PREFERENTIAL ADDITIONAL REGISTRATION FEE (Position beyond 1979)

Mr Hwang Soo Jin asked the Minister for Communications and Acting Minister for Culture whether the present system of granting Preferential Additional Registration Fee (PAR F) values to scrap cars will continue beyond 1979; and, if not, what changes are contemplated in regard to both the licensing of new cars and the continued maintenance of cars over 10 years old.

Mr Ong Teng Cheong: Mr Speaker, Sir, the Preferential Additional Registration Fee (PARF) to encourage the early replacement of old cars will continue beyond 1979. The condition that cars must not be more than 10 years old to be eligible for PARF after 1st January, 1981, will remain unchanged. It was first announced by the Ministry of Finance in December, 1975.

PARF should be continued as it has helped to control the growth of private cars by taking off old cars from the road whenever a new one is registered. Our figures show that in 1978, out of 16,531 new private cars registered, 15,438 or 93% were registered under PARF. There was a net increase of 3,342 cars or 2.8% growth in the private car population. Had there been no PARF, this increase would have been much higher.

At present, cars over 10 years old are subject to a surcharge on an increasing scale up to a maximum of 50% of the road tax. This surcharge was imposed to discourage the use of old, inefficient and unsafe cars on the road. I announced in Parliament early last year that we are studying the possibility of introducing compulsory car inspections to ensure the road-worthiness of vehicles. Details are now being worked out by the Registry of Vehicles, When it is introduced, the surcharge on old cars will be abolished.

Mr Hwang Soo Jin (Jalan Kayu): Sir, I would just like to take the opportunity to ask the Hon. Minister whether he will agree to extend the PARF value to stolen cars.

Mr Ong Teng Cheong: Mr Speaker, Sir, we have not come across cases of this nature, and no application has been made officially so far. When such an application is made, we will give it due consideration.