ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE FOR FINANCIAL YEAR 1ST APRIL, 1972, TO 31ST MARCH,

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Order read for resumed consideration in Committee of Supply [2nd Allotted Day].

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

2.31p.m.

Head 0701 -

Mr N. Govindasamy (Telok Blangah): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move,

That the sum to be allocated for Head 0701 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1001*.(* The same amendment also stood in the names of Messrs Yeo Choo Kok, Ho See Beng and Seah Mui Kok.)

Sir, in the last Budget session, I spoke on staff shortage in the Telecommunications Department of the Ministry of Communications. Let me quote what I said on the 19th March last year [Hansard, Vol. 30, No. 13, col. 889]:

`... we have a very serious shortage of staff in the Telecommunications Department. The employees in the operational side of the department work day in and day out without obtaining any time off for rest days and public holidays.'

Sir, last year, the International Telegraph Section of the Telecommunications Department alone owed the staff for the period June 1969 to January 1971 a total of 30,000 hours for working on rest days and public holidays. The Department owed the messengers 11,500 hours, clerical assistants 5,600 hours, and counter clerks 1,500 hours. I also mentioned then, Sir, the fact that messengers were put on duty without a single day of rest for several weeks at a stretch. They worked for half a year without any rest days or public holidays. I also mentioned the fact that there should not be any problem at all in recruiting clerical assistants, counter clerks and messengers because they are not highly skilled persons.

Let me now quote to you, Sir, what the Minister told this House then, and I quote from the same Hansard, col. 892:

`I am very pleased to say that for the first time the department is well ahead on recruitment. The Public Service Commission has just completed an exercise to recruit over 250 Telecommunications clerical assistants and technicians. This will wipe out the present vacancy position as well as fill the 159 new posts now coming up for approval before the House. The department should be able to have a full complement of staff by May this year.'

That was the reply last year. And he continued:

`A crash training programme is being arranged which will enable the new staff to be trained and put into operating position some time in August. It is anticipated that the long overdue time off can be granted thereafter.

It is likely that 24 vacancies in the vote for telegraph messengers will be filled by June, by which period time off for messengers can be granted thereafter.'

Sir, I will relate also what actually is the position today. It is strange, but true, that although the Minister for Communications assured me on 19th March last year that the loyal and dedicated staff of the Telecommunications Department would not again be faced with an enormous accumulation of time off, for this year, i.e., from March 1971 to February 1972, the figure stands at 45,000 hours owing to the staff in the department. Sir, the workers in the department cannot be treated as cogs in the wheels of the department. They should be given justice. It would seem odd indeed that such a situation exists in the Telecommunications Department since, as the Minister intimated last year, the Public Service Commission had just completed an exercise to recruit over 250 Telecoms clerical assistants and technicians and that the 24 vacancies for telegraph messengers would be filled by June. Sir, what has actually gone wrong? Was the recruitment done? Were the people recruited at all? My firm suspicion is it has broken down. Let us hope not. The department is expanding with greater demands for higher technological Telecommunications. Rapid advancement has been achieved with the installation of the satellite earth station and the expansion of the telex service. But to keep pace with this rapid development in the department, staffing should also be increased commensurate with the development. Sir, progress, cannot be achieved without adequate, contented, and well-rested staff. May I suggest that the Minister radically revises the present situation existing in the Telecommunications Department to ensure that the defects are remedied without prejudice to any better provision which may exist or may be negotiated by the N.T.U.C.

Sir, now that the Telecommunications Department is to be made the Telecommunication Authority of Singapore from 1st April this year, will this improve the situation at all? I have my doubts. Another statutory board, the Public Utilities Board, has similar problems of overtime and staffing. Do I have to come back again next year and make the same plea on behalf of the workers of the Telecommunication Authority of Singapore?

An hon. Member: Will you be here next year?

Mr N. Govindasamy: I will be here next year!

The Minister for Communications (Mr Yong Nyuk Lin): Mr Speaker, Sir, it does appear to be a repeat performance on the part of the Member for Telok Blangah in respect of the Telecommunications Department. He has asked whether anything has gone wrong with the Telecommunications Department. The answer is: nothing has gone wrong. It is only that the growth of traffic has been more than normal. Because of the very rapid expansion and demands from the commercial public, the Telecommunications Department could only meet this abnormal demand by involving the staff in overtime.

He has quoted passages from Hansard in respect of the previous year's Budget. Vacancies then were being filled. The Public Service Commission did interview the candidates concerned, and it is normal for applicants to be interviewed around February-March when the results of the Secondary IV examinations are known. I think that is normal procedure. So once again in February-March this year there would be another recruitment of staff to fill any vacancies. But may I, in reply, provide some figures too, for the benefit of the hon. Member? At the beginning of the last financial year, there were 166 vacancies for operational staff and 57 vacancies for technicians, which represent a vacancy percentage of about 20 per cent and 16 per cent respectively. It is very high, and I think it is unfair to the workers on the establishment having to work overtime to fill this gap. 174 operational staff and 51 technicians were recruited during the year. That would have virtually filled all the vacancies, but unfortunately with recruitment there were also resignations or retirements. There was a staff reduction of this nature by as many as 67 operational staff and 25 technicians (the word "wastage" was being used), leaving us with 59 vacancies - 4 operational staff and 31 technicians - waiting to be filled. This represents a reduced rate of vacancy percentage at only seven per cent and nine per cent respectively. I think if we compare with the previous `year's rate of vacancy percentage of 20 per cent and 16 per cent, we can say that there has been an improvement in the situation. However, selection of candidates to fill these remaining vacancies has just been completed, and it is envisaged that most, if not all, of the vacancies for operational staff and technicians, will be filled shortly.

The Member has partly answered his own query when he touched on the establishment of the Telecommunication Authority of Singapore in 10 days time. The Telecommunications Department which is now part of a Government Ministry will be converted into a statutory organisation, and one of the reasons why we are converting it is to give it more flexibility in the recruitment and employment of staff. It may not be necessary, for example, to recruit staff annually. The new Authority will be in a position to recruit staff as and when it, is necessary and to decide on the salary scales, bearing in mind the Government salary structure and terms and conditions of service. As a statutory organisation, it will certainly be able to move much more quickly in dealing with overtime problems like we have now.

With regard to overtime, may I say that the position is not as bad as that stated by the Member, who quoted the figure of thousands of hours of overtime due. Time-off, which was earned and accumulated up to 31st December, 1970, has been converted to leave, and such leave was commuted to overtime pay at normal rates of salary. So money has been paid for overtime which has been accumulated prior to that date. But from 1971 onwards, the accumulation began to build up once again and this will have to be adjusted at some future date. However, I can assure the Member for Telok Blangah that it will not be necessary for him to repeat a third performance at the next Budget.

2.45 p.m.

The Chairman: Mr Yeo Choo Kok.

Mr Yeo Choo Kok (Delta): I am not speaking. Sir.

Mr Ho See Beng (Bras Basah): I am not speaking, Sir.

The Chairman: Mr Seah Mui Kok is not here. Mr Govindasamy.

Mr N. Govindasamy: Sir, on the assurance of the Minister that the Telecommunication Authority will do better than the Telecommunications Department, I beg leave to withdraw.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

The sum of $421,700 for Head 0701 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

Head 0703 -

Mr Teong Eng Siong (Sembawang): (In Mandarin): Mr Speaker. Sir, I beg to move.

That the sum to be allocated for Head 0703 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1001*.(* The same amendment also stood in the name of Mr P. Govindaswamy.)

Sir, under this subhead, I would like to touch on two matters relating to the Paya Lebar Airport. I hope the Minister will pay special attention to them because of certain complaints I have received.

The first complaint is that the officers of the Immigration Department at the Paya Lebar Airport are not very efficient. The number of porters at the Airport is also too small. There is a need for more porters. Being an international airport, the traffic has been increasing every year. At present the number of passengers is nearly two million a year. This shows that more and more travellers are coming from abroad. Therefore, we must extend the highest standard of service to them in order to impress them, so that they will spread our good reputation abroad.

I understand that the Government has made provision for a few million dollars for the development of Paya Lebar Airport, which includes the extension of the runway and the building of a new hangar to accommodate the Boeing 747. This type of passenger air liner requires the redevelopment of the Passenger Terminal Building. In view of all this, we hope that our civil aviation services will reach international standards, which, I think, is the aim of the Government. We should maintain a reasonable standard of service. Therefore, all the staff at the Airport, including the staff of the Immigration Department, should provide an efficient service. They should be courteous to the tourists, so that those coming from abroad will have a better impression of Singapore.

However, Sir, I regret to say that recently I have received some complaints from members of the public to the effect that the staff at the Paya Lebar Airport were rather slow in rendering their services. For instance, air travellers have to take two or three minutes, and sometimes even up to five minutes, to be cleared at the Immigration counter. If there are 100 passengers arriving, how long will that take to clear? It may be that they are too busy.

I have also received complaints that some of the staff on duty used to crack jokes among themselves. They are thus wasting their time and prolonging the waiting time of the passengers. This is uncalled for, and I would like the Minister to look into this matter and take measures to remedy the situation.

