PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS Debate on the Address (Fourth Allotted Day)

Order read for Resumption of Debate on Question [16th January, 1989],

'That the following Address in reply to the Speech of the President be agreed to:-

"We, the Parliament of the Republic of Singapore, express our thanks to the President for the Speech which he delivered on behalf of the Government at the Opening of the First Session of this Parliament.".' - (Mr Abdullah Tarmugi)

Question again proposed.

Dr Tan Cheng Bock (Ayer Rajah): Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise to support the motion standing in the name of the Member for Siglap.

Yesterday, just before Parliament adjourned, I was talking about consultation and pointed out that consultation is not a one-time affair. In the course of my speech, I asked Members, especially the new Backbencher colleagues, to speak their minds and not to be intimidated by Ministers. However, let me also remind them that if they go around throwing brickbats at Ministers they can also get hurt. I remember when I first entered this House and I took on the First Deputy Prime Minister, Dr Goh Keng Swee, he gave me a good walloping. I think he gave me some ulcers too. He really cut me to pieces. Mr Speaker, Sir, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose an argument. But if you are wounded, do not worry. Take a few antacids to heal your ulcers. But do not run. Do not hide. Lick your parliamentary wounds and come back the next round.

Mr Speaker, Sir, there is one phrase that is repeatedly used and I propose we drop it. This phrase "little or no margin for error" means exactly what it meant. You just cannot fail. It would do us no good in trying to encourage people to get involved because of this fear of failure. Success and failure are part of life. We are human beings. We do make mistakes. The Government is also not perfect. We have also made mistakes. Who wants to risk his neck if he knows his head will be on the chopping block if he fails? The result is that people will be less willing to take risks and we will be a nation of no risk-takers and this will also encourage over-dependence on others for support. It is no wonder that people always look to the Government for solutions each time they are in trouble.

Mr Speaker, Sir, the next five years is important. We must continue to show by examples and by deeds of our intention to want our people to participate. By then I hope Singaporeans will come out of their no-risk shell.

Mr Leong Horn Kee (Thomson): Mr Speaker, Sir, I am pleased to join in expressing our thanks to the President for his Address to this House.

Sir, it strikes me that the key point in the President's Address and the very basis of the Government's plans for the next few years lies in the first sentence of the Address which says, "The Government's goal is to create a better life for all Singaporeans." This simple sentence states the mission and the raison d'etre of the Government. This is the primary duty of any Government to improve the well-being of the people. The Government is being elected and judged by the people on how much it has improved their lives. I was very surprised yesterday when the Non-Constituency Member, Dr Lee Siew-Choh, in his speech lamented that the PAP Government has not done much for the people. Sir, the fundamental desire of the people is very simple. It is well expressed in a popular Chinese saying An ju le ye, jiu shi an ding de sheng huo, yi kuai de lao dong " " which means in English that the common people's basic desire is to have stable living conditions so that they and their future generations can continue to work and live peacefully. It is therefore indisputable that the present Government has done an excellent job in improving the lives of our people over the last three decades. Otherwise it would not have been possible for our people to elect this Government back into office for seven consecutive terms.

Sir, I would like to focus my speech on two main subjects - first, National Ideology and then Education. On the National Ideology, to further ensure stability and set the correct directions for our nation, the Government has proposed that we develop a National Ideology. Many Members in this House and individuals and groups outside this House have suggested several good ideas for the National Ideology. I feel that the National Ideology should embody certain key principles for different levels of our life. For example, at the individual level, we can adopt the principle which is to strive for excellence by all. At the family level, a key concept would be, I am sure, filial piety. At the Government level, we can adopt good and non-corrupt administration as a principle. At the society level, an important principle will be social tolerance. At the national level, I would take observance and protection of the laws of the land.

Sir, the above principles are just some suggestions. The Committee on National Ideology headed by the Minister for Trade and Industry will have to carefully select and present the chosen principles. These ideals once chosen cannot be easily changed. We cannot say that after a few years, a few of the principles did not work out quite well and we have to do a complete about-turn. The people will be confused. Here I would like to say that as against the view of the Member for Ayer Rajah, there is very little room for error. It is possible for us to tell our people that, first, you stop at two children; and later on, to tell them to stop at three or more if you can afford it. But it is difficult for us to tell our people to first adopt certain principles and later on say, "No, please erase your mind from all those concepts. Come again, let us try all over again with some new concepts." Therefore, it is important that the right principles are selected for the National Ideology.

The National Ideology is important as it will guide us in our conduct of personal, family, business and international relations. To be effective, the Government should gather the views from all segments of the people and distill all the ideas collected into a few key, simple and straightforward principles so that everyone can relate to and accept. Widespread explanation and acceptance is critical. Otherwise there may be a small group who though they may agree to the general need for a National Ideology, may not necessarily agree to one or two specific principles in the National Ideology. They will feel segregated and alienated. If not carefully handled, this whole programme of the National Ideology can become a very divisive instrument instead of being a bond of our diverse cultures and people.

After we have decided on the National Ideology, there is a need to disseminate the concepts. Here the Government must take a leading role to inspire the widespread adoption of these ideas, through Ministerial speeches, promotional campaigns, and mass media dissemina- tion. In my view, an effective manner to enable the principles of the National Ideology to be instilled is through education. School textbooks and reading materials should be selected or written which serve to communicate the core values embodied in the National Ideology. If education should be the means to teach core values, then I feel there is a pool of people on whom we should pay special attention. These are the principals and teachers. Better recognition of their status in society should be made. They should be given proper training and exposure on the significance of the National Ideology. With better understanding, our teachers will then be able to communicate the National Ideology to the students.

Now I would like to turn to education. The Chairman of the GPC for Education, Dr Tan Cheng Bock, yesterday has given his views on various educational issues relating to primary, secondary and pre-university education. As a member of the GPC for Education, I would like to touch on one other aspect of education, and that is, tertiary level education. I am pleased to read in the President's Address:

'More students are now doing well in schools and qualifying for university. The Government shall expand university intakes, upgrade NTI into a full university, and study the feasibility of building a new tertiary institution to complement NUS and NTI.' Sir, these statements made by the Government are very encouraging indeed.

The decision to provide more university places is correct. At present, there is a big demand for students to enter the universities. I have attempted to gather some comparative statistics on student population at the tertiary level in various countries. Sir, with your permission, may I ask the Clerk to circulate a table for the Members' attention. [Copies of table circulated to Members]. This table that I am circulating shows some statistical collection done by UNESCO on the number of students at the tertiary level (they call it "the third level") per 100,000 inhabitants in a few countries in North America, Europe and Asia. For Singapore, the number is about 1,600 students per 100,000 inhabitants. If you compare that number with some other countries, we are way below North America, like USA and Canada which have over 5,000 students per 100,000 inhabitants. We are also behind some countries like UK and Switzerland and also far behind other Western countries like West Germany and France which have about 2,600 students at the third level education. We are also behind Japan, South Korea and Taiwan although we are a little ahead of Hong Kong and of course much ahead of Malaysia and Indonesia. The figures are given in the table that has been circulated.

