount of suffering and inconvenience cannot be avoided in the process of economic development, but it is also equally true that it is the policy of our Government to minimise such suffering and inconvenience as far as is practicable. This is evidenced by the recent decision of the Government to increase the rate of compensation paid to persons affected by resettlement. In the present case, perhaps some arrangements can be made between the Government and private developers to provide persons rendered homeless as a result of private development with alternative housing, whether put up by the Housing and Development Board or otherwise, which is within their means.

Mr Speaker, Sir, on the question of labour, I wish to support the sentiments expressed by the Member for Bukit Ho Swee. An early review of the wage restraint imposed on labour should be considered. It is heartening to note that the Government is conscious of the fact that labour has, in no small way, contributed to the rapid economic growth of Singapore. Unfortunately, there are still some employers who prefer, for some reason or other, to ignore this. The payment of additional bonus is one example. Although there are indications that they have made substantial profits, these employers are not prepared to consider any additional payment of bonus to their employees. The quantum of bonus negotiable is restricted to one month's salary. Any payment in excess of this amount is governed by the provisions of the Employment Act. Therefore, the unions are not in a position to make any further claims on the employers even though they are quite certain that such employers have made substantial profits. In this respect, I would urge the Government to consider providing some avenues for the unions to bring up such cases for determination.

Mr Speaker, Sir, with the accelerated rate of withdrawal by the British Armed Forces, thousands of our citizens will be left without jobs. From experience, we find that not all of these workers can be re-trained for alternative technical jobs. Because of age and educational qualifications, it is also difficult for them to find alternative employment in the private sector. I would ask the Government to consider whether these workers can be absorbed in Government departments, the Car Park Division, the Postal or Hawkers' Department, or as lift attendants in public or private buildings. It is a common sight to see many of our able-bodied young men and women working in the Car Parks Division and as lift attendants in public or private buildings. Surely these youths can be discouraged from taking up such employment and be encouraged to work in the industries where their youth and energy can be better utilised.

Mr Speaker, Sir, in the addendum to the President's speech, it is mentioned that there are plans to restructure the existing w e if a r e institutions and that new facilities will be provided. Here, I would like to seek f u r t h e r clarification f r o m the Government whether such plans include the extension of these facilities, such as homes for the aged and infirm, to our non-destitute senior citizens. There are in Singapore a number of such senior citizens who could not be admitted to the existing institutions because they do not meet the qualifications imposed by these institutions. Due to family considerations and other problems, many of these people cannot be taken care of by their children or relatives. Members of their families are prepared to pay for the services provided if such facilities are made available.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I hope the Government will look into the problems raised.

4.28p.m.

Mr Ch'ng Jit Koon (Tiong Bahru): (In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, the second session of the Second Parliament was solemnly opened by the President of Singapore on the 21st of last month. That was the first time President Sheares performed the opening ceremony of Parliament, which represents the two million people of Singapore. On this occasion, he addressed Parliament on the policy of the Government for the coming session. We thank him for his speech and the policy directives for the Parliament to follow.

We have been independent for six years. During this period, we have weathered many a storm and pulled through many difficult situations in this turbulent corner of South-east Asia. The capable leadership of the Government, together with the concerted effort' and co-operation of the people, has enabled us to steer successfully through these six eventful years. Thus we are now able to march confidently into the l970s and to meet the new challenges facing us.

The President in his speech has also commended the Housing and Development Board for its achievements. It has a target plan to build 100,000 units, at the rate of one flat every 26 minutes for the period 1971 to 1975, thus solving the housing problem of our people.

4.30 p.m.

Mr Speaker: Order, order. The time for adjournment pursuant to the resolution has arrived. Debate to be resumed on what day?

Mr Barker: Tomorrow, Sir.