There are also complaints about the shortage of porters. According to my information, there are only three porters to cope with more than 100 passengers. Obviously this number is not enough. If at times the porters are weak, the luggage will be thrown about because they cannot carry them. They are not able to cope with so many passengers.

I have to bring all these complaints to the attention of the Minister because the number of tourists is increasing and our Government is spending a lot of money on civil aviation, particularly in the development of the airport. We should see to it that our civil servants there render a high international standard of service.

Mr P. Govindaswamy (Anson): Mr Speaker, Sir, there is only a limited staff at the tax-free store for passengers at the Transit section of the Paya Lebar Airport to cope with the present increased passenger load. Can the Airport authorities look into this matter to increase the staff of the store?

What measures have been introduced at the Airport to prevent the hijacking of aircraft, now that hijacking has become a popular sport for neurotics and political desperadoes? If there is any special device, is it used to check on all the passengers? Are there any measures for all passengers to go through a screening device?

What plans have been made for the use of Changi Airfield now that the British troops have withdrawn? Can the facilities available at Changi be considered for use in conjunction with Paya Lebar Airport, so that it forms an extension of the Airport services, particularly for chartered flights?

Mr Ng Kah Ting (Punggol): Mr Speaker, Sir, I would just like to comment on the Member for Sembawang's allegation with regard to the slowness of the Immigration counter officers at the Airport in clearing passengers. Perhaps, if he would care to go to the Arrival Lounge in the new Passenger Terminal- I believe it is upstairs - he would be able to see a few counters where several Immigration officials are at work. I once had an occasion to visit this Terminal Building, and saw quite a good number of passengers coming through the Lounge. Judging from the speed with which Immigration clearance was made, and this is based on personal experience, I think the Member is exaggerating when he says that it takes two to three minutes, or even five minutes, to clear each passenger. However, he is more or less correct in his remarks about the Customs and Excise counter, because over there the passengers upon arrival will have to declare themselves, and for this reason there may be a little delay. I hope my clarification will help the Minister for Communications.

Mr Yong Nyuk Lin: Mr Speaker, Sir, I am always grateful to Members sitting on the Opposite bench, answering on my behalf. It does help now and again to have your ball at the other man's foot.

May I now refer to the point raised by the Member for Sembawang regarding complaints against the Immigration Department. Strictly speaking, this is something not within my portfolio. Immigration Department comes under the Ministry of Home Affairs, and my colleague, who is the Minister, is having a good laugh behind me. It is quite likely that the complaints received by the Member were in respect of persons whom the Immigration Department were quite interested in and, therefore, probably a little longer time was taken before they could be cleared at the Arrival Hall. However, the Airport does provide adequate facilities for the Immigration Department.

In our view, ever since the completion of the short-term development of our Airport costing $10 million, the floor area in the Passenger Terminal Building has been doubled from over a hundred thousand square feet to 270,000 square feet. The clearance facilities for passengers in respect of Health, Customs and Immigration have, therefore, improved. For the information of the Member, there are six triangular counters corresponding to six channels at the Arrival Hall for Immigration authorities to process arriving passengers simultaneously. In addition, there are two other counters behind the main Immigration counter to be used for checking arriving passengers who have no documents or whose documents are improper. Probably these are the people who have been complaining to the Member. If they had the proper documents, it would have been very simple for them to gain entry into Singapore. In our view, these eight Immigration counters are adequate to cope with passenger arrivals even during the evening peak period.

As regards the complaint about baggage handling, which is under my portfolio and for which I am responsible, the problem has probably arisen because there is more than one organisation handling the baggage. It is our intention to have one Baggage Authority in the near future. Anyway, may I say that even at this moment, there are four different organisations handling the baggage. Firstly, the Malaysia-Singapore Airlines handles baggage of more than half of all the airlines that come into Singapore. There are, in all, 24 international airlines. M.S.A, handles at least one-half the number of airlines' bag-gages. The others are Pan-American, Garuda and, lastly, the Civil Aviation Department.

3.00 p.m.

The Civil Aviation Department handles seven airlines. Sir, if there is one authority, we do agree that it would be more efficient. We know exactly who is responsible. But when an aircraft comes in and four authorities have got to find out which one of them is responsible, inevitably some delay is involved. Whatever it is, after the $10 million short-term development of the Airport, we now have at the Arrival Hall five conveyor belts for the conveyance of baggage from the ramp to the baggage claim area. In our view, these five conveyors are adequate to cope with the demand at peak periods. The time taken for the baggage to be transported to the Arrival Hall at the Airport depends on the handling capacity of the airline or agent, which is responsible for it, and also the number of aircraft that lands at any one given time. If there were four landings within the space of half an hour, then of course there would be a big jam. It also depends on the location of the parking bays where the aircraft are ultimately parked. Anyway, may I say that normally baggage should be available for claiming in the baggage claim area within five minutes after the arrival of the aircraft which, I think, is a very good time. And this is the normal handling time undertaken by the Department of Civil Aviation for the seven airlines which it is in charge of.

Coming to the question raised by the Member for Anson, he understands that there is not enough staff for the tax-free store in the Transit lounge. This matter will be conveyed to the Department of Civil Aviation to see that the store does provide adequate staff. May I add, Sir, that the stores at our Airport are doing such good business and, believe it or not, the rental for a store is not less than $40,000 a month, or half a million dollars a year, because we have at least two million people -as many as the population of Singapore-using our Paya Lebar Airport. If the concessionaire is able to pay half a million dollars in rent for a store in the Airport, he will see to it that there are more than adequate staff to handle the business because more staff means more business, and ultimately more profits.

The Member also raised the problem of hijacking of aircraft. As you know, Mr Speaker, Sir, we have passed a Bill sometime ago to enable the Government to comply with the so-called Tokyo Convention, which takes strong measures against hijacking. I believe our staff in the Department of Civil Aviation is quite wide awake to this possibility and, together with the representatives of international airlines, they are taking all steps to ensure that maximum security is maintained. Sometimes it may bring about some delay to passengers leaving or arriving at our Airport. I hope that if Members get complaints in future, they will understand that it is not because we are a little sticky about security, but because we have to be a little longer on the ground rather than something to happen up in the air.

Lastly, the question whether or not Changi Airport can be used as an extension of Paya Lebar Airport for charter flights. Sir, there is a possibility that Changi Airport may be reverted to civilian use. It is now being reserved by the Ministry of Defence. They want it as a military airport. But there is no reason why Changi Airport may not be partly used for civil aircraft if air traffic continues to increase. May I say that, at the present moment, Paya Lebar Airport is not fully stretched. The present traffic is equivalent to about 40 per cent of what it can take. As and when it does come close to 80 or 90 per cent, then perhaps we can divert some of the chartered air flights from Paya Lebar to Changi Airport. But should it be necessary for Paya Lebar Airport to be closed, we do have arrangements whereby aircraft are advised to land at Changi Airport instead. So there is really no problem to use Changi Airport as an extension of Paya Lebar Airport, as and when the necessity arises.

Mr Teong Eng Siong: (In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, is it the opinion of the Minister for Communications that what I have said does not exist? In any case, if the Minister has the time, or his Parliamentary Secretary if he has no time, he should investigate into this complaint. If there is no truth, then it is all the better. But if there is some truth, then there must be some improvement to our services. It is my hope that our high standards will be maintained.

However, in view of the explanation given, I beg leave to withdraw.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

The following amendment stood in the name of Mr Hwang Soo Jin-

(2) That the sum to be allocated for Head 0703 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1009.

The Chairman: Amendment (2), Mr Hwang?

Mr Hwang Soo Jin (Jalan Kayu): I am not moving, Sir.

Mr Ng Yeow Chong (Mountbatten): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move,

That the sum to be allocated for Head 0703 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1371*.(* The same amendment also stood in the name of Mr Cheong Yuen Chee.)

Sir, if my understanding is correct, Simbang Aerodrome was taken over by the Government from the British Forces. My queries to the Minister are: (1) where is this aerodrome sited, and what does the Government propose to do for its future use? (2) if it is to be used for civil aviation, for which a sum is provided, what type of aircraft will be allowed to operate in this aerodrome? and (3) why are only fire-fighting services stationed in this aerodrome, instead of an administrative set-up? Will the Minister clarify, please?

Mr Yong Nyuk Lin: Sir, I would like to inform the Member for Mountbatten that Simbang Aerodrome is a military aerodrome situated in Sembawang, and was vacated by the British Armed Forces. That being so, it came under the control of the Ministry of Defence. However, at the request of the M.I.D., the Department of Civil Aviation is responsible for providing the fire-fighting services, both at Simbang Aerodrome and the missile base.

As regards the type of aircraft that will make use of Simbang Aerodrome, I assume that it will be military aircraft, and not civil aircraft. If more interest is shown, perhaps the Member can inquire from the Ministry of Defence officials.

Mr Ng Yeow Chong: Sir, in view of the explanation given by the Minister, I beg leave to withdraw.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

The following amendment stood in the name of Mr Ng Yeow Chong-

(4) That the sum to be allocated for Head 0703 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1391.