It is granted that there may be difficulty in making cross-country comparison because of differences in the definition of tertiary education in the various countries. The above statistics are nevertheless interesting. It shows that for Singapore, while we are catching up with countries like Japan, UK and Switzerland, we are still behind in the provision of tertiary level student places compared to the North American countries, USA and Canada, to European countries like West Germany and France, and even some Asian countries like South Korea and Taiwan. The above data show that we can do more to provide tertiary level training for Singaporeans. I would like to urge the Government therefore to set up the proposed new third university urgently. There is the often-repeated phrase - the provision of more tertiary places means that more Singaporeans can be developed to their fullest potential.

There is another means whereby we can expand the tertiary level training opportunities for our adult population. This is the creation of an open university. Our present educational system caters mainly for straightforward entry into the university through pre-university 'A' level qualifications. For the people who have failed to qualify, given the stringent entry requirements or for those who have for a variety of reasons, personal or family, missed the chance to enter the university, the present system is quite rigid. It is very difficult for these adult Singaporeans to get a formal tertiary education once they missed the chance.

There are many examples of institutions in developed countries which provide university-level education for mature adults. Notable examples are the Open University of UK and the Everyman's University of Israel. The Open University of UK has a current enrolment of 50,000 students. The experience of this University is interesting. It shows that many do not enrol for a full degree courses but are only interested in acquiring knowledge in specific subjects. There are several Singaporeans who are keen in getting higher education but are unable to enter the local university. Several have gone overseas to study. Many others, after working for a few years, enrol themselves with correspondence schools or evening classes which prepare themselves for degree courses in foreign institutes.

The Member for Ayer Rajah has yesterday circulated a table showing that there are over 10,000 Singaporeans studying abroad. This obviously is an indication that there is a huge demand for higher education by our local Singaporeans which cannot be met by the local tertiary institutions.

Many Singaporeans have also obtained external degrees in languages, economics and arts through the very popular external degree programme of the London University. For the population base that we have in Singapore there may not be a sufficient demand for us to establish an independent open university. Hence, I would like to propose that the Government consider creating some avenues or channels whereby Singaporean adults who are keen can obtain external degrees through self-study or part-time courses with local institutions, such as the NUS or NTI or the new university to be proposed. This arrangement can be very cost-effective because it means that the existing facilities and teaching staff need only be expanded very slightly to cater for the enlarged external degree programme.

Moreover, the university's physical facilities, the equipment can also be better utilized because during the vacation period the external students can come in to use those facilities. Having such a scheme in Singapore will alleviate the demand for university places by ambitious young people, who desire to go for higher education but cannot get to enter our local universities, and may have to go to foreign institutions.

The Government has expounded on a vision for Singapore that we shall become an economically progressive and culturally developed nation. The importance of education in the overall context of national development and instilling the core values of the National Ideology is well recognized. As the people progress, demand for higher education increases. There is a general desire for improvement of skills and knowledge. Therefore, our educational system should not be too rigid. There must be some allowance for flexibility and free play. While we do not want to create a nation of bookish paper-chasers, ways must be found to enlarge the opportunities for Singaporeans to improve themselves. I believe that the provision of more tertiary education places and the establishment of a new university as soon as possible are important. Just like the concept of the independent schools, we should also allow for perhaps some privately-run colleges or university provided these are of course well run and have the required level of educational standards. In addition, the Ministry should seriously consider the setting up of an open university or an external degree programme under the NUS or the NTI. These facilities will promote the ideal that our Singapore people can become more knowledgeable, and there shall be more free flow of ideas. As it is said, the neglect of education will be the ruin of a nation. Conversely, a sound education will be the bastion of a society.

Sir, I support the motion proposed by the Member for Siglap.

Mr Goh Choon Kang (Braddell Heights): Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise to support the motion standing in the name of the Member for Siglap.

Sir, as a member of the GPC on Education, may I first state that I concur with most of the suggestions brought up by the GPC Chairman yesterday concerning the learning and teaching of the mother tongue.

Today, I would like to focus myself also on the bilingual policy. Sir, in his Address the President raised a number of pertinent questions. (1) What sort of society will we become in another generation? (2) What sort of people do we want our children to become? And (3) Do we want to abandon our own culture and national identity? I think the key to these questions is education. And these questions concern education. How we educate our children both at home and in school; how we nurture a new generation of Singaporeans will determine the kind of citizens we will have in future.

Education, as the Member for Cairnhill pointed out the other day, is Bai nian shu ren ( ). Shu ren in the broader sense of the term is education. It is not an easy task, but it is an important task. I believe most Singaporeans want our children to have the best of East and West. We want to modernize as well as to preserve our own cultural heritage. Very few would think that wholesale westernization is the right path for us to take. And I think this is where bilingualism comes in. Those who advocate total or complete westernization may think that bilingualism imposes an unnecessary burden on their children and that mother tongue is unnecessary and useless. But I think most Singaporeans are aware of the dangers of Handan xue bu ( ) which means, in attempting to walk like a swan, the crow loses its own gait.

The importance of bilingualism, therefore, cannot be over-emphasized, now that we have integrated all language streams into one national stream with English as the so-called first language and mother tongue the second language. Because of this I think, Sir, we have to watch for two potential dangers. (1) Our children will be more directly exposed to outside influences and fads and may succumb to undesirable influences more easily. (2) The wrong impression which some have, that mother tongue is not important or useless, may become more widespread. So what should we do? I think the most important thing is to uphold the bilingual policy and to reinforce it, not to weaken it. In this respect, I am happy to note that the Government has decided to strengthen the teaching of our core values in schools and also to promote the use of the mother tongue.

I believe that the bilingual policy needs to be reinforced and not weakened because I think it is instrumental in providing our children with the necessary cultural ballast. To do so, I would like to urge the Government to do the following. Firstly, to do away with this labelling of first and second language because second language may give the wrong impression that it is not important or of secondary importance. So give them back their proper names, either English and mother tongue, or simply English language, Malay language, Tamil language or Chinese language. Some may say, what's in a name? I am under no illusion also that just by doing that we can achieve wonders. But as the old master, Confucius, said, Ming bu zheng, ze yan bu shun; Yan bu shun, ze shi bu cheng ( ) which means, when the names are not correct, what is said does not sound reasonable, and when what is said does not sound reasonable, affairs will not culminate in success.

Secondly, I would urge the Government to resist any pressure from any quarter to lower the standard of mother tongue further or to do away with this entrance requirement to our universities. To do so would be like Xue zhu shi lu", ( ), which is to whittle down the feet to fit the shoes, or Wan rao bu chuang ( ) which means, to cut off a piece of flesh from the body just to mend a sore.

Sir, a minimum standard of mother tongue should be ensured; otherwise it would defeat the whole purpose of the bilingual policy. But I agree that for the average students we have to set realistic standards, both for English and for the mother tongue.

