FEEDBACK UNIT (Processing of complaints and suggestions)

Mr Abdullah Tarmugi asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Community Development (a) how many complaints and suggestions the Feedback Unit has received so far; (b) what are the nature of these complaints and suggestions; (c) how many suggestions have been accepted or considered; and (d) how many complaints have been resolved.

The Minister of State for Community Development and Communications and Information (Mr Wong Kan Seng) (for the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Community Development): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, as at 30th June 1985, the Feedback Unit received from members of the public a total of 229 letters. As many letters contained more than one point, it is more meaningful to talk in terms of the number of times a particular subject is raised. A total of 294 items were raised by the writers during the period. The distribution of the items by subject is as follows:

Social and Community Matters, eg, welfare services, Medisave, constitute 56 times, or 19% of the 294.

Land Transport, eg, car ownership, public transport, 54 times or 18%.

Economic and Labour Matters, eg, the business climate, CPF, 54 times, or 18%.

Housing, eg, HDB regulations, estate maintenance, 29 times or 10%.

Political and Legislative Matters, eg, Parliamentary debates, 22 times or 8%.

Security and Crime Matters, eg, Total Defence, unlawful activities, 16 times or 5%.

Other Policy Matters, eg, developing patriotism, 23 times or 8%.

Appeals, eg, hawker licences, 22 times or 8%.

Complaints, eg, traffic summonses, poor service by Government departments, 18 times or 6%.

The subjects raised can be classified into three types. The first type consists of feedback on national policies, issues and problems. These form 86% of the total input that we received. This shows that people are fully aware of the objectives and the reasons why the Feedback Unit was set up, ie, to process feedback on national issues, policies and problems with a view to resolving them.

All the suggestions have been or will be considered. They have to be carefully evaluated against the overall perspective and long-term implications. For example, feedback on the current state of the economy and suggestions on how to improve it are referred to the Ministry of Trade and Industry. But the analysis of all the suggestions take time. Both the Feedback Unit and the Ministries concerned will bear them in mind in their future policy deliberations. I hope that members of the public will continue to write to the Feedback Unit giving their suggestions.

The second type consists of appeals. These are from people whose applications for various things, such as hawker licences and work permits, have been turned down. The writers would like their cases to be reconsidered or be given special consideration. As I mentioned earlier, these cases only form 8% of the total input. All appeals are considered by the appropriate Ministries. Of the 22 appeals received so far, one was granted, three were given alternatives, seven were given explanations and the remaining 11 are still pending.

The third type consists of complaints. These are expressions of dissatisfaction against various Ministries and they form only 6% of the total. Of the 18 complaints received, five were resolved, eight were given explanations and the remaining five are still pending.

As hon. Members will see from the figures, our people are fully aware of the role of the Feedback Unit. They did not treat it as a complaints bureau and, in fact, they know exactly what the Unit is for and have responded accordingly.

Mr Jeyaretnam: Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I have a supplementary question for the Minister of State. May I know about the comments on Government policies that are received by the Feedback Unit? I understood the Minister of State to say that they are evaluated by officials. The question is, what happens after the evaluation? Is there a discussion initiated with the persons who have submitted the proposals? Or does the Ministry merely write back and say, "Well, we accept your proposals" or "We reject your proposals"?

Mr Wong Kan Seng: All suggestions received by the Feedback Unit are discussed by a Supervisory Panel chaired by the hon. Member for Ayer Rajah. If they require further discussion with the individual writer, then steps are taken where the individual will be asked to discuss further on the subject. If the matter deserves further consideration, it will also be referred to the Ministry concerned where further discussions and deliberations take place.

Dr Augustine Tan (Whampoa): Sir, would the hon. Minister of State inform this House about the rate of flow of the suggestions or complaints to the Feedback Unit? In other words, I would expect that there was a great influx at the beginning and, maybe, tailing off. Is there such a phenomenon?

Mr Wong Kan Seng: Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, there is no such phenomenon. We have received a constant stream of suggestions from members of the public. For example, when we first announced the Feedback Unit in April, we received 57 letters, in May we received 88, in June we received 62. And before the formation of the Feedback Unit, we received 22 letters. So I think there has not been any significant change in the flow of suggestions to the Feedback Unit.

Mr Jeyaretnam: Sir, does the Ministry propose or have in mind any public discussion, not only just from the persons who sent in their comments, but public discussion on the comments or proposals submitted by any member of the public to the Feedback Unit?

Mr Wong Kan Seng: All suggestions received are classified in the order of frequency. And when we see that there is a significant issue to be discussed openly in public, we will definitely arrange for it.

Dr Augustine Tan: Sir, would the hon. Minister of State consider a proposal to enable people who are illiterate to express their views in some way? Because these people cannot write letters and therefore they have no means of putting forward their suggestions. I am concerned particularly, Sir, about the bottom 15-20% of the population.

Mr Wong Kan Seng: I think there are many avenues for members of the public who could not write to the Feedback Unit to express or give their suggestions. These avenues are the respective RCs, CCCs or MCs or even the Members of Parliament. They can also phone in to the Feedback Unit, and we have received phone calls from members of the public regarding some of the suggestions.

Dr Augustine Tan: Sir, I think my question was not answered. Would the Minister of State consider opening an avenue, that means, having letter writers made available to people who would like to write letters?

Mr Wong Kan Seng: There is no need for us to set up one desk, especially in Anson, to do the job of the Member of Parliament.

Mr Jeyaretnam: That joke is lost on me, but it does not matter. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, would the Minister enlighten this House about the complaints? I asked about the comments on policies. What happens to these complaints? Are they investigated or are they merely given curt replies?

Mr Wong Kan Seng: Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am not sure if the hon. Member for Anson was listening when I was describing the process. I said that all suggestions received by the Feedback Unit from the members of the public are evaluated, considered by the Feedback Supervisory Panel and discussed with the Ministries concerned, and every point which they raised will be checked and counter-checked.

Mr Jeyaretnam: Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Minister of State perhaps does not understand my question. Where a member of the public makes a complaint about not being fairly treated by a Ministry official, or has been left out of something which he says he should receive, what does the Feedback Unit do? Does it investigate the man's case, the merits, and then order a review of the whole decision?

Mr Wong Kan Seng: That is precisely what the Feedback Unit was set up to do.

Mr Jeyaretnam: Does it?