The Chairman: Amendment (4), Mr Ng Yeow Chong.

Mr Ng Yeow Chong: I am not moving, Sir.

The sum of 59,704.180 for Head 0703 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

Head 0704 -

Mr P. Govindaswamy: Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move,

That the sum to be allocated for Head 0704 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1001.

Sir, now that Singapore has built a satellite earth station in Sentosa, may I know if the Meteorological Services Department is keeping up with the latest in weather forecasting, if such facilities are available? If the Department says there will be no rain today, but it does rain, then they are incorrect. They should have more forecasting stations in order to give better information to the public.

Mr Yong Nyuk Lin: Mr Speaker, Sir, I think the comment made by the Member for Anson is that there is rain today but our Meteorological Department says there is no rain. This is not something unusual in Singapore. It happens in the best of cities. If you take a newspaper and the weather forecast says "No rain", it means, bring your umbrella!

He has, however, mentioned the fact that since the Telecommunications Department is reasonably up to-date with the satellite earth station, should not our Meteorological Department also keep pace with technological advances? Sir, I wish to assure him that our Meteorological Services Department is reasonably up to scratch with international requirements, because it falls on the Department to provide meteorological services for civil aviation as well as for shipping. And they have to conform to international standards stipulated by the World Meteorological Organisation as well as the International Civil Aviation Organisation, so that constant efforts are always being made by the Department to ensure strict observance of these international standards.

To cope with the new development in meteorology and to provide improved quality of service, the Department has, over the past three years, acquired a number of sophisticated meteorological instrumentation. This includes a ground satellite station to receive meteorological data from orbiting satellites, as distinct from the telecommunication satellite. There is also a 10-centimetre radar at Paya Lebar capable of detecting storms within 400 kilometres from Singapore. There are also two other weather radars of lesser range at Changi and Tengah Aerodromes, and a new wind-finding radar and telecommunication equipment for the prompt reception of computer-produced weather charts from overseas meteorological stations. The Department also supplied a large volume of climatologically information to commercial and scientific organisations and Government departments for their varied purposes such as factory siting, off-shore drilling operations, engineering construction and also air pollution studies.

3.15 p.m.

During the North-east monsoons, warnings of prolonged and heavy rainfall likely to cause flooding are broadcast over Radio and Television. Furthermore, a daily weather outlook forecast has been issued to the press for publication since 1970. The compact size of Singapore, the absence of distinct seasons - we have perpetual summer, we do not have the four seasons in Singapore - and the character of local tropical weather, all these factors necessarily impose a limitation on the accuracy of this daily forecast. So it could be "Fair weather this afternoon", but it rained before 12 o'clock. What could we do?

Mr P. Govindaswamy: In view of the explanation given by the Minister, I beg leave to withdraw.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

The sum of $1,535,660 for Head 0704 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

Head 0705 -

Mr Teong Eng Siong: (In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move,

That the sum to be allocated for Head 0705 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1001*.

(* The same amendment also stood in the name of Mr P. Govindaswamy)

The total vote for Postal Services this year amounts to more than $22 million, showing an increase of over $400,000 as compared to last year. This means that an increase of population and the development of commercial and trade services have caused an increase of mail in Singapore, thereby increasing the workload of the Postal Department. Undeniably, the Postal Services Department in Singapore has all along enjoyed a reputation of high standards, it provides very good service to the people of Singapore and is a source of our pride.

However, following the increase in population and of requirements and a shift in population, the degree of efficiency has been affected. As a result of this, I have received several complaints recently against delays in the delivery of domestic mail. It normally takes about two to three days to deliver a letter locally. This is quite true, because I have some personal experience. For example, a certain friend of mine rang me up one day and asked, "Have you received my invitation card?" I told him, "No". In reply, he said, "Strange! This invitation card was posted some three days ago." Sir, this is quite a frequent occurrence, and 1 believe that other Members of this House may have a similar experience.

Since there are signs of a lowering of standards of efficiency, we must try to find a remedy. This cannot be dismissed as a small matter and allowed to deteriorate. It will be a wrong attitude to adopt. What has caused the low standard of our Postal Services recently? Is it because of shortage of staff or poor allocation of duties? Or is it because of traffic congestion which causes delay to postal delivery? If it is a question of traffic congestion, it is within the portfolio of the same Minister. I would, therefore, ask the Minister to explain and to find ways and means to remedy this situation.

The next point I wish to raise is the matter of wrong delivery of mail. I have on several occasions received letters, or even Public Utilities Board bills, addressed to other people. So I have to perform the duty of a postman to return these mails and letters. I think this wrong delivery happened because the postmen are careless in their duty. 1 have come across postmen who are mostly young people. The Department concerned must urge these young postmen to be more careful in the delivery of letters, instead of sending Paul's letter to Peter. If it is an important letter that is wrongly delivered or a love letter sent to the wrong person, then it will create a lot of misunderstanding and difficulty on the part of the recipient. It may even cause the separation of a couple. I, therefore, hope that the Minister in charge will take immediate steps to remedy the situation and to reduce instances of wrong delivery of letters If this can be wiped out entirely, this will be all the better.

Mr P. Govindaswamy: Mr Speaker, Sir, before I raise the point of my amendment, I would like to touch on the criticisms of the Member for Sembawang regarding the delivery of letters by postmen. There is no doubt that I also have to draw the attention of the Minister for Communications to this matter.

The Minister had taken very serious measures for the reorganisation of the Postal Department. It is most probable that during the reorganisation, deliveries were delayed, or letters wrongly delivered. So because of reorganisation, I can accept the complaints. But today I do not think I can accept complaints of delayed delivery because some postmen are using motor cycles, which makes for fast delivery. Formerly you would get your letter at about 10 o'clock. But now when you get to your office at 8.30, you will get your letter at 9 o'clock. `this delivery service is going on very smoothly and efficiently. I must congratulate the Minister for Communications for taking such serious action to reorganise the Postal Department.

But I have to ask the Minister now about the use of the warehouse in Nelson Road as a sorting section. What action has he taken to alleviate the very poor conditions that the workers are experiencing? On a hot day the heat is so great that it is like an oven. Could the ventilation system be improved with, say, the provision of some fans and make openings in parts of the warehouse as windows? The workers' health is in danger all this time, and the conditions are made worse by a film of dust settling around the warehouse.

Around the Maxwell Road postmen's quarters, the common bathroom and lavatories are very filthy. I wonder whether the Postmaster-General will consider recruiting an attendant, as has been done previously, to maintain the toilets of these quarters. Sir, we are having campaigns against pollution and we are also talking about keeping Singapore clean. But yesterday when I went to the postmen's quarters, I saw that everything was very bad. The lavatory is very ugly, and in the bathroom some of the window panes are broken, and the chicks are worn out. At the backyard, nobody has been sweeping it, not like before when there was one attendant appointed to sweep the quarters. Even in the estates of the Housing and Development Board, there are people to sweep the flats. Why does the Postmaster-General not employ one man to sweep and clean the common lavatory and the common staircase? This is very bad for the postmen who are living there. If you go to the personal quarters, it is very clean and decent, but outside, just because it is common property and used by everybody, nobody wants to take the trouble to clean it. You must have one man to look after it. Therefore, I ask the Minister, without any previous notice, to please visit the Maxwell Road postmen's quarters, and to take the necessary remedial action on this matter.

Mr N. Govindasamy: Mr Speaker, Sir, having complained about the Telecommunications Department, I think I must stand up this time to compliment the Ministry on the vast improvement in the postal services. I am sorry that I cannot agree with the views of the Member for Sembawang.

Sir, if you will remember correctly, during the last Budget debate, I spoke on two aspects of postmen. One was the uniforms which were not only unattractive but also unsuitable for the climate of Singapore. You will notice that the postmen are now on a smart turnout. Let me take a little credit for that for having criticised the uniforms of postmen last year.

If you remember, Sir, I also mentioned the problem of providing postmen with faster vehicular transport. That also has been done. Now, I see postmen in rural areas, as the Member for Anson said, using scooters resulting in faster delivery. There has been vast improvement in the Ministry of Communications, if not in the Telecommunications Department, then in the Postal Department. Let us congratulate the Ministry on that.

Mr Yong Nyuk Lin: Mr Speaker, Sir, it looks as if it would not be necessary for me to answer the criticisms by Members. I would like to say that if there has been any improvement in the Postal Department, credit is due to the Backbenchers of Parliament because, arising out of their strong criticisms, action was followed up. Therefore, I would appreciate it if Members have constructive criticisms, could they please direct them not to the Member for Sembawang, but to pass them on to me, because there is a lot of work to be done.

The complaint of the Member for Sembawang that there are two or three days' delay in the delivery of local mail does not appear to be justified, because there are two other Members who feel that they are getting their letters earlier than usual. This may well be, because the Member for Sembawang is living in a rural area and the other two Members are living in an urban area where services are more efficient.

Mr Teong Eng Siong: (In Mandarin): Point of clarification, Sir. Even if a man lives in a rural area, he is entitled to an equally speedy service. Does it mean that those who live in the rural areas must accept a slower service?