Sir, I am aware that some of those who migrate or go for overseas studies cited inability to cope with the requirement of mother tongue as one of their reasons. But let us look at the figures. I have requested the Clerk to circulate, with your permission, Sir, two tables. [Copies of tables circulated to hon. Members.] These tables show the examination results of mother tongue at '0' and 'A' levels from 1985 to 1987. Examination results may not reflect actual standard. But the tables clearly show that the passing rates for all mother tongue, both at '0' and 'A' levels, were consistently over 90%. And the minimum requirement for entry into the NUS is a mere grade 7. Even those who fail to meet this minimum requirement but have good results in other subjects are admitted first and given time and assistance to make up for it later. So, Shi shi sheng yu xiong bian ( ), that is, facts speak most eloquently.

Thirdly, I think, Sir, we should, as the President said, promote the use of mother tongue. Indeed, mother tongue should not be taught as a dead language like Latin. Therefore, I sincerely hope that the Government can come up with specific programmes to further this aim of promoting the use of mother tongue.

The suggestion to have an annual Language and Cultural Month for each community would not be out of place. The Malay community with the blessing of 1DPM already started one last year. The Chinese and Indian communities should be encouraged to do likewise.

Finally, Sir, on our part, as parents, I think we must ourselves adopt a positive attitude towards the teaching and learning of mother tongue. We owe it to our children to encourage, motivate and assist them to learn and to appreciate the importance of mother tongue, the beauty of the language and to be bilingual.

Dr Dixie Tan (Ulu Pandan): Mr Speaker, Sir, I wish to join in this debate to thank the President for his speech.

Sir, I was in the last term of Parliament in the GPC for Community Developlment. While I was there I came to know a little bit more about the art scene in Singapore. Now that I am in the GPC for Education, there is much which can be done in the area of education for the arts. Let me explain.

In recent years it has actually been encouraging to see the great increase in performances of visual arts and the great increase and interest in exhibitions of performing arts too. What I mean are subjects like music and dance, art and sculpture. But what we are seeing at that end which has been very well promoted, in particular by the Cultural Affairs Division of the Ministry of Community Development, and also many, many enthusiastic groups of volunteers and not least, donors and audiences. It is good, it is encouraging. But this is the top end, it is the performance end. What I wish to talk about is the base of all this support and the base starts from early childhood. I shall come to that a little bit later on. But why do we want to do this? I shall try and explain that.

It is recognized that the arts gives breadth and richness of life, improving its quality. This ties in with our wanting to give our people a better life. What is better life? Better life is not merely more money to spend, more able to buy a bigger car or a bigger house. I think quality of life is something that we need to consider at this stage of our development. In the earlier years of our nationhood we were struggling just to live; we were struggling just to pay for a decent place to live, but without aspiring to a better life. From this point onwards, we must be talking in terms of better quality of life rather than just quantity of things.

I think quality of life is promoted by the arts and probably I will not spend any more time on that. There is no argument about it. But for those of a more pragmatic mind, maybe those who control purse strings, I would like to point out there are other potential advantages. When children participate in arts and all these things like music, dance, doing things with their hands, drawing and so on, they improve their physical coordination. When they are exposed to rhythm, they learn to move, they learn body perceptions. When they do things with their hands, whether it be sand play, water play, modelling, they are appreciating shapes and design. And perception of design can translate into better sales. How? By better design of our products, by better design of our packaging. We have indeed found this to be lacking, and this is where we have lacked a cutting edge in selling the products that we make.

I think it is not so easy. You cannot simply take people and say, "OK, we give you a 3-month course in design. Therefore, you can design." It does not work like that. It needs to be learnt from an early age, to be sort of absorbed in.

When we learn to dance and move at an early age, it inculcates the love of movement and physical usage of the body, as it were, leading to a better level of physical fitness which is so important, especially when we are thinking of the greying of Singapore. The single most important factor in keeping our older people at work and keeping them healthy is for them to be physically active. Of course, they should also avoid bad life habits. But it is a well-known fact that people who actively take part in physical activities, be it running, dancing, swimming or what have you, are the same people who avoid harmful lifestyles. Therefore, if we want to avoid harmful lifestyles and preserve our people in good health, to be able to work better, longer, we must start them young and inculcate in them the good things which will, as they grow up, displace the bad influences in their lives. Therefore, although you cannot say that 2 plus 2 equals 4 in this kind of argument, it is very clear that the arts do play a large part in the development of one's personality.

We know the value of languages. We know the value of mathematics in school. But the value of the arts is not so easy to evaluate. You cannot give a lot of marks to indicate 90-100 equals so many per cent and so on. But it helps the brain, a brain that is fit because the body is fit. A brain that is exposed to influences other than just book learning is also a brain which will be more innovative and imaginative. What I am trying to say is that if we want excellence and if we want quality of life, we owe our children the kind of education which will develop every child to the maximum of his or her potential in the maximum number of directions.

But, Sir, when I look around I do not see the means of doing this. We need to do this from an early age; in fact, from pre-school through primary and secondary schools. In fact, it should be part and parcel of the general education curriculum. To do this, we need specialist teachers to be able to teach these subjects as specialist subjects and this is quite lacking in Singapore.

In the Institute of Education, there are teachers who are trained to teach Arts but not as a specialist subject for primary schools. In the secondary schools, I am aware that there are a number of schools that run Art and Music elective programmes. And perhaps one JC runs a dance elective programme. But you know these are very very few. It does not touch the vast majority of our students who go to school. And there is no conception that this is part and parcel of education, that this will benefit a person all round in their adult life and that this can translate into useful skills which can earn money.

Therefore, I think we would like the Government to look into providing facilities for the training of specialist teachers in the Arts. There are actually colleges that are providing some training at college level. But the number of people that they are able to train is very small. There is the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), there is the La Salle, and the third one escapes me. I am sorry. The Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts is the oldest. La Salle is very well accredited with international colleges. But, Sir, the number of students that these colleges can take care of is very small. They cannot make an impact on the general education of all our children. Therefore, I think the Institute of Education needs to be given the wherewithal to establish specialist departments in all these subjects in order that they can teach more students to become teachers in primary and secondary schools for these subjects.

If we pursue this line, we also need tertiary education in these subjects. Because the people in the tertiary level will be the people who will teach the teachers. You cannot have secondary school teachers without a university department producing people who will teach these teachers. Similarly, I would propose that we should think about having departments in our tertiary institutions at university level for Music, Art, Culture and even Dance.

At this time when we are thinking of a third university, I would urge the Minister to really consider it very seriously. However, I would urge him not to consider having these departments all in one university. That is not on. What we need is to have these departments as part of universities that offer a whole range of departments. I think design and engineering are related. Design and architecture are definitely related. No one can become a good architect if they do not have good design. Design and movement are integrated. All these things overlap each with the other. Therefore, Sir, I would propose that we do need three universities. But let us have three well-rounded, balanced, universities. I feel there is no better exposure for students and faculties in, let us say, sciences and humanities than to have within their midst faculty and students from the Arts department.

