MAIN AND DEVELOPMENT ESTIMATES OF SINGAPORE FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 1ST APRIL, 1990 TO 31ST MARCH, 1991

Order read for consideration in Committee of Supply [4th Allotted Day].

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Head M (cont.) -

Resumption of Debate on Question [16th March, 1990],

"That the sum to be allocated for Head M be reduced by $10 in respect of Code MC 1500 of the Main Estimates." - [Mr Goh Chee Wee].

Question again proposed.

Mr Chin Harn Tong (Aljunied GRC): Sir, since the publicity campaign and the subsequent introduction of a penalty to punish users for not flushing public toilets, there is some improvement in the cleanliness of public toilets. Having clean and decent public toilets is important for health and hygiene reasons as well as for Singapore's public image. Toilets in hotels are generally better maintained but this cannot be said of some toilets in shopping complexes, hawker centres and other places of public interest.

I would, therefore, like to suggest that the employment of a toilet caretaker be made compulsory for those public toilets consistently found filthy despite repeated warnings. If need be, a fee can be imposed on users. I am sure the general public would not mind paying for a cleaner toilet; for it is generally true to say that public toilets with caretakers charging on users are cleaner than those without.

I would also like to suggest that Government offices take the lead in converting the manually flushing system in their toilets to an automatic flushing system with sensor devices. This will obviate the need to flush manually. This is because, especially in a male toilet, where urinals are usually set in a row with a common cistern. The problem of who is to flush the system after urinating cannot be easily laughed away, especially during peak hours. Should the person first to finish his business pull the chain or the late-comers? It can lead to misunderstanding among the users.

Since the male toilets in Parliament House also face a similar problem during peak hours, perhaps, Parliament House should set a good example by modernising the antique flushing system in its male toilets.

Besides the upgrading of public toilets, new buildings and those undergoing major renovations be required to install automatic flushing devices for their public toilets whilst owners of the existing public toilets be required to upgrade.

Sir, can I continue with my next cut?

The Chairman: Yes.

Mr Chin Harn Tong: Sir, residents in my constituency who are living next to the Mount Vernon Crematoria have complained to me of the obvious pollution in the form of smoke and smell from the chimneys of the Mount Vernon Crematoria. Because of the number of persons who complained, the Ministry cannot dismiss the complaint as a psychological condition of a few individuals.

It is true that the smoke from the chimneys from the Mount Vernon Crematoria is not always visible but no visible emission does not mean that there is no pollution and health hazard.

I believe there are several causes for the pollution problem. When the controls to regulate the combustion of fuel in the crematoria are out of order, there is incomplete combustion with the result that carbon monoxide can be formed. As we all know, the crematoria were built some years ago, and it is possible for the controlling mechanism to be worn out. I wonder whether the anti-pollution standard set at that time is still acceptable today. For example, the facilities were designed and built for semi-urban conditions with less dense housing estates around. That is why the crematoria have very low chimneys.

I am sure the Ministry is aware of a notable incident that occurred at the end of last year. The roof of one of the buildings housing the crematoria caught fire. What was the cause of the fire? Is it because of the poor maintenance, improper operation or the relatively old equipment? I hope the Ministry will do a study with a view to improving the whole operation.

Encik Wan Hussin bin Haji Zoohri (Aljunied GRC): Sir, let me move on to a less polluted and less unsavoury subject. Although Singapore is an affluent society, there is still a sizeable number of people who are considered poor. Amongst them are many widows, many of whom are also elderly but who still have to work to look after their young children. Some who are unable to work have to depend on welfare benefits and the charity of their relatives.

Now, Sir, with the recent policy of the Ministry of the Environment of not accepting applications for hawker stalls on hardship cases, this avenue is now closed to them. My plea to the Minister is to consider allowing this group of people, widows especially and even some elderly widowers, to have their home-made cakes or kueh sold at hawker stalls. This will enable them to have some supplementary income for their families.

As for their personal hygiene and cleanliness in the preparation of these cakes, I think certain practical steps can be taken by the Ministry. These would include:

1. Deserving cases can apply and they can be made to undergo health screening;

2. Perhaps the homes or kitchens can be inspected periodically and given the necessary advice accordingly. Again, periodic checks can be made on their houses to ensure compliance with these health standards.

Sir, I am sure home-made cakes will be far more cleaner than those prepared en masse at some hidden tracks in some deserted areas of Singapore. I hope the Minister will consider these suggestions for the benefit of our poor widows and families.

The Minister for the Environment (Dr Ahmad Mattar): Mr Chairman, Sir, let me first respond to Mr Goh Chee Wee, Mr Chin Harn Tong and Mr Teo Chong Tee who have all spoken on the subject of illegal food manufacturing. I would also like to thank them for supporting the Ministry's effort against illegal food manufacturers.

Sir, illegal food manufacturers can be imprisoned up to three months and fined up to $6,000 even for the first offence. Property owners are also prosecuted if they knowingly allow their premises to be used for food manufacturing without licence. As for food vendors selling food from illegal food manufacturers, they will stand to lose their licence if they are caught. All licensed food vendors have been told that it is a condition of their licence that they must source their pre-prepared food only from licensed food manufacturers.

Sir, the number of illegal food factories closed down by my Ministry last year was 106. And for the first 2 1/2 months of this year, the Ministry has closed down another 43 such factories. The fines imposed by the courts on illegal food manufacturers ranged from $200 to $2,000. Hitherto only one offender has been jailed for four weeks.