Mr Yong Nyuk Lin: It will be an ideal situation if the Postal Department is able to give the same high standard of service in the rural areas as in the city area but, knowing the background and the history of so many complaints, surely the first priority is to satisfy the large city population and then work towards the rural areas. So I hope the explanation should satisfy the Member for Sembawang. After the reorganisation of the Department, with the assistance of the National Productivity Centre, it is possible for letters which are posted before 1.00 p.m, in the city area to be delivered the same afternoon. That, I think, is reasonably good service. On the whole, in the urban areas there are two deliveries of mail - one in the morning and one in the afternoon. For the outlying rural areas, we are at the moment gearing for just one delivery each weekday. Perhaps the time will come when, with more motor-cycles and motor-scooters, our postmen with their new smart uniform will be seen in the rural areas more often.

3.30 p.m.

As for wrong delivery of mail, this is possible in the best of circumstances. But it would be better if such complaints can be made known to us rather than to the Member for Sembawang. We cannot do very much unless the complainants give us specific information. It is no use saying, "I have received a letter which is not meant for me." But if they can give us more details - such as the address of the mis-delivered item, the date and approximate time it happened to enable us to know which particular postman was on the beat and to ask for an explanation then we can do something about it. But the postman may have a good explanation. It may be that the dogs in the rural areas are so fierce that he is unable to deliver the item, and therefore hands it over to the neighbour who has agreed to accept it. I mean, there may be good explanations.

I now come to the specific complaints from the Member for Anson. First, the Nelson Road Centre. I think he will agree with me that the movement of the Parcels and Mail Centre from the General Post Office basement at Fullerton Building to Nelson Road is an improvement, because it was quite unhealthy down at the basement. But it is to be admitted that, having moved over to Nelson Road, which was, in fact, a P.S.A, warehouse and not built for the purposes of a postal department and therefore not really a proper place for the Parcels and Mail Centre, conditions existing there are not as good as we would want them to be. The move was made in December last year, and so it is already three months since we have moved there. It is also admitted that unfortunately there were some inconveniences. However, renovation work is almost completed, and we hope that most of the initial problems would have been sorted out.

As a result of a report in January 1971 by the Occupational Health and Safety Committee of the N.T.U.C., the Ministry looked into the working conditions at the Nelson Road Centre and made certain recommendations which were immediately investigated into, and action has since been taken. For example, vacuum cleaners have been purchased and 14 large wall extractor fans have been installed to improve the ventilation. They are currently looking into the various types of floor varnishes to reduce the problem of dust accumulation on the floor. And we hope to continue keeping a watch on any further defects, so that improvements can be made as we go along.

As regards the Maxwell Road postal quarters, I am sorry to hear from the Member for Anson that he thinks that the place is quite filthy. As suggested by him. I shall make an unheralded visit to see conditions and to insist that the matter he put right as soon as possible.

Mr Teong Eng Siong: (In Mandarin): Mr Speaker. Sir, with regard to the delay and wrong delivery of mail, perhaps certain Members have not encountered such difficulties. I would like the Minister to look into this aspect of the postal services. I have said that on the whole our Postal Services are very good. However, because of the increase in population recently, there is bound to be a certain amount of delay and wrong delivery of mail. But I would still like the Minister to take steps to remedy these shortcomings.

I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Mr P. Govindaswamy: Sir, I beg to move,

That the sum to be allocated for Head 0705 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 2017.

Mr Speaker, Sir, regarding the postman's uniform, I am quite happy that all postmen are very satisfied with it. However. I would like to say a few words about it. Recently, new uniforms were supplied to the Postal Department. With the exception of the name tag on the postman's uniform, there is no indication to show the various grades of postal workers. Could some sort of distinguishing feature be introduced so that members of the public can straightaway identify a mail officer, inspector, postman, or ordinary postman? Further, the tailoring of these uniforms is of very poor standard, and it gets torn very easily.

Sir, I also understand that the postal driver, who at times performs the duties of the ordinary postman, is given only three suits of uniforms per year, whereas an ordinary postman gets five. I would, therefore, suggest that these drivers be also given five sets of uniforms, like any other ordinary postmen.

Mr Yong Nyuk Lin: I think I can answer the Member for Anson rather quickly. His two suggestions which he has put before the House this afternoon, i.e., (1) more gradations, other than name tags on uniforms, so that the public will be able to recognise the various grades of officials in the Postal Department, and (2) that drivers be issued with five issues of uniforms instead of three, will be given consideration.

Mr P. Govindaswamy: In view of the answer given by the Minister, I withdraw my amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Mr Ng Kah Ting: Mr Speaker, Sir,I beg to move,

That the sum to be allocated for Head 0705 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 3004.

Sir, I notice that there is a huge increase in the allocation for new issues of stamps, that is. from $140,000 for last year to $360,000 for this year. I believe there is an increasing interest in stamp collecting among our school children and adults. So these new issues would be welcome additions for all these budding philatelists and professional stamp collectors. What I wish to ask is the number of new issues of stamps to be made for this year. I would be grateful if the Minister for Communications would be kind enough to indicate the type and number of new issues of stamps with the various denominations, which the Postal Department will be introducing this year.

Sir, I would also like to point out to the Minister one aspect of these new stamp issues. In past years, when a new :issue of stamps is introduced, pamphlets about the new issues are distributed to those who ask for them at the Philatelic Bureau of the General Post Office. On some occasions the supplies are insufficient. e.g., sometime last year, there was a special commemorative issue of the Festivals series, and there were insufficient brochures to go round. These Festival stamps were quite big and colourful and there was a great demand for them. But when applications for brochures were made, the Bureau could not supply them, probably because of the large demand for them. Nevertheless. I hope the Minister will look into his matter as well.

Sir, as I pointed out just now, there seems to be a growing interest in stamp collecting. I am happy to say that in one of the community centres in Punggol, a small stamp collecting group of about 20 students and adults was set up sometime last year. This group held regular meetings and with the interest generated among them, it has now swelled to about 70. I think this is a good start, and I hope that with the advance information provided for by the Postal Services on the new issues, other groups interested in stamp collecting, from schools and other community centres, will he able to get the information they want on such new issues.

Mr Yong Nyuk Lin: Mr Speaker. Sir, I should like to inform the Member for Punggol that provision under subhead 3004 "Stamps - New Issues $360,000" for the coming financial year is really for expenditure on the production and issue of new definitive stamps, that is to say, new definitive stamps for normal sale to the public.

The present series was introduced in 1968-69. It consists of the Dance series, Mask series, and the Musical instruments series, ranging from one cent to $10. It is normal practice in postal administrations to change the definitive stamps every three to four years. So we intend to produce a new definitive series for 1972-73 with about 14 denominations, also ranging from one cent to $10. This new series is in the process of being designed and, when ready, will be issued. What the Member has in mind really was the commemorative issues which. I think, had generated considerable interest ever since the Stamp Advisory Committee was appointed in 1968.

3.45 p.m.

In the past there were only one or two sets of commemorative issues per 3ear. But since 1968 we have tried to make it a normal policy to issue about four or five sets of commemorative issues per year. We have also given our local artists an opportunity to design our stamps, which have created so great an impact that even the Punggol Constituency has a stamp club, as stated by the Member. For this year, we will have five sets of commemorative issues depicting designs based on coins, art, festival (we hope without any controversy), youth and shipping.

As regards the complaint that there were insufficient brochures for new commemorative issues, I am sure the new Chairman of the Stamps Advisory Committee who is my Political Secretary, the Member for Bukit Merah, will take note of the complaint. I am also sure that he will see to it that there wilt be more than adequate copies of these pamphlets and brochures in future, so that sales of commemorative issues can improve and. therefore, it means more revenue for our Consolidated Fund.

Mr Ng Kah Ting: Sir, before I withdraw my amendment I would like to make just one small observation: I was talking in terms of the two types of issues, i.e., the commemorative and the definitive issues.

I am very grateful to the Minister for his detailed reply, and I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

The sum of $22,630,370 for Head 0705 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

Head 0706 -

Mr Teong Eng Siong: (In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move,

That the sum to be allocated for Head 0706 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1001*.(* The same amendment also stood in the names of Messrs Ng Yeow Chong, J. F Conceicao, Ch'ng Jit Koon, Low Yong Nguan and P. Govindaswamy.)

Sir, this head of expenditure relates to the provision for the Registry of Vehicles amounting to $2.3 million.

As we all know, Singapore has a large number of vehicles. According to statistics there are about 140,000 motor cars alone. In addition, there are buses, motor-cycles, scooters, trucks and bicycles. The total number of vehicles is about half a million. We can imagine the workload of the Registry of Vehicles.