Having said all this, I must put in my pitch for the second language in support of the Chairman of the GPC for Education. Some Members still remember that I made a similar speech in February 1985, for which I was rewarded by a very prolonged and acrimonious response in the Chinese press, to the extent that I had to make my next speech in Mandarin. My thinking is very simple. I feel that we need to open the windows of our minds. What I have said of the Arts actually opens more windows to our minds, and that is all that I am asking for. Languages and Arts are actually quite similar. Arts are actually languages. And if you are talking about a National Ideology where we must respect each other's cultures and religions, where we want to promote our heritages, what better place to promote than using the Arts as a vehicle. The Arts is a place where people can cross cultural, international, barriers. The Arts is a place that borrows quite freely from each other. So even Mr Chiam's idea of a melting pot would be well served with promotion of the Arts at its basic level, from early childhood, not just performances here and there.

The way I see language is the same. I feel that all of us are richer for having more than one language. And all of us are richer if we know something of our heritage. Therefore, I am a strong supporter of the second language, in particular one's mother tongue. In my day, our schools were not so obliging as to offer second languages. In my day, my friends and I went to English schools in the morning to learn English and we went to Chinese schools in the afternoon to learn Chinese. It took up a lot of our time. We went to school in the morning. We rushed home and went to school again in the afternoon. But we learnt rather more than just the language. We learnt also Chinese history, Chinese geography and even Chinese style hygiene. There was a subject called Hygiene, and I can recall this teacher who told us very seriously that after dinner we should lie on our right side because the stomach flow the right. I carried this all the way until I went to medical school when I found that whether you lie on your left or right or even if you stood on your head, your stomach would still empty from the left to the right.

However, that is besides the point. The point is that we learn a lot about culture and we learn a lot about peoples from learning languages. In my adult life, my husband and I took lessons in Malay. So we are now trilingual. But that does not mean we are very good in two languages. I think for education in languages, we want to promote the mother tongue and we want to promote as many languages for as many people as possible. I think we can even promote a third language. However, Sir, not everyone is proficient at many languages. There are some who are very proficient. And here I would like to support the concept that we need to have people in Singapore who will be very good at languages, who will excel, so that these people can be our future teachers of children, can be our faculty at university level. I think if we are all mediocre, we are going to lose out in people who have excellent standards in languages, particularly our own language. Therefore, I would support the suggestion that we need to promote more languages. We need to encourage more children who have the aptitude to take more than one language at first level, ie, CL1 plus EL1 or ML1 plus EL1 and so forth.

I think the availability must be much more scattered. Because it is no point just having a few of our best schools offering this. All the rest of the children out in the new housing estates and so forth will not be able to come in to our few SAP schools and others to take languages at this higher level. And I think this higher level needs also to be promoted at all levels, 'A' level and tertiary level at university. I think our university departments can benefit from being beefed up for Malay studies, Chinese studies and Tamil studies at the least, if not other languages.

Therefore, I wish to call on the Government to think of both Arts and Language with this concept, that we need to start the children young. We need to provide these facilities in a broad way. However, let us not be too rigid in the implementation. Let us allow choice, particularly in subjects like Languages and Arts. There is a lot of individual difference in aptitude and ability. I think we want excellence for those who have the aptitude. But for those who have average ability, I think average acquisition is quite adequate.

Let me conclude, Sir, by going back to the Arts. I feel strongly that in today's world, we need people who have versatile brains and skills, people with more than one specialty, people who can cooperate with others in different fields. Only in this way can we produce imaginative and high level ideas which can be sold to the rest of the world. This is what excellence is all about. This is what quality of life is all about.

Therefore, in conclusion, Sir, may I leave a parting thought, which is that the arts are not only for the artistically gifted, nor are they the prerogative of the rich. Art is for everybody.

Sir, I support the Motion.

Mr Peh Chin Hua (Jalan Besar GRC): ( In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the motion by the Member for Siglap thanking the President for his Address.

In the President's Address he stressed the importance of cultivating value concept to perpetuate the cultural heritages of our various races and to safeguard our common values through the learning of the mother tongue and the teaching of moral education in the schools in case we lose our direction. I feel that it is important to learn one's mother tongue, whatever race one belongs to.

In the primary curricula the use of the mother tongue should be strengthened. I also agree to the Minister of Education's addendum which says that the Ministry wants to improve the course structure and teaching materials for the mother tongue without overloading the children or lowering the standards of English, Mathematics and Science. This exactly hits the nail on the head. Before I commence, let me first declare that I am a textbook and educational publisher, but I would like to clarify that the following text is not based on pecuniary interest. Some people think that in order to preserve Chinese cultural heritage and value concept, it is necessary to increase the list of common words to raise the standard of Chinese to achieve our aim. In fact, it is wrong and not necessary. Let me quote some surveys to illustrate this point. According to the Beijing Chinese Language Research Centre, in its 1985 survey of 1,000 most commonly used words which formed 78.57% of their total textbook materials used in the primary and secondary schools, 99% or 990 out of those 1,000 words are found in our present word list for primary schools. I quote this example just to illustrate the point of view that language-wise the list of 1,800 words adopted for our primary schools is sufficient.

According to another survey by the Lianhe Zaobao of its list of 1,000 most commonly used words, 92.8% are found in the word list of 1,800 words for our primary schools. The above, therefore, proves that the word list of the Ministry of Education is correct and, simultaneously, that the number of commonly used words in the Chinese Language listed for our students is sufficient. Hence, if we increase the present word list, it would only lead to an additional workload for Chinese students taking English and Chinese as their first and second language respectively, thereby leading to negative results in the long run.

Since our word list is sufficient and yet we experience a loss in our core values, then, where does the problem lie? At this juncture, I personally feel that there is a weak link between the course structure for our primary schools and the requirements of our present society which I would like to elaborate.

Sir, at present our Chinese textbook for primary schools emphasises the learning of sentence structure and knowledge, neglecting the inculcation of values. The text wording is not written in such a way as to help primary students to read and memorize with ease for being pithy, rhythmic and catchy. Chinese is not like other languages. It is ideographic and has four tones and other characteristics. Some people think that Chinese is more difficult to learn. Therefore, if the text cannot rouse the interest of the students, then it would be very difficult for them to remember what they have learnt. If one cannot learn one's mother tongue with facility, how can you expect him to learn his culture and values? Let us make a comparison of the Chinese textbooks used in the primary school, the present textbook is different from what we had in the past. Today, the first lesson is: "This is a person. This is the head, etc." ( ). Another lesson for the primary one student is about the younger brother playing with a ball, the younger sister drawing the moon, etc. ( ). Almost the whole primary one textbook consists of this kind of text. Let us look at the primary one lessons during my time in 1954. Here we have a lesson clapping one's hands and playing with a ball which not only teaches sentence structure but also inculcate values in the students. The text is like this: ( ).

