MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

We will not be able to achieve our City of Excellence if there is a breakdown of law and order. It is essential that our streets are safe and homes secure so that we can enjoy the fruits of our labour.

Law and Order

The Singapore Police Force will shift its emphasis from law enforcement to crime prevention and detection through active involvement of grassroots organizations and the community. We shall extend the Neighbourhood Police Post system nationwide. We shall build six new headquarter police stations over the next five years of which four will replace the existing ones.

We shall inculcate crime prevention consciousness in our population. The National Crime Prevention Council will encourage the commercial and industrial sector to adopt more effective crime prevention measures. The Neighbourhood Watch Scheme will be extended to cover the entire island.

More Boys' Clubs to provide an outlet for the young will be set up.

We shall recruit Police Officers of better calibre. A computerized system for speedier police responses will be available by 1988.

Internal Security

The Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) remains a long-term threat to internal security. The Internal Security Department will guard against its subversive activities.

Religious extremism and racial chauvinism are also threats to internal security. We shall act against any group or individual found exploiting racial, religious or linguistic issues.

Drug Abuse

Drug abuse continues to be a serious threat. The very basis of society will be eroded if we lose the fight against it. The situation is under control. Our enforcement, treatment and rehabilitation efforts have produced the desired results. A new phenomenon, glue sniffing among youths, is on the rise. This menace has to be stamped out.

Immigration Control

Singapore's talent pool is limited. We must encourage skilled and talented persons who can be an asset to Singapore in various sectors to come and strike roots here. Immigration policies will reflect this objective.

Stern measures will be taken against overstayers, illegal immigrants, and people who harbour them.

Services to the public will be improved through computerization and decentralization of immigration facilities. Fire Service

The Singapore Fire Service will be reorganized with the taking over of the fire regulatory functions and the vetting of building plans for fire safety. Fire safety education programmes will be stepped up and fire safety standards in buildings improved.

Additional fire stations will be constructed. The fire and ambulance despatch system will be computerized.

Civil Defence

We must gear up civil defence and get people ready and able to respond to emergencies or disasters. By mid-1985, the Civil Defence Volunteer Training Programme for residents would have covered all constituencies. We will build these volunteers into cohesive teams capable of operating within their own residential zones in conjunction with Civil Defence reservists and the essential services.

Civil Defence training for workers in industries, factories and workplaces will be intensified.

S JAYAKUMAR Minister for Home Affairs