I would like to take this opportunity to ask two questions. I have received some complaints from the public, and it is my duty to convey them to the Minister concerned. I would urge him to investigate these complaints and to remedy any shortcomings, so that the department can carry out its work efficiently. Firstly, some taxi drivers have complained against certain R.O.V, officials who carry out routine inspection of taxis. These inspectors are trying to make things difficult for the taxi drivers. For example, on inspection of a taxi, the inspector will tell the taxi driver that a certain part of his taxi is defective, and that it should be corrected before it can be passed. The taxi driver will then have it repaired. The next day he will drive his taxi to the R.O.V, for a further inspection, of course, thinking that this time his taxi will pass the test. But the same inspector will take a hammer and knock the taxi here and there, saying, "No, no. This part is also faulty." And he might also say that the engine is noisy and that it should be repaired. All this has caused much dissatisfaction among taxi drivers. If the inspector could only tell the driver once for all what parts of the taxi are faulty and need repair, which perhaps can be done in one day, then it will be convenient to the taxi drivers and also avoid another day's loss of earnings. Mr Speaker, Sir, if the allegation is true, then it shows that the inspector's approach is not correct. I hope the Minister will carry out a detailed investigation to see whether there is any truth in such an allegation.

Taxi drivers have also complained that there is always a long queue at the R.O.V, whenever they send their taxis there for inspection. Certain officers are very discourteous in their attitude towards taxi drivers, although our Ministers have always told our civil servants to be courteous. I hope the civil servants will take note of what the Ministers have said and maintain their services at a high standard. I would urge the Minister to look into these complaints.

Mr Ng Yeow Chong: Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Minister for Communications on his success in the reorganisation of the motor transport service.

There has been a lot of improvement in bus services since its reorganisation last year. However, one can still see some old buses operating on the roads.. These old and out-dated buses should have been condemned long ago as scrap for the national steel mill. Instead, they are still permitted to continue to operate, and most of them are polluting the air with their smoky exhausts. Besides, these old buses frequently break down, thereby upsetting the time schedule and causing great inconvenience to bus commuters. There was an occasion when I had to travel by bus, and I had to wait more than half an hour for it. I was later told by the bus conductor that the delay was due to the breakdown of a bus of the same service route somewhere on its return trip to the terminal. Sir, every morning as I travel from Changi to the city, I often see at least one or two buses parked on the roadside, apparently stalled with engine trouble. In one morning alone I counted no less than five buses, belonging to two bus companies, which were rendered inoperative with engine trouble. They were parked along Changi Road within a short stretch of half a mile. This state of affairs is highly undesirable. Something must be done quickly to rectify this situation. Why did the bus companies not replace the old buses with new ones, according to the plan? The Government should initiate action to press the bus companies for an early Replacement with new buses. Meanwhile, action must be taken against bus companies which do not keep their buses properly serviced and maintained before putting them on the road.

Sir, I would also like to ask the Minister concerned whether the law enforcement section of the Registry of Vehicles has been adequately staffed, and whether these enforcement officers have been sent out to carry out their duties.

Mr J. F. Conceicao (Katong): Mr Speaker, Sir, in the last Budget debate in 1971, the Minister for Communications informed the House that steps would be taken to improve the standard o, driving in respect of buses in the public transport sector. The Minister informed us that courses on courtesy, first aid, etc., would be run. Since that time we have heard a suggestion that one of the reasons why our bus drivers seem to be in such a hurry to get from one place to another is that their schedules impose a pressure on them. If this is so, can the Ministry not take such steps that will result in more reasonable requirements for bus drivers to keep to time schedules for bus routes?

The Member for Mountbatten has raised a matter which I would like to endorse. It relates to the standard of maintenance and operation of buses. I agree with him that one notices too frequently buses breaking down and holding up traffic. They also caused inconvenience to bus users. I am sure that bus drivers will feel more disposed to listen to advice given in courses on proper bus driving, if pressure of route schedules was not so great and if buses were better maintained. In respect of these two points, can we be informed of (a) the progress of educational courses for bus drivers, and (b) the extent to which the Registry of Vehicles has a say in the proper maintenance of buses, and to what extent is this right exercised?

Sir, we were also told during the last Budget debate that the Ministry of Communications was observing the extent to which pedestrian facilities, for instance, overhead bridges, zebra crossings, and so on, were used. I recollect that it was stated that consideration would be given, if necessary, to legislation against jay walking - legislation, of course, that would concomitantly protect pedestrians. Mr Speaker, Sir, it has been frequently declared that a large proportion of those killed and injured in road accidents consists of pedestrians.

4.00 p.m.

In view of this, special measures have to be taken to protect pedestrians. The Minister will recollect the extent to which our legislation on safety helmets for scooterists and motor-cyclists and pillion riders has helped to reduce injuries and even the number of deaths arising from accidents. Of course, Mr Speaker, Sir, the real answer to the problem is education - to persuade people to be more careful and to be more conscious of pedestrian hazards, and so on. We hear that solution quoted again and again. But the time may be ripe for measures dependent on education .and social persuasion to be, strengthened by legislation. Perhaps the Minister would like to enlighten us on that point.

Mr P. Govindaswamy: Mr Speaker, Sir, when the reorganisation of the motor transport system was implemented last year, drivers and conductors of buses behaved, to everyone's surprise, marvellously. Unfortunately, time has proved what they really are. Daily, our travelling public have to put up with rude conductors, inconsiderate drivers who fail to stop at designated stops, and thereby causing great inconvenience to the travelling public. The buses too are not maintained properly. Quite often these buses break down at odd places and cause great inconvenience to other road users. The bus companies should be pulled up for allowing faulty buses to run on the roads. Many of these buses run around without any petrol filler caps. As such, when they negotiate turns, they leave a trail of oil on the roads. Any motor-cyclist will know what this trail of oil will lead to eventually. It is high time that companies were fined for taking such an irresponsible attitude towards the safety of the ordinary road user.

Furthermore, there is an acute shortage of buses running certain routes. It is high time that more buses were put into operation. On the other hand, bus drivers should be given better conditions of service, such as vacation leave and medical benefits. May I also know whether the increase in fines for traffic offences has proved to be a deterrent, and has it in any way produced better standards of driving and ease on the roads? It is my view that this is not so. Has the Registrar of Vehicles exploited the possibility of using television as a medium for instructing and educating Singaporeans in better standards of driving? There seems to he a great lack of courtesy and goodwill on our roads at present.

Mr Seah Mui Kok (Bukit Ho Swee): Mr Speaker, Sir, I fully support the views expressed by various Members of this House about our buses. Since the implementation of the reorganisation of motor transport system in Singapore, there has been some general improvement of our transport system. Unfortunately, after the closing down of the Singapore Traction Company, bus commuters still have to wait very long for buses. Also, the buses are very overcrowded.

Sir, a good number of the old buses are very dirty. We can see black smoke coming from the exhaust pipes, seats with the cushion badly damaged, windows cannot be shut when it rains. These old buses are littered with used tickets, paper, and other rubbish. Perhaps they have never been swept for months. The noise from the old engines is so terrible that if you sit near the front portion of the bus, you will at times get a terrific headache as well. There have been frequent breakdowns of these old buses causing traffic jams here and there.

Sir, I strongly urge that these old buses should not be allowed to carry commuters any more, as it is very dangerous to do so. I would strongly suggest that the Registry of Vehicles should give another check on all these buses to ensure the safety of bus commuters.

Sir, may I take this opportunity to ask the Minister for Communications how many new buses have been bought and put to use by all the bus companies since the implementation of the reorganisation of the motor transport service? And would he be kind enough to request the bus companies to `put more new buses on the various routes to ease the present overcrowding and the unnecessarily long waiting for the buses?

Mr Yong Nyuk Lin: Mr Speaker. Sir, I propose to deal first with the complaints mentioned by the Member for Sembawang. I appreciate the fact that in his criticism he did say that some of the members of the staff in the Registry of Vehicles would appear to be difficult when it comes to the question of inspection of taxis. I appreciate his use of the word "some" because it is not just a wide sweep that the whole department is proving to be difficult, but some may be difficult. The Member's complaint is to the effect that the vehicle inspectors do not give the taxi owner or driver a full list of all the complaints as to where the taxis have failed to come up to the required mark and would need attention and repair in order to get a clearance. And that instead, the vehicle inspectors would, after pointing out one complaint which is subsequently attended to, then look for another complaint and send them away. It would appear that this state of affairs did unfortunately exist during the months of June, July and August of last year. But I am pleased to say that the department has, since August, considerably improved the situation, and the inconvenience caused to taxi drivers should not now arise. It is quite possible that the complaint that the Member has received is not a recent one, but perhaps a fairly long outstanding one which is therefore something of the past. But if `there are more complaints of this nature, I hope he will be good enough to forward the particulars to us so that, while they are fresh in the minds of everyone, we will be able to deal with them much more quickly and have the matter rectified.

As for rudeness on the part of an official, as stated by the Member, it is the policy of the Government not to encourage rudeness on the part of any public official to the members of the public. If there are cases of such a nature, will he be good enough to advise the complainant `to submit his complaint, and the matter will be looked into.

I would now like to move on to the comments of the Member for Katong, first, before coming to the Member for Mountbatten. There seems to be a general complaint that some bus drivers are rude. That is also the complaint of the Member for Anson - that bus commuters appear to be harassed by very crude bus drivers. Courtesy is something that takes some time to inculcate. It is either in you or not in you, in which case you have got to be educated. And education is a very long process. Sometimes I feel that the Member for Katong, who is associated with adult education, seems to have little confidence in the efficacy of education with respect to improvement of human nature.