Most of us may have the wrong impression that the word list of yesterday's is more difficult. Allow me, Mr Speaker, Sir, to refer to this chapter ( ) of my generation. It only consists of 11 new words which are also found in our existing word list for Primary 1. However, it comprises invaluable lessons which could be inculcated in our young citizens at this tender age. This lesson teaches ethical values: The younger brother does not compete with the elder brother for the bigger ball and the younger sister does not compete with the two brothers for any ball but clapping her hands smilingly. There is another lesson; the text relates to stars twinkling brightly in the sky and the people on the earth desiring for peace ( ) and so on. The reading is rhythmic and catchy, facili- tating memory. It teaches the children to love peace and live harmoniously together. There are many such rhythmic, recitable and easily memorable lessons which are also educational, such as "Receiving Guests", "Little Lamb" and so on. ( ). These wordings could rhyme and are easy to catch on. Such rhythmic and catchy phrases of this type of formulation can also be easily memorized. So all these would facilitate the children to learn the mother tongue well. Also at the same time, they inculcate good human relationships and correct value concept in them. Therefore, they are much better than our present texts which are lacking in appeal due to lack of these qualities. So because of these reasons I hope the good text materials used in the 50's could also be adopted to improve our present textbook contents while new terms relating to our environment such as our housing estates, MRT and Total Defence, and so on, could be included in our textbooks.

Besides these, strengthening the student's ability to read, write and actually use the common vocabulary is also important. The ability to express in the language is directly proportional to the volume of vocabulary acquired. Couplings and phrases can be formed out of individual words to give new meanings, such as the single word " " (root) and the single word " " (origin) when combined together would form a coupling " " meaning "fundamental". Another example, when single words " " (person), " " (hill) and " " (sea) are combined together they form a quadruple phrase " " meaning "a huge crowd". We have adequate vocabulary for primary pupils, what is lacking for them is constant practice and usage of this common vocabulary which should be encouraged and incorporated in the teaching materials for the primary textbooks. It is only through constant practice and repeated use that the student will be able to increase his ability to master the Chinese mother tongue, particularly in reading and writing aspects. Otherwise, traditional Asian value concepts would gradually be lost. Westernization in values such as individualism and self-centred life philosophy would then replace them. This would be regrettable.

At present, there are many subjects that students have to learn. Besides, there are extra-curricular activities. The Mandarin teachers have been working hard for the mother tongue within the constraints of teaching periods. Their efforts merit our praise. We may consider including the oral Chinese vocabulary of our pre-schoolers in the lower primary textbooks. According to a survey by the Institute of Education in 1988, the pre-schoolers have an oral vocabulary of Chinese of about 1,231. If this known vocabulary were to be included in the primary school textbook, it will help a lot in raising the effectiveness of our children's learning of the mother tongue. Other than this, we can also review the primary word list including word selection. If we can divide the list of words into two main categories for lower primary and higher primary without increasing it or affecting Primary 3 streaming and PSLE, we can make the use of these teaching materials more flexible, without increasing or enhancing the burden of the children in learning mother tongue. As regards selection of words for the common list, we can include some words relating to national service " " and take away some seldom used words like " " (bat), " " (hoe), etc, in order to relate to our present society and environment.

Sir, the Ministry of Education intends to strengthen the use of mother tongue in five years. I would just like to make some suggestions to strengthen what the Member for Ayer Rajah, Dr Tan Cheng Bock, suggested yesterday.

(1) Less constraint on the number of new words -

The primary education level could be classified into two, namely, lower and upper primary, with the number of word list from Primary 1 to Primary 3 set at 830 and the cumulative total for Primary 6 set at 1,800. There will be less constraint in the usage and words formation of our teaching materials, in which case the passages would become more interesting to our students and therefore the standard of our mother tongue could be raised. At the same time, there will be no overloading on the students taking the Primary 3 streaming as well as the PSLE because the overall word list would remain unchanged.

(2) Planning of teaching materials -

Great care must be taken when incorporating the learning materials to make them interesting. Catchy phrases that rhyme could be repeated so as to enable the students to remember what they have learnt.

(3) Emphasis on reading and writing -

We could reinforce the most commonly used phrases out of the 1800 word list, with emphasis on vocabulary building. This would definitely enable our students to read and write better.

(4) Instil intrinsic values -

In the mastery of the mother tongue, we should not concentrate solely on language structure and overlook the intrinsic values of moral education. This is to ensure that our students will have a strong cultural foundation and not lose their Asian identity values.

(5) Allowing mother tongue as a first language for more good students -

We could consider allowing those students with a good command of their mother tongue to take this subject as a first language in their studies.

(6) Mother tongue as the medium for moral education -

Without overloading our students or decreasing the hours allotted to the subjects of English, Science and Mathematics, we should try to use the mother tongue as the medium for other appropriate lessons such as moral education, etc.

Sir, I support the motion. Thank you.

Encik Abdul Nasser bin Kamaruddin (Hong Kah GRC): Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise before this House in support of the motion that is tabled before it by the hon. Member for Siglap. Sir, I also noted that at the end of the first day's proceedings, you mentioned that the great British politician, Sir Winston Churchill made a habit of memorizing his speech the night before. In all probability, Sir, he did not have the meet-the-people sessions or house visits the night before. I therefore urge you, Sir, to bear with me if from time to time I make references to my text.

Sir, in his Address, the President outlined the Government's goal of creating a better life for all Singaporeans. A skilled, well-paid job for every working Singaporean; every family housed in an affordable, comfortable home; every child educated to the limits of his or her potential. The recognition of the unequal rates of progress made by the different communities, Sir, is indeed laudable, so too is the Government's stated intention to further encourage and facilitate the progress of Malay Singaporeans into the mainstream of national life.

Sir, I believe this sentiment reflects the genuine concern of the Government, for they understand that it is to our nation's own advantage to have Malay Singaporeans achieve greater socio-economic parity. It is in the interest of all to have the community better educated, better qualified and to increase its contribution to Singapore's development.

Mr Speaker, Sir, Singapore is widely known as a place where different ethnic groups live together without the strife that has become a normal feature of many other plural societies. To this, the credit must go to the Government's commitment to multi-racialism. However, Sir, for such a commitment to succeed, it requires that each and every Singaporean subscribes to the goal of living together in harmony, whether in the religious, racial or cultural spheres, for there could be few better places to consider the attainment of that goal than right here in Singapore where tolerance of our diversity in race, culture and religion has made the need for living together in harmony a practical compulsion, a necessity whose virtue we as a nation so worthily symbolize.

Sir, though there may be differences of culture, race and creed, it is imperative that we strive to understand those differences. It is imperative that we strive to accept the differences. But more importantly, Sir, we must strive to tolerate and understand those differences in order that we may all live in harmony. As in the Malay proverb, Sir, "Bersatu teguh, bercerai roboh" - united we stand, divided we fall.

Mr Speaker, Sir, for almost a generation we have been living in harmony. It does not mean that differences in perspectives and outlook have disappeared. Indeed we would be naive in thinking so, for they have not. Emotional issues can still result in tension and, if left unchecked, may indeed sow the seed for conflict. Therefore, Sir, we must constantly remind ourselves that such harmony cannot be taken for granted. Indeed, we should strive for higher levels of maturity and rationality in dealing with complex issues. Sir, we should not allow ourselves to be swayed by our emotions to the extent that we lose our bearing in looking at issues.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I urge the Government to employ to good advantage its particular style of leadership characterized by its informality - the walkabouts, the public forums and dialogue sessions. For in doing so, I am sure that it may benefit from being an experienced practitioner and consensus building, seeking to promote understanding which can be of long-term value rather than of instant advantage.

