CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE (AMENDMENT) BILL

Order for Second Reading read. 4.55 p.m.

The Minister for Law and Science and Technology (Mr E.W. Barker): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

This is a straightforward short Bill and I will deal briefly with all its clauses.

The most important, in my view, is clause 5 which deals with the language requirement for an applicant for citizenship by registration. At present under Article 123(1)(e) of the Constitution, an applicant must have an elementary knowledge of the national language in order to qualify for citizenship. The amendment will enable an applicant to satisfy the language requirement for citizenship if he has an elementary knowledge of any one of our four official languages, namely, Malay, English, Mandarin or Tamil, the languages which we use in this House.

The other clauses 2 to 4 deal with amendments relating to the Public Service Commission. Clause 2 will provide for the appointment of more than one Deputy Chairman for the Public Service Commission and will also increase the maximum number of members of the Commission (apart from the Chairman) from 9 to 11. In recent years there has been an increase in the scope, complexity and volume of work of the Commission and these amendments will help the Commission to carry out its functions more effectively.

Clause 3 will enable any professor or lecturer from the National University of Singapore to be appointed as a member of the Commission as his knowledge and experience of various academic qualifications and standards would be useful in assisting the Commission in its work. At present paragraph (b) of Article 106 of the Constitution precludes a University professor or lecturer from being appointed as a member of the Commission.

Clause 4 will introduce some flexibility with regard to the period of appointment of members of the Commission apart from the Chairman. At present a member can only be appointed to hold office for a period of five years. The amendment will enable a member to be appointed for a shorter period of not less than three years.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Mr E.W. Barker].

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