Mr Conceicao: Mr Speaker, Sir, may I clarify? My view is that one of the best forms of education is legislation.

Mr Yong Nyuk Lin: I hope Members will agree that it is not necessary to legislate in order to educate. One would think that the Member for Katong is a very impatient man. I think we should not resort to legislation unless as a last resort. I think we should talk, educate and persuade until we are blue in the face and, if it does not work, then perhaps resort to legislation. So with regard to his request, in view of the fact that legislation for the compulsory use of crash helmets has been a great success, whether or not it is time to introduce legislation against jay walking, I would say that I am a patient man and a very patient Minister. I would still say that it is not time yet, as far as I can help it, to introduce legislation against jay walking. Perhaps this time next year I may change my mind if he raises the subject again.

Sir, it is true that there is a very' tight schedule for bus drivers to bring their buses back to the terminals. Otherwise, if there were no proper bus schedules, complaints would come from the bus commuters that `they had to wait not half an hour but probably one hour for the buses, in which case the complaints would be even louder. Of course,, we do not believe that bus schedules, should be so tight that drivers should be reckless or that we encourage negligent driving. Far from it. We will take action if it is proved that the driver or the conductor has been negligent in the execution of his duties.

As for maintenance of buses, I think bus operators themselves realise that, if they keep a proper maintenance of their vehicles, they will be able to get more out of their buses. Firstly, there will be savings in fuel and the buses will be' able to run for longer periods of time, because when a bus is on the road it is earning money. I think it is in the interest of bus companies themselves to ensure that there is proper maintenance. It is possible that sometimes the buses are unable to keep to the schedule and may be in a very poor condition.

I now come to the Member for Anson who, speaking on behalf of bus workers, said that there should be an improvement in their working conditions, vacation leave, etc. Here again, a good bus operator as an employer will see to it that his workers are reasonably paid, with adequate time for rest and recreation, and therefore they should be able to give maximum service. I think I would be exceeding my authority if I tried to say more than this, in other words, to tell the bus operator how to be a good employer. It is understood that it would be in the bus operator's interest to be a good model employer to his workers, and leave it to the union leaders who speak on behalf of the bus workers to negotiate with the employer concerned; and we wish both sides the best of luck.

4.15 p.m.

Now I come to the Member for Mountbatten. Before coming to his question of scrapping old buses and so on and so forth, he has asked when would the Enforcement Section of the Registry of Vehicles be operative. I am pleased to say that this section is almost ready to begin its work. We had recommended under the White Paper on the Reorganisation of the Motor Transport Service of Singapore, which was tabled in this House in July, 1970, Command Paper 21, the recruitment of 80 policemen with 40 motor-cycles to be attached to the Registry of Vehicles. We expect this new Enforcement Section to be operational in April, 1972, which means 10 days from now. As early as July 1971, an Assistant Superintendent of Police was seconded to the Registry of Vehicles to get acquainted with the work involved and to lay the necessary groundwork. Thirty policemen and two sergeants were posted to the Registry of Vehicles in January this year. The motor-cycles have also arrived and are registered with distinct numbers - ROV.l to ROV.40. We do not have to ballot for these numbers. They are for free! The present recruits are now undergoing motor-cycle training, which would be completed in a week's time. A further 30 policemen and an Inspector of Police are expected to join this Section by June this year. The officers in this Section are basically policemen and are vested with all the powers of a police officer. However, they will generally concentrate on the conduct of drivers, especially drivers of public service vehicles, and on the general condition of motor vehicles to ensure that they are mechanically safe and sound. These officers will complement the traffic police strength in antipollution campaigns against motor vehicles. In order that this special force is to be respected rather than feared, they will be instructed to achieve their objective through education and persuasion and, when necessary, only by strict enforcement of the rules.

I now come to the main crux of the complaints from Members of the House. The Member for Mountbatten has suggested that old buses should be scrapped and the Member for Anson complained that there is a shortage of buses, followed by the Member for Bukit Ho Swee who complained that the noise of the engines of some old buses are terrible. He has also asked how many new buses have been operating since reorganisation. It is not denied that many buses which are still running are in such poor condition that they should be scrapped and replaced by newer buses. I would suggest to Members of this House and the public that we should ponder a little over this matter to see whether we are pushing matters too hard too soon against our bus operators.

If we refer to the White Paper (Command 21 of 1970) tabled in this House on the 21st July, 1970, on the Reorganisation of the Motor Transport Service of Singapore, according to paragraph 4.3 the 10 Chinese bus companies had a total bus fleet of only 768 buses. That was two years ago when this Report was published. But at the end of last month, February, 1972, the total bus fleet of these three Chinese bus companies - the previous 10 companies were merged into three companies -was 1,988 buses, which represents an increase of 1.220 buses, or close to 150 per cent of the fleet which existed `two years ago. Even if allowance has been made for the fact that the ex-Singapore Traction Company fleet of 407 buses were acquired by the three companies in December, 1971, i.e., three months ago, at the price of $2,750,000, Members should bear in mind what the cost is to the operators for the balance of the increased fleet of over 800 new buses -800 over the last two years. Assuming that each new bus costs $40,000 - it could be $40,000 or $50,000 depending on the size of the bus, but let us work on the average of $40,000 - these three bus companies had to find the resources over the past two years to invest a sum of not less than over $30 million. This is not an insignificant amount by any standards; it is not $3 million, or $10 million, but over $30 million.

It is just one year ago since the massive reorganisation of our public bus services was put into effect in April, 1971. Had the S.T.C, taken our advice as contained in the White Paper para. 4.15 - STC to be reorganised - that reorganisation was coming and that it would lose its privileged position as the bus company of Singapore since the other three amalgamated companies are coming in as equal competitors, then today, after one year of reorganisation, everything would have settled down. But they did not take the advice and Government had to intervene three months ago in early December to prevent a collapse of STC services.

In my view, the present three bus companies, Amalgamated Bus Company (blue), Associated Bus Services (red), and the United Bus Company (yellow), had risen to the occasion by taking over the running of the former STC services. The full operation of ex-STC services resumed with only a break of 24 hours. What is most appreciative on my part was their willingness to take over all the 1,700 drivers and conductors of STC, as otherwise these people would have been unemployed. Therefore, the smooth progress of the bus service reorganisation has suffered only a temporary setback because of the collapse of STC and it is only fair that we should give the three bus companies reasonable time to adjust themselves to this new situation. Only three months have passed, and therefore we cannot pass judgment on the adequacy of our bus services at this juncture.

What was the state of the bus services in Singapore a year ago? Take April 1972 as against April 1971, and again, against April 1970, what was it then? Let us give thought to the first before we begin to be critical. Furthermore, although the White Paper lays down an age limit of 17 years for public buses, it is felt that our bus operators will, of their own accord, replace buses even before they have reached the age limit of 17 years. Singapore's bus commuters are so choosy that when an old bus comes along they will not board it. They prefer to wait for another 10, 15 or even 20 minutes for a new bus to come along, and bus operators are aware of this. They know how selective bus commuters can be, and they will, of their own accord, quickly replace them long before the age limit is reached.

Mr Seah Mui Kok: They want to make their money's worth!

Mr Yong Nyuk Lin: I do not blame them. I think they are right. So there is no need for any directive from the Registry of Vehicles or the Ministry of Communications to tell the bus operators to change their old buses for new ones.

In conclusion, Sir, may I remind this House of a recent critical article published in the New Nation on this subject, "The Bus System - Good or Bad?" The article ran for three days and came to this conclusion; page 9 of the issue of 9th March, and I quote (I did not say it, they said it):

`It would also be nice to bear in mind that Singapore has the best public transportation system in the region, if not the whole of Asia.

And the tax-paying public can rejoice in the fact that it is also one of the few non-Government-owned non-subsidized services in the world. It makes a profit!'

Mr P. Govindaswamy: Mr Speaker, Sir, when the Minister mentioned the investment of $30 million, can he tell us the income of the company? He has not mentioned any income of the companies.

Mr Ng Yeow Chong: Sir, I wish to make myself clear to the Minister. I am not for a moment advocating the taking off of all the old buses from the road at one time. All I want is that the Government should suggest to these bus companies to maintain their old buses and to service them properly before putting them on the roads.

Mr Conceicao: Sir, we are all very impressed with the eloquence with which the Minister has defended the public transport system, and we must certainly agree with him on the conclusion that he has reached, without the aid of the article in the New Nation. At the same time, I feel that there are little points which show that the system is not all that perfect. There can be no system which is perfect, and it is the job of the Backbenchers here to point to the need for one or two small things, not in the spirit of carping criticism, but in the spirit of constructive contribution.

4.30 p.m.

For myself, may I say that I would like to correct any impression that I may have made in the debate just now that I feel that one should resort to legislation at the drop of a pin. I would like to clarify that there is educational value in legislation, provided the time is opportune for its implementation. But in respect of jaywalking, apparently the Minister wishes to wait for yet another year.