Mr Speaker, Sir, earlier this afternoon, my GPC Chairman on Education said that the phrase "little or no margin for error" should no longer be used. In this regard, I beg to differ. Surely, Sir, if one was to draw upon the lessons learnt from the past, it must be that our effort of living together in harmony in Singapore must succeed. A great experiment of living together is taking place right here in this nation and we can ill afford for it to fail.

There is nothing complicated in the prescription - tolerance, understanding, equality, respect for each other's cultural and religious backgrounds, and more importantly, a special understanding for the strong feelings which those backgrounds engender.

The Singapore of today stands at the cross-roads. Staring stark in its face are the challenges and uncertainties of the nineties. As we move into the next decade, our young men and women must be imbued with the same verve and vitality which were the characteristics of our forefathers. Never before, Sir, have so much stress and expectations been placed on our young people and there can be no doubt that the youth of Singapore which constitutes the bulk of our population will rise to the occasion with drive and idealism. Their contribution to the process of nation-building cannot be over-emphasized.

Sir, in this regard, I would like to urge the Government to consider the setting up of a central body responsible for the research into planning, coordination and management of youth affairs. Presently, there are several ministries and numerous youth agencies that work with youth or deal with youth problems. There is an overlap of services, differences in approaches and omission of certain youth services. Sir, a central body could remedy the situation.

Presently, there exists a National Youth Coordinating Committee. Its role is non-executive and non-policy making. There is a need to enlarge and elevate its status so that it can better serve the needs of our youths.

The President's Address lays the framework for our pursuit for a society of excellence. In that pursuit, let us seek excellence with a sense of grace, let us seek excellence with finesse, but above all, Sir, let us seek excellence with a touch of class. That we may build a society that we can justifiably be proud of, proud enough to bequeath to our children and to our children's children. That in their day, Sir, they may look back on this House, the Seventh Parliament, on this Government and say, "We dare to dream great dreams."

Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the motion.

Mr Speaker: Mr Nasser, I might add that Sir Winston in all probability never had the experience of reading the News over TV.

Encik Abdul Nasser bin Kamaruddin: Point noted, Sir.

Mr Speaker: Order. I suspend the sitting and will take the Chair again at 3.00 pm.

Sitting accordingly suspended at 2.38 pm until 3.00 pm. Sitting resumed at 3.00 pm

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Debate resumed.

The Minister for Education (Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam): Mr Speaker, Sir, I had originally intended to wait until the Budget Debate in March in order to respond to Members' comments concerning the Ministry of Education. However, as several Members have raised a number of important points concerning our bilingual policy and the teaching of the mother tongue in our schools, I would like to take this opportunity today to outline the Ministry's proposed plan of action relating to this area. More details will be given when we meet again in March.

Sir, in addressing this matter, the Member for Ayer Rajah said yesterday that he was guided by two principles, first, that children who are linguistically talented should be given more opportunities to study their mother tongue at a higher level and, second, children who are less able should not be subjected to additional burden.

Sir, these principles are sound and the Ministry will take cognizance of them in the formulation of our policies. Children learn best and most effectively when they want to learn and when they are given opportunities to learn rather than when they are forced to learn. The more that we can encourage our pupils in schools to regard the learning of the mother tongue as an opportunity to be welcomed rather than as a hurdle which they have to cross in their progress up the educational ladder, the nearer we will be towards our goal of ensuring adequate proficiency in the mother tongue for our children.

In ensuring that our children have adequate proficiency in the mother tongue, it is important, as the Member for Ayer Rajah has stressed, to make sure that standards are set at an appropriate level so that the children who may not be linguistically talented are not over-burdened and find school a chore or have to spend so much time on studying the mother tongue to the detriment of their other subjects, particularly English, Science and Mathematics. As stated in the Ministry of Education's Addendum to the Presidential Address, a mastery of English, Science and Mathematics represents essential skills which our children must acquire if they are to earn a living in Singapore's modern economy when they grow up.

But for children who are linguistically talented and who wish to study their mother tongue at first language level in addition to English, the Ministry will provide the facilities to enable them to do so.

At the secondary school level, children who would like to study Chinese at first language level can already do so in the nine SAP schools. Similarly, children can study Malay as a first language in the Ministry of Education Language Centre at Winstedt Road and Tamil as a first language at the Umar Pulavar Tamil Language Centre at Serangoon Road. While there are facilities at secondary school for the study of the mother tongue at first language level, the Ministry will make more provision for the study of the mother tongue at first language level at the primary and the pre-university levels.

There are today four primary schools which teach Chinese as a first language, in addition to English, for those children who would like to take CL1 at PSLE. Beginning in 1990, the Ministry will increase the number of primary schools teaching Chinese as a first language in addition to English. The study of CL1 in these primary schools will enlarge the pool of CL1 pupils and provide the pupils in these schools with a strong foundation in Chinese. It will be useful preparation for those students who would like to carry on to study Chinese at first language level in the nine SAP schools.

At the pre-university level, in order to encourage students with a flair for languages to continue to study their mother tongue at a high level, the Ministry proposes to introduce a Language Elective Programme initially for the study of Chinese in selected junior colleges.

Features of the Language Elective Programme will include immersion programmes, award of scholarships and links with centres of Chinese Language studies. In this respect, Sir, the Ministry will soon begin discussions with clan associations, private and civic organizations concerning the award of the scholarships and I hope that they will participate in the scheme.

Sir, while the proposed arrangements are initially for the study of Chinese, I would like to assure all Members that there will be parity of treatment for those of our pupils who would like to study Malay or Tamil as a first language. The Ministry will ensure that facilities are available for Malay or Tamil if there is demand.

Finally, Sir, as regards the suggestions from Members concerning the strengthening of the Chinese and the Malay language departments in the National University of Singapore and the possibility of setting up a Tamil Language Department, if there is demand, I have noted these suggestions and conveyed them to the University for further study.

Sir, in the teaching of the mother tongue in our schools, as of the other subjects, the key, as I have remarked on a previous occasion in Parliament, must be a proper balance in our school curriculum. We want to provide for the total development of every child not only intellectually but also morally, physically and aesthetically. This is an ambitious objective and difficult to attain but it is vital for Singapore's progress and I am sure, Sir, that parents and Members would not wish us to aim any lower.

The Second Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Ong Teng Cheong): ( In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, thank you for this opportunity to say a few words to this House.

