NATIONAL STATISTICAL COMMISSION OF SINGAPORE BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

5.49 p.m.

The Minister for Finance (Mr Hon Sui Sen): Mr Govindasamy. Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

The National Statistical Commission of Singapore Bill, 1971, seeks to establish the National Statistical Commission of Singapore which will be charged with the responsibilities of co-ordinating and promoting statistical activities in the public sector, developing statistical archives and giving expert advice on all matters relating to statistical compilation and utilisation.

Members will recall that a Commission of Inquiry on Statistical Activities in Singapore was appointed on 23rd May, 1968, to review and recommend improvements to the existing Government machinery for the collection and compilation of statistics. The Commission of Inquiry submitted its Report in July 1969 and recommended, among other things, the development of a decentralised statistical system under which a research and statistics section will be set up in each of the four Ministries of Labour, Health, Education and National Development.

The implementation of this decentralised system will enable the Ministries to develop their own special statistics and the Department of Statistics to concentrate more on national statistics, especially population, births and deaths, external trade, balance of payments and national income. It is recognised, however, that within this decentralised statistical system there needs to be a central agency to co-ordinate and promote the statistical activities of the Department of Statistics, the research and statistics sections, and the statistical wings of other Ministries. It is also logical, and indeed essential, that this co-ordination and promotional work should be extended to cover the statistical activities of the various statutory bodies. This central agency will also act as the channel through which all statistical inquiries between overseas agencies and the Republic will be processed. Furthermore, the central agency is expected to provide expert advice on the collection, publication and utilisation of statistics generated by all these statistical wings in the Government and statutory bodies, especially to those not provided with statistical staff and facilities. Apart from building up a central statistical archive-cum-library, the central agency will be responsible for co-ordinating the in-service training of statistical personnel in Government and statutory bodies at primary, intermediate and tertiary levels in order to infuse a greater sense of professionalism in their work. It is therefore proposed to set up the National Statistical Commission of Singapore which will be assigned the responsibility of carrying out the aforementioned functions, as recommended by the Statistics Commission of Inquiry.

The Commission will consider any matter referred to it by any Government department, statutory body or private organisation if the matter is related to its terms of reference, and it will consider and report to the Minister on any matter within its terms of reference. Additionally, the Commission will, on its own initiative or if directed generally or specifically by the Minister, conduct such studies and inquiries as may be necessary in respect of any matter related to the advancement of statistics and the statistical system of the Republic. The Commission may form ad hoc or permanent expert committees or working groups to consider specific fields of interest relating to statistics.

The setting up of the National Statistical Commission of Singapore will go a long way towards raising the level and volume of statistical work in the Republic so that the necessary up-to-date, reliable and comprehensive statistical intelligence is made available for proper evaluation of the economy and for economic and social planning on a sounder basis.

The Commission will consist of a Chairman, a Deputy Chairman, and five other members, all of whom shall be appointed by the Minister. Members of the Commission will comprise representatives from Government departments, statutory authorities, institutions of higher learning, and private and commercial organisations which have a vested interest in or are professionally involved in the fields of statistics, research and associated activities. The Commission will be serviced by a small secretariat staff.

To enable it to function effectively, the Commission will be given mandatory powers for ensuring that Government departments and statutory bodies comply with its recommendations while the final appellate authority will remain with the Minister.

The expenses of the Commission will be met from Government grants and its budget will be subject to the approval of the Minister. A fund will be established into which all monies of the Commission shall be paid.

It is desirable to establish the National Statistical Commission of Singapore as soon as possible so that the Commission can commence to perform its important functions.

Question proposed.

5.58 p.m.

Dr Augustine H. H. Tan: Mr Govindasamy, Sir, I rise to welcome the introduction of this Bill. It marks another milestone in the development of our Republic. We have reached the level where the need for quality in many areas of organisation and expertise is increasingly felt.

The National Statistical Commission will, hopefully, not only avoid duplication of statistical work by various Government Ministries and bodies but also raise standards in the use of statistical techniques. Plans and policies can be formulated correctly only if the empirical data is statistically sound. I hope the Commission will also provide periodic barometers of the health of our economy and of our society. I look forward also to the stage where the Commission can utilise the research manpower resources available at our institutions of higher learning for long-range in-depth studies relevant to policy making in our Republic.

The academic researcher in Singapore has long been greatly hindered by the lack of statistical sources. The stamp of the word "Confidential" on our files excludes him from access to the needed data. The consequence has been a serious misallocation of high-calibre brain power for, with limited access to needed data material, the academic researcher must turn to subjects more theoretical and more abstract. He is then guided more by the standards and the demands of international specialisation necessarily very abstract and remote from relevance to the economic and social needs of Singapore. So we get the perverse situation where policy making relies upon the slender research resources within Government, while our academic brains are exercised in an ivory tower not entirely of their own making.

I hope, therefore, that the National Statistical Commission will be able to channel our research manpower resources to more relevant uses. The researcher can be given access to confidential material with the understanding that only aggregated data may ultimately be presented.

Mr Govindasamy, Sir, I give my full support to this Bill.

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. - [Mr Hon Sui Sen].

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