Mr Yong Nyuk Lin: I am glad to know of the reactions of Members because it gives me a chance to say more. If it will satisfy them, let me say that we do take action on bus company operators, but we do not talk about it. For the information of Members, over the past year we have imposed financial penalties on the bus companies -against the Amalgamated Bus Company, $1,600, Associated Bus Services, $13,200, and United Bus Company, $17,400. If we find that they are not putting on the routes as many buses as they are supposed to, and they have been checked and found wanting, we penalise them $2,000 a bus that is found lacking. This is the screw that we are tightening on them. But, I think, we should be fair. They have made a great effort to bring in more than $30 million investment in the buses - 800 new buses on the road over the last two years, which is fantastic. That is as big a fleet as we ever had in donkey's years. Therefore, I think we should be careful as to how far we can press them do not kill the goose that lays the golden eggs because, believe it or not, the 1968 revenue for the Registry of Vehicles was only $50 million, but for last year. 1971-72, the revenue was $81 million.

Mr Teong Eng Siong: (In Mandarin): Sir, I thank the Minister for having answered not only my question, but also those of all the other Members. So, with their agreement, I would like to thank the Minister on their behalf for such a wonderful answer. I beg leave to withdraw.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

The sum of $2,367,030 for Head 0706 ordered to stand part of the Estimates.

Head 0801 -

Mr N. Govindasamy: Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move,

That the sum to be allocated for Head 0801 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1001*.(* The same amendment also stood in the names of Messrs Tay Boon Too, Ng Kah Ting, Ho Kah Leong, Ho See Beng and P. Govindaswamy.)

Sir, I notice the Members for Paya Lebar, Jurong and Moulmein have also moved amendments to this Head of Expenditure. As we know that all three of them are Presidents of Teachers' Unions, I will leave it to them to take up the professional and industrial problems of teachers and the Education Service in general. I will confine myself to those aspects which affect teachers and pupils as a whole.

One of the problems I wish to raise is the high cost of education in Singapore. Let me hasten to add, Sir, the high cost of education to certain categories of people, that is (1) the lower income group, and (2) the over-worked pupils in secondary schools.

Sir, we are aware of the emphasis on technical education and participation in uniformed groups. In the case of the lower income groups, this emphasis is costing more than what they can afford. I have spoken on this subject once before. This policy does not appear to give any consideration to the minimisation of the economic effect of the readjustment of its policies on the parents of the students concerned. While it is not possible for the Government to implement a scheme of free secondary education, it is reasonably expected of the Government to bring secondary education within the means of as many citizens as possible. Many citizens, particularly those from the lower income group, have found the cost of educating their children to secondary level very expensive. A student in the secondary school has to pay a school fee of $4 per month, plus a fee of $2 for miscellaneous purposes thus making a total of $6 per month. The only students who are exempted from the payment of such fees are students of Malay origin. Others, even those whose parents are in receipt of public assistance from the Social Welfare Department, are expected to pay at least a fee of $1 for miscellaneous purposes. Conditions prescribed by the Ministry of Education for the remission of school fees from $6 per month to $1 per month are extremely rigid and restrictive to such an extent that it is impossible for the student from a family of very difficult financial circumstances to be granted such a remission of school fees. One of the conditions is that the family income does not exceed $200 per month, and the other is that the remission, if granted, is subject to a maximum of 10 per cent of the total enrolment in each school.

There are other expenses involved in respect of pupils, especially from the lower income group. If the schools are far from their homes, invariably they are, the children will have to remain be-hind in school at least twice a week for extra-curricular activities and technical classes. This involves additional expenses for meals as well as additional transport where workshops are not located close to the school where the children are admitted. I have known of lower in-come group parents, especially those earning $200 or less, complaining that it costs them at least $30 per month to keep each child in a secondary school.

Sir, in addition to this monthly recurrent expenditure, there are some expenses at the beginning of the school term, such as the purchase of books, drawing boards, workshop aprons, geometrical instruments, etc., which are required for technical classes. A system of loan scheme should be devised.

I agree with the Government's policy of requiring every pupil to be enrolled in at least one uniformed group in a school. I have known that in some schools uniforms have to be purchased by the students themselves. In certain cases they have to buy two sets of uniforms, one for ceremonial purposes. We are encouraging school bands to be formed. In many schools, uniforms for the bands are not provided and therefore children from poor homes, even if they are talented and interested in joining the bands, feel shy of joining them just because they cannot afford it. I hope the Minister will look into the possibility of providing these uniforms free-of-charge which will be returned to the school when the pupil leaves the school, or is no longer in the uniformed group. This is being done in some schools, but not all. Surely we do not want participation in school bands to be the exclusive right of only those who can afford it.

Sir, another common complaint of parents with children in secondary schools is the heavy load on the school curricula. I have heard complaints from parents that secondary school pupils have very little time for homework and for home environment. Sir, I speak this with some experience and authority. I have the same complaint. The pupils spend very little time in the house as they are required for extra-curricular activities, games, sports, etc., at least three to four times a week, either in the evenings or mornings, outside their regular school hours. Education should be an enjoyable process and not a burdensome one.

The Chairman: May I remind hon. Members of Standing Order 87. Paragraph (6) states that:

`...no Member shall be entitled to address the Committee for more than ten minutes at any one time.'

This is to prevent possible heartaches among the hon. Members here!

Mr Tay Boon Too (Paya Lebar): (In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, to talk about education within 10 minutes is too short a time.

Our general education policy today should move in the direction of consolidating our basic education. That is what I would call back-bone education. In other words, the children of the various communities should receive a certain amount of education in their mother tongue. Sir, all along we have emphasised that children should first receive education in their mother tongue, and at the same time learning a second language in order to fit them into the multi-lingual and multi-cultural context of our country. Indeed, parents in general appreciate the value of mother tongue education. But may I know why many parents do not want their children to receive mother tongue education in the first instance? If this can be satisfactorily answered, then our back-bone education will be a success.

Sir, the Ministry of Education has made considerable praiseworthy efforts. There is no doubt about it. But on the other hand, there is still plenty of room for drastic improvements in our education system. We all appreciate that Singapore thrives on international trade. It is also a multi-racial Republic. We also appreciate that English is used as a medium of communication for promoting inter-communal understanding in our own country. It is also a language of science and technology. But while our economy and technology are making a headway, we must also pay equal attention, if not more, to other values which have been acquired as a result of over 4,000 years of experience and cultural traditions. Parents, in general, understand the value of this. However, because they are unable to have the cake and eat it, they send their children to a language stream other than their own. This is indeed a matter for regret. As a Government, we must think of the interests and future of our next generation.

4.45 p.m.

We must find ways and means to ensure that every child receives an education in the mother tongue first and, at the same time, improves his second language, so that secondary school leavers will be effectively bi-lingual. If we can achieve this aim, then I believe many parents will send their children to schools to receive education in the mother tongue first.

Sir, education systems in the world vary from country to country. In my opinion, in the context of our multilingual and multi-racial society, the present system of a six-year period for primary education should be extended to seven years. The seven-year period will be allocated as follows. For the first six years, every child will receive education in his mother tongue which, at the same time, prepares a foundation for the second language. The seventh year will be reserved entirely for the teaching of a second language, except for certain periods to be reserved for the teaching of the mother tongue. At the end of the seventh year, the parents will then decide to which stream of education they wish to send their children. I believe that in this way we can ensure that children from any language stream will be effectively bilingual at the end of their secondary education. In this way, we would be able to bring our policy of bi-lingual education to a satisfactory conclusion. I think there is an urgent task ahead for a reform in our education system. If we still maintain the present system of six years for primary education and continue to increase the teaching time for second language at the expense of the mother tongue, then it will not help us in our policy of bi-lingual education. This is my opinion. It is no solution to our problem.

Sir, next I would like to talk about schools in the rural areas, in particular, the aided schools. The school premises in the rural areas are far from ideal. In the past when aided schools first accepted the full grant-in-aid system, the Government undertook to grant a dollar-for-dollar aid for the building of schools. But recently there has been some modification to this dollar-for-dollar system. The capital grant is now made on the basis of the performance of the school. Mr Speaker, Sir, this is not in keeping with the actual circumstances of the schools in the rural areas, in which the members of the Board of Directors are not very rich people. They have to work very hard to be able to raise money to rebuild their old and dilapidated school buildings. Very often they have to spend large sums of money to build school lavatories, leaving only a meagre sum for the main building itself. Most of the school premises are made of planks and attap leaves for the roof. Are we to allow these old and dilapidated huts to continue as schools? Sir, we must understand that in such circumstances, the progress of the schools in the rural areas will be impeded. Students and teachers could not -

The Chairman: Your time is up, Mr Tay.

Mr Ng Kah Ting: Mr Speaker, Sir, I will confine myself to three matters under this subhead. My first question is in regard to the posts of Teachers-, in-Training. 118 such posts have been abolished, as shown in page 177 of the Estimates. In other words, these posts of Teacher-in-Training do not exist any more. I would like to know from the Minister for Education the reason why these posts have been abolished, and why will there be no more intake in the Teachers' Training College in 1972-73.