For the past few days we have been debating on the President's Address, talking about the formulation of a National Ideology. Today, we are talking about the standard of mother tongue and related matters. We generally agree that the learning of mother tongue will help to enhance our understanding of our own value concept. But to raise the standard of learning of mother tongue does not necessarily mean that we must increase the list of words to be learned. I agree with the Member for Jalan Besar GRC on the points he mentioned earlier. At the moment, we have culled 1,800 words in the list for the primary level. This vocabulary is quite high. To raise the standard of Chinese language does not mean that we have to increase the number of words to this list. To do so would only increase the burden of the children. Today, the children have to learn more than the children in the past. Today, the children learn more subjects in schools, and there is already a greater burden on them.

Our policy is right. We want to learn mother tongue but at the same time to acquire western knowledge, science and technology, management methods, administrative and judicial systems, and so on. The preservation and cultivation of our traditional values is easier done through the learning of mother tongue. But when we talk of raising the standard of mother tongue, there may be some misunderstanding. Therefore, I will avail myself of this opportunity to dispel any misconception and to help explain what the Member for Jalan Besar GRC has said and to expand on it in order to enable people to understand. What we want is to raise the standard of mother tongue by improving the teaching methods and text content. In this way it will be easier to absorb one's culture and values. It is not our intention to raise the standard by adding more words to the set list to be learned. This is the first point.

On the formulation of a National Ideology through the learning of the mother tongue, let me say that when we Chinese talk about learning Chinese culture and value concepts through raising the standard of Chinese language, it is not chauvinism. Similarly, when the other races, the Malays or Indians, for example, talk about acquiring or learning their traditional culture and values through raising the standard of their own mother tongue, it is also not chauvinism. It is important that we discuss this matter in a peaceful, calm and dispassionate way with the view of the national interest and benefit in mind so that we will be able to contribute constructively towards the formulation of

our National Ideology.

When I look at the Member for Potong Pasir here - he has just come in - I remember what he said yesterday. I do not want to be difficult with him. He talked about the westernization of Singapore. He considered that it was not necessary for us to formulate a National Ideology because westernization has brought about economic improvement for Singapore resulting in today's sound economic position. Therefore, western ideas such as freedom, democracy and so on have been helpful in this process. Therefore, the absorption of western political system and method of administration and management, western democracy is correct. I agree up to this point. All these have brought about economic prosperity to Singapore and social progress. But this is not westernization, this is modernization. Because, other than these, we are also learning industrial management and on how to increase productivity from the Japanese. This is not westernization. This is modernization.

By westernization we mean living in western style and adopting western social habits. But this does not mean that all western cultures and habits are bad. Some are good and some are bad. Even in our oriental cultures and social habits, many are already outdated and not suitable for our present-day society and we should change them. By adverse, undesirable influence of the western culture, we mean their drug taking, and their paying too little attention to family relationships but stressing individualism, their emphasis on personal interest and not paying much importance to social or national interest.

Yesterday, the Member for Potong Pasir said that westernization is good and it should be adopted wholesale. I would like to point out that this concept is wrong. In addition, he also said that the independence of Singapore had been brought about by a group of leadership in the PAP who were western educated. This is only partially right. Mass support is necessary in any struggle for independence. It is true tha we have leaders who were educated in the West; but, to say independence of a country depended entirely on them would be too simplistic. In their struggle for independence from colonial rule, many countries had gone through a period of bloody revolution, turmoil and struggle before independence could be achieved. The PAP leadership was able to successfully achieve independence for Singapore without bloodshed was because of the broad support of the masses.

After the Second World War, movements for independence had taken place throughout the world, one of which was India, followed by Burma and other South East Asian countries. One after the other had become independent, including Singapore. But before the PAP was established, many Singaporeans who had not been trained in the West or educated in a western school were dissatisfied with the colonial rule under the British. They took part in anti-British activities and independence movements. I entered the Chinese High School in 1950. I was in Junior Middle 1 class. Just a few months after I entered school, the riot police came and encircled the school one day. They arrested scores of students. The society was in a volatile state. The students did not find it at ease to study in school. Although we had English lessons in school, nobody dared speak English. If you speak English, you would be branded a running dog or a breaking wind. That was a time of anti-British sentiments.

At that time, there was a group of Western trained scholars and others who had acquired Western thoughts and skills. They understood methods of government administration and political systems. They decided to come forward to lead the broad masses towards independence for Singapore. They complemented each other, and helped Singapore achieved independence. Yesterday, the Member for Potong Pasir had handed a bouquet to the leadership of the PAP. I would like to thank him. But I dare say that the the PAP leadership does not consider themselves as being the only ones who deserved this accolade.

We are now talking about formulating a National Ideology in the long-term interest of our country. Some may ask why did we not talk about this earlier? Why do we talk about this now? Let me explain.

In the past, the situation was different. In those days, we had to look after our stomachs, to fill our stomachs three times a day. Now that our living standard is better, and everybody is able to speak English and we are able to absorb foreign technology and science. Not only this, we are watching foreign movies and TV programmes. So, we can be easily influenced by foreign culture and values. The PAP Government is, as we all know, one that is always on the alert and vigilant over the future, even though we are now having a peaceful time. The leadership is mindful of the need to establish or formulate a National Ideology to ensure the wellbeing of the future development of Singapore. While the people are talking of democracy, rights and freedom, they must also consider the interest of the family, the society and the nation on how to continue enjoying prosperity, peace and a good standard of living. Not all Western social customs and habits are bad. For example, freedom of marriage is, of course, better than the old Oriental precept which prohibits close proximity and mixing between the male and the female. When we talk about freedom of marriage, we should at the same time talk about our duties to the family. The family is the basic unit of the society.

When talking about the National Ideology, our aim is to unite, and not to segregate the various races. We want to strengthen, not weaken, our social cohesion. We cannot and should not impose the cultural values of one's race on the other races. When we talk about Confucianism and its values, we do not mean to impose it on the Malays or Indians.

The Member for Potong Pasir referred to Prof. Tu Wei Ming's comment about Confucianism being Chinese because of its Chineseness. I do not deny that. There are many Chinese who do not know the Chinese Language. But this is not to say that those Chinese who do not understand Chinese must be bad hats. No, it is not so. There are many of us who do not know their mother tongue because of their past circumstances. During the colonial days, not everybody could attend school. Therefore, many clans, associations, set up schools to enable Chinese children to attend schools to learn Chinese. So those students who attended such schools were able to speak only Chinese. Whereas those who joined the few Government English schools could speak only English. This is not their fault. They are not to blame. It is due to social circumstances then. There is no ulterior motive in our attempt or effort to promote the learning of mother tongue to their children. It is for the good and in the long-term interest of all concerned. So I hope that the Member for Potong Pasir will support this. I am also glad that the NCMP Member has also expressed his appreciation that the PAP recognized the danger to the society of too much Westernization, and I believe he would also agree to this plan for a set of National Ideology.

Mr Chiam See Tong (Potong Pasir): Sir, with your permission, may I ask for a clarification from the Second Deputy Prime Minister? I think there is going to be a confusion of what we are going to discuss unless we know exactly what the Government means by "Westernization". Now we hear a new term "modernization". But in any event, the clarification that I want is on family relationship. Is it not true that the Government introduced the Women's Charter and, in fact, took away all the traditional Chinese values and relationships between the husband and wife and introduced a Western system? Is it not true?

