PARF BENEFITS

Dr Tan Cheng Bock asked the Acting Minister for Communications whether he is aware that more cars were bought at Additional Registration Fee (ARF) rather than Preferential Additional Registration Fee (PARF) in 1982 (1981: PARF 13,425, ARF 7,553; 1982: PARF 13,405, ARF 15,021) and whether his Ministry will increase PARF benefits to ensure that the one for one car exchange scheme is promoted to maintain a more stable car population.

Dr Yeo Ning Hong: My Ministry has no plans to increase PARF benefits. The present benefits are sufficient to encourage motorists to scrap their old cars in exchange for new ones. Increasing PARF benefits will not encourage many more people to buy cars on PARF simply because there is a limited number of old cars to be scrapped. It will only increase the value of existing cars. My Ministry is currently formulating a comprehensive approach to the problem of traffic congestion and various ways of controlling the car population are being considered.