The second question concerns the problem of relief teachers. We had occasion last year to hear the Minister of State for Education mention that there was then a very high number of relief teachers required for various reasons to fill vacancies or to relieve those who were on maternity leave, sick leave, or on retirement. I believe that some of these relief teachers are graduates, and some are not. However, some of them are suitably qualified, and I am just wondering whether they have any opportunity to be absorbed into the Education Service.

My next point concerns T.T.C, graduates required to step in as relief teachers. I understand that the next batch of T.T.C, graduates will be passing out sometime this year. Therefore, with the problem of relief teachers being resolved, another attendant problem will arise - how to absorb this year's batch of graduates into the Education Service,, and what of future batches? I do not know whether there are plans to see that there will be no occasion for the supply to exceed the demand.

Now, if I can come to the types of courses which were organised sometime ago by the Ministry of Education. These are in-service training courses for teachers to acquire additional skills or to polish up their skills, and the Bonus courses which, on successful completion, will entitle a teacher to some sort of a bonus for a certain period. I would like to know from the Minister the number of courses which were conducted last year, and whether such new courses will be conducted this year as well as next year.

With regard to the Bonus courses, I believe my colleague, the Member for Telok Blangah, had occasion to seek clarification from the Minister of State for Education as to whether such courses would be organised more frequently to enable more teachers to participate. I hope the Minister will care to make some observations on these points.

The Chairman: Would the Minister like to reply to some of the points first?

The Minister for Education (Mr Lim Kim San): Yes. Mr Speaker, Sir, I am quite taken up with the suggestion from the Member for Telok Blangah about a loan scheme to help needy pupils. We can consider that. However, I cannot agree with him that the cost of education in Singapore is high. I would say that in this respect we are in a better position than most countries because we have the facilities to allow everyone to have an education. Whenever a case of real hardship can be made, aid is given. I think the management committees are now seriously considering the possibility of giving free lunches to very poor pupils who have to attend workshop sessions in the evenings.

5.00 p.m.

With regard to the Member's other observation that an added burden is imposed on poor students, by their having to supply their own uniforms for school bands and other extra-curricular activities, either he or I have been misinformed. As far as the policy of the Ministry of Education is concerned, all uniforms for uniformed groups and bands are supplied free. Only in certain cases are students asked to buy their own shoes. But here again, the poor students are aided, as shoes are bought for them.

As regards the heavy load on the students, I heartily agree with the Member for Telok Blangah that education should not be a chore. I hate to see our school children going to school with tears in their eyes. A directive has already been given and steps have been taken to see that, as far as possible, learning should be made enjoyable for our children. In fact, if Members were to take time off just to drop in at one of the large number of our primary schools and watch the new integrated syllabus being implemented, they will know what I mean when they see children learning their lessons happily without any inhibitions.

I think, in this respect, the Ministry of Education is re-examining its priorities to find out what its objectives should be. In fact, during the last few years, we have been so engaged in nation-building that many other Ministries have, shall I say, imposed their requirements on the Ministry of Education. We want them to be strong and healthy. We want them to keep Singapore clean and green. While these and many other national campaigns, in which we are all engaged, are very good for us, we must at the same time realise that the schoolboys and girls have limited time at their disposal. Their capacity to do the many things they are now asked to do is limited by the time available. We are examining and re-examining this aspect to establish the order of priority so that first things come first instead of wanting to do too many things at one time. I can assure Members that this is foremost in my mind.

The Member for Paya Lebar has made a suggestion that in order to really succeed in our objective to make our citizens bi-lingual or multi-lingual, we should extend the primary school period from six years to seven years. It can be done, but it will cost a lot of money. I think it is reasonable to assume that, with an additional year and with the proper method of teaching, we will be able to make bi-linguists of our students. At the moment my Ministry is examining the possibility, with the two semester system, of giving special coaching to students who are weak in the second language for six months or a year. This should enable a student from any stream on completion of his primary education to be in a position to choose any language stream for his secondary education. For instance, students in Chinese primary schools who take English as a second language may, in the secondary institution, elect to continue their secondary school education in English or Chinese, and it is the same with the Malay and the Tamil streams. If we are able to use modern methods appropriate to our environment, we may reach such a stage when transference from one language stream to another will present no problem for the student. Once that is achieved, I think we can consider that our schools are truly integrated, because the barrier to integration among some of the school children is largely one of language.

With regard to aid for rural schools, I think the Member for Paya Lebar is misinformed. There has been no change in the policy of a dollar-for-dollar grant to rural aided schools. Where they find difficulty in getting aid, or where there is no encouragement given to continue the aid, it is because the school may be in a resettlement or in a redeveloped area. It would then be advisable for the management committee and for Government not to throw away good money, because the school would have to be shifted very soon.

On the question of relief teachers raised by the Member for Punggol, I think the Member for Moulmein has replied very clearly in his press interview this morning with regard to the position of relief teachers. This interview was published in one of the local dailies. I agree with him that the position will improve when the 800 or so final year students of the Teachers' Training College have sat for and passed their examinations. One of the reasons why the post of Teacher-in-Training has been abolished is to keep up with international practice. It has been found by experts - not by me - that part-time training is not suitable. Teachers should be trained full-time. Of course, there is no question of doubt that, wherever possible, T.T.C.-trained graduates will be recruited as relief teachers.

To the Member's question whether we should give jobs to T.T.C, graduates in the Ministry of Education, in reply I will instead ask him whether we can guarantee jobs for graduates of the University of Singapore, the Singapore Polytechnic, Ngee Ann College, or any other institutions for that matter. This is something which nobody can do.

The Member for Punggol also wants to know how many in-service courses were conducted last year and whether we will continue to run these in-service courses. To the second part of the question, of course, we will continue to run them because it means upgrading the skills of teachers. As regards the number of in-service courses which were conducted last year, may I suggest that since this is a matter of detail, the Member puts in a question for Question Time.

I am really very surprised to learn from him - and I hope it is not true -that in-service courses to upgrade skills would only be popular because there is bonus as an incentive. At least he has implied that. However, I would like to believe that the 20,000 teachers that we have in the service would, of their own accord, improve themselves rather than depend on bonus as an incentive.

Mr Ng Kah Ting: Mr Speaker, Sir, I wish to make some clarification. First of all, with regard to the Minister's reply on the question of relief teachers, I am well aware of the fact that the Member for Moulmein has said something to the press. But the Minister for Education totally missed my point. I said that some of the relief teachers, graduates and non-graduates, are adequately qualified, and I wanted to know whether they can be absorbed into the Education Service.

On the question of in-service training courses, the scheme with bonus payment was started by the Ministry of Education. I think the Minister of State for Education can bear me out that if a teacher successfully completes a bonus training course, he is entitled to a bonus. I believe this was one of the incentives given to teachers because of the many grouses they had, before the restructuring of their salary scales.

Mr Lim Kim San: Of course, Mr Speaker, Sir, relief teachers who are capable and efficient always have the opportunity of being absorbed into the Education Service. There is no doubt about that at all. There is no fear that they would not be absorbed.

As regards bonus for in-service training courses, we started it as an incentive. But, as I say, I would hate to think that it is only incentives which motivate our teachers to attend in-service training courses. We will continue conducting in-service courses for upgrading the skills of our teachers. While it is an incentive, I hope that it is a secondary motivation for teachers to attend these courses, and not the primary consideration.

Mr Ng Kah Ting: Sir, whether or not this is a primary or secondary motivation, I am not less concerned with the question of monetary inducements that are forthcoming under such a scheme. What I am more concerned is whether the Ministry is continuing to run these in-service training courses and, if so, how many? Or is the Ministry of Education going to continue running these so-called bonus courses? I for one would like to see that when our teachers attend in-service training courses or bonus courses, they do not go in with the idea of getting one or two extra increments, but because they want to polish up or upgrade their skills.

Mr Sia Khoon Seong (Moulmein): Mr Speaker, Sir, I wish to make my contribution on a point arising out of the Minister's reply. With regard to the Member's remarks that teachers should be motivated other than monetary reasons when taking up in-service courses, I would like to tell him that normally teachers, on their own accord and in the interest of the service and career, take up extra courses without any expectation of bonuses, and so on. But this is the case only with courses which are related to their own interest and their own liking.

Very often because of the major shifts in the educational system in the last few years, teachers sometimes are asked to do jobs contrary to their own aptitudes and interests. Sometimes it helps to pay bonuses for attending these courses, as the Ministry itself has recognised. Therefore, while agreeing with the Minister that the main motivation must be for the love of it, there is no harm for the Ministry to increase the number of courses where bonus payments are made. Therefore, this question of motivation for the wrong purposes should not be given too much prominence. Otherwise, the impression would be given that it is only for the sake of bonuses that teachers take up these courses.

The Chairman: Mr Lim, I think it would be a good idea to take the suspension at this stage.

Mr Lim Kim San: Yes, Sir.

Thereupon Mr Speaker left the Chair of the Committee and took the Chair of the House.

Mr Speaker: I suspend the sitting now and shall take the Chair again at 5.45 p.m.

Sitting accordingly suspended at 5.16 p.m, until 5.45 p.m. Sitting resumed at 5.45 p.m.