An hon. Member: Of course.

Mr Chiam See Tong: Then why are you complaining now?

Mr Ong Teng Cheong: ( In Mandarin):Mr Speaker, Sir, earlier I have explained very clearly. We have learned and absorbed many systems and things from the West, such as freedom in contracting marriage and about the relationship between the husband and the wife, equality between them. It is not wrong. But what I mean to say is that after adopting and enacting the Women's Charter, divorce cases have been on the rise. We are afraid that we may follow the West in having more divorce cases. We must find ways to avoid going in this direction. There is much we can learn from the West. But since we are Orientals, we should be proud of our own cultures and value concepts. If they are good, we should preserve them. It is correct that there should be freedom in contracting marriage. But the husband and the wife should also mutually love and respect each other and be mutually responsible for the family so as to preserve the unity of the family. This is not wrong.

Mr Chiam See Tong: Sir, may I have a further clarification? The Second Deputy Prime Minister says that good values from the West can be accepted. So we have accepted one good value from the West in respect of relationship between husband and wife. Is it not correct? Although we are Asians, we have accepted wholesale the relationship between husband and wife and embodied it in the law upon which the PAP Government pride itself of and, in fact, I think helped it to win elections. So what is wrong with accepting other Western values which are good for us? You have already accepted one in relationships.

An hon. Member: Accept one, accept all?

Mr Chiam See Tong: We should accept good values. What is wrong with that?

Mr Chandra Das: Nobody is saying no.

Mr Ong Teng Cheong: ( In Mandarin):Mr Speaker, Sir, I do not differ from him in this. We should accept good value concepts, whether from the West or from the East. Does he agree to this? He does not agree?

Mr Chiam See Tong: Sir, if we are going to replace Confucianist values of husband and wife relationship ---

Mr Chandra Das: Are we? Are you asking?

Mr Chiam See Tong: --- then I think it is a step backwards. It is not a good value. If you accept Confucius' teaching, you must teach our children the five relationships between the Emperor and his subjects, husband and wife, between the siblings, between citizens. So the husband and wife relationship is one of them. And the husband and wife relationship is not on equal basis. Whereas our law now says that they are on equal basis. When they divorce, they have, in fact, a distribution of matrimonial properties. So how are you going to relate the two? You cannot. You either accept Confucianist values or Western values.

Mr Ong Teng Cheong: ( In Mandarin):I think the Member for Potong Pasir is confused with what I have been saying. I did not propose that we adopt wholesale the five relationships of Confucianism. I have already said that we should discard practices which are bad and outdated, including any Confucianist values. We must skim the cream out of Western or Eastern traditional cultures and values. We should preserve the good ones, and discard the bad ones. I think the Member would not disagree with this. 3.31 pm

Mr Chin Harn Tong (Aljunied GRC): ( In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, first of all, I would like to thank the President for his Address in this Parliament. His address stresses the importance of Asian value concepts in building our National Ideology. This is very clear. This is also the goal that we should strive for. The trend of westernized thinking of our younger generation is now causing grave concern to all of us. I would like to stress that this problem is very serious. In the period that I lived in, from the 1930's to the 1980's, I have seen many changes in our society and I have also seen the changes in the thinking and behaviour of our young people.

Sir, western thoughts may have their good and bad points. But under the impact of western culture, the traditions we value, such as our concern for the society and the family and respect for the elders, our thrifty and simple lifestyle and our diligent work attitude have been gradually replaced by a more materialistic, individualistic and hedonistic outlook and lifestyle. In recent years, this phenomenon has become more apparent. If this trend were not arrested and if it were allowed to continue and develop, then it will cause great damage to the building up of our national consciousness, the unity of the people and cohesion of our society. This will endanger our future development and wipe out all our past hard won achievements. So we must look into the root causes of this phenomenon in order to solve the problem better. Sure, some people will say that this is the price to pay for modernization or that Singapore is an open society; therefore it is inevitable that western thoughts will filter into our society and their influence felt here, and that the thoughts and behaviour of our young people are consequently affected by western cultures. But I would point out that the Government should also bear part of the responsibility in this matter. Up to very recently, for the cause of nation building we paid much attention to economic construction and development, so much so that whatever was profitable was given great attention and importance to. Therefore, those Ministries or units which could yield great profits, such as Ministry of Finance, EDB, etc. were given great approbation and attention to. On the other hand, other Ministries such as Ministry of Culture, Sports Council and so on which have to spend money were not given much attention to, as a result, their work was hindered or delayed or progress slowed down. Government's attitude towards personnel was also like this. The Government's excessive emphasis on academic qualifications has made the students and the parents also to acquire the same attitude, paying attention only to academic results. So, extracurricular activities which will not help them in getting a better job or in joining a higher institute of learning were generally neglected. What the government look for in these personnel was the material contribution they could make to the State. Therefore, engineers and economists were held very much in esteem and were greatly admired. The Government's attitude towards others was one of benevolent indifference, such as regards the artists, musicians and writers. The attitude of the Government was that, as the grass will bend with the wind, other social and private institutions would take their cue from the Government; as a result, such social vogue was formed.

Sir, I fully understand that during nation building, economic development is important. But after a certain stage of economic development and having attained a certain degree of achievement, we must pay attention to the development and promotion of culture and other forms of spiritual growth as the foundation for further national development.

I am glad to see that now the Government has paid more attention to non- materialistic topics and has formed many committees to study these topics and propose guidelines for their development. I feel, when promoting the work in these matters, it is necessary to seek out the root cause of the problems and thoroughly change our past views and attitude on these questions before we can effectively carry out our work.

Cultural education work is a long-term process. It is not like building a house which can be erected within a short time. In the course of gradual cultural development, we can see young people in succeeding generations, under the teaching and influence of culture of correct value, developing correct concept of life, strong national consciousness, bringing up good families and establishing good relationship with relatives and friends. What I would like to point out is that unlike economic development we cannot expect to see the results of cultural education development in a short time. We must be patient and persistent in promoting this task.

In conclusion, what I want to say is that our Government now is stressing the importance of Asian value concepts and National Ideology. This is correct. At present, the trend of westernization of the thinking of our younger generation has caused grave social problems in Singapore. This will damage our national unity and social cohesion and destroy the achievement that we have acquired through much effort in the past.

To solve this problem, we must seek out the root causes of the problem, one of which is the Government's past policies and manner of implementation or administration. This kind of influence has affected the society and produced the phenomena of a society where people attached much importance to profit and tended to neglect cultural and spiritual values. Such has been the social vogue. Now the Government has realized the seriousness of the problem and is now taking the correct stand on cultural development. But it is necessary to recognize the root cause of the problem and correct the attitude towards cultural promotion before we can carry out the task better. When promoting cultural educa- tion, it is necessary to recognize the fact that it is a task that will require a long time to achieve, quite unlike economic development whose result can be seen in a shorter time. It requires patience and resolution in order to promote this task.