CHARLTON PARK AREA (Building of public swimming pool)

The following Question stood in the name of Mr Ng Kah Ting -

Mr Ng Kah Ting: To ask the Minister for Social Affairs, as there is no public swimming pool in the rural and suburban areas, if he will consider the request of the Member of Parliament for Upper Serangoon that a swimming pool be built as soon as possible in the Charlton Park area because of the large number of primary and secondary schools in the vicinity of that area.

Mr Hwang Soo Jin (Jalan Kayu) rose -

Mr Speaker: Mr Hwang Soo Jin.

Mr Hwang Soo Jin: Question No. 3. Sir.

The Minister for Social Affairs (Inche Othman Bin Wok): Mr Speaker, Sir, in new residential areas, adequate sports facilities have been included as part of the overall requirement of community services. Admittedly, there are older residential areas, including outlying areas of Singapore, for which sports facilities are still lacking. Both the Ministry of National Development and the Ministry of Social Affairs are aware of the need to plan for more sports facilities in these areas but these must be based on the felt needs of the people.

Increasing emphasis will be placed in the future in providing more sports and recreation facilities to meet the requirements for such facilities as more and more people take to leisure and the competitive sports as spectators and participants. It is, therefore, proposed to set up a committee comprising representatives of the Ministries of Social Affairs, National Development and Education and the National Sports Promotion Board to make an overall review of the requirements for sports facilities in relation to the Singapore population and on geographic and demographic considerations and to relate the results to general policy and planning.

As regards a swimming pool for the Charlton Park area, the Minister for Law and National Development has indicated to me that his Ministry would be prepared to give every due consideration to the proposal, and the National Sports Promotion Board has been requested to look into the request with a view to ascertaining that there is a real need for the facility and that it will be fully utilised by the people in the area.