Sir, hon. Members may be interested to know that nine owners of private properties have been issued with summonses for knowingly allowing their premises to be used by others for illegal manufacturing of food. So far, five cases have been heard in court and the fines ranged from $500 to $1,000.

My Ministry will press for the offenders to be jailed in order that we can put an end to this illegal activity. I take note of hon. Members' suggestions and will not hesitate to increase the penalties which may include mandatory jail sentence, as suggested by some hon. Members, if the situation does not improve.

I now turn to the subject of Food Hygiene Course recently introduced by my Ministry and which Mr Chin Harn Tong and Mr Ibrahim Othman spoke on. First of all, I would like to assure this House, particularly Mr Chin, that we will not rush through the course because of the large number of participants. Topics for the course have been carefully selected so that the food vendors attending the course will be taught basic food and personal hygiene practices. Slides will be shown to the participants and explanations and lectures will be conducted in English, Malay, Chinese or even Tamil if there is demand. Dialects will be used as and when necessary. Participants will have to sit for a written or oral test and multiple-choice questions will be asked. To-date, 151 food vendors have completed the course and sat for the test. 147 have passed the test and the four who failed have been informed of their mistakes and they will be sitting for the test again on the 23rd of this month. Another batch of 376 food vendors are currently undergoing the course.

Sir, those who passed the test will be issued with certificates and they will be registered with my Ministry as qualified food handlers.

Food vendors who have undergone the course and passed the test are expected to put what they have learnt into practice. My Ministry will constantly remind them of their responsibilities through other public health education programmes such as exhibitions, dissemination of public education materials and, of course, through checks and inspections by my Public Health Officers. However, I would like to assure hon. Members, especially Mr Ibrahim Othman, that if required in future, my Ministry will consider conducting refresher courses for food handlers even if they have passed the current Food Hygiene Course.

Let me now turn to the subject of privatisation of hawker centres which was raised by Mr Goh Chee Wee and Mr Teo Chong Tee. The proposal to privatise hawkers centres is in its final stage of study. Initially, privatisation will take the form of leasing out suitable sites to the private sector to build and operate hawker centres to replace existing hawker centres affected by redevelopment. Amongst other things, the new hawker centres will have to be tastefully designed with better layout, larger stalls, more spacious refreshment areas. In other words, they will be more pleasant and comfortable to eat in. When the study is completed and a policy decision taken, a formal announcement giving the details will be made.

Both Mr Goh Chee Wee and Mr Teo Chong Tee have emphasised that the person who handles food should not be allowed to handle cash and they have cited overseas food centres where the handling of food and cash is done separately. Food handlers in Singapore are not allowed to handle cooked food with their bare hands nor will the person who handles food be allowed to handle cash. These and other regulations will be strictly enforced. Mr Goh Chee Wee's suggestion that a coupon system be introduced in our hawker centres will be looked into and also his suggestion to centralise or mechanise the washing of crockery and to centralise payment for purchases in hawker centres can be incorporated in the new hawker centres under the privatisation programme.

Mr Chairman, Sir, I could not agree with Mr Teo Chong Tee more when he suggested that, as part of the tender, operators of privatised hawker centres should be required to run these centres at a higher standard of food and personal hygiene and cleanliness. In fact, our food vendors, wherever they are, must improve on their standards of hygiene. There is no excuse for anyone of them to ignore or flout food and personal hygiene practices.

Mr Ibrahim Othman wants to know whether the Ministry of the Environment would consider according a 10% preferential margin to individual hardship cases tendering for hawker stalls. First of all, as hon. Members know, the hardship policy for the allocation of stalls in Government and statutory boards' hawker centres was lifted in February this year. This decision was based on the fact that though the existing vacant food and market produce stalls were offered repeatedly to hardship cases, few have found them attractive enough to accept. They would prefer to wait for a stall in a popular hawker centre to fall vacant and then apply for it. For the information of Members, 62% of these hardship cases have been waiting for 1-2 years for such a thing to happen; 28.5% have been waiting for 2-3 years and 9.5% for three years and more.

But notwithstanding this, before vacant stalls are tendered out, they will be offered to the remaining approved hardship cases who will each be given three opportunities to select a stall before the end of the year. Vacant stalls will also be offered to stallholders in existing markets affected by redevelopment. If the vacant stalls are still rejected by the hardship cases and by stallholders affected by redevelopment, only then will they be tendered out to the general public.

Most of the vacant hawker stalls in our hawker centres come from stalls vacated by hawkers due to poor business. Hardship cases will find these stalls unattractive and will not tender for them. Therefore, it is not practical to continue to process and maintain a hardship register in order that we could give them a preferential margin to tender.

I now turn to Dr Lee Siew-Choh who has blamed the Government for hawkers who failed in their business. On why business of some hawkers failed, there are many reasons, but I do not doubt that culinary skills would certainly be a major factor, unless of course everyone in Singapore thinks like Dr Lee that hawker food is hawker food and tastes the same everywhere and anywhere. Contrary to what Dr Lee has alleged, the Government in resettling street hawkers had built hawker centres as close as possible to where the street hawkers were operating then. They were not, as Dr Lee had claimed, relocated from their previous locations where they had done well. Hill Street Hawker Centre, for example, is right in town and in a building with 160 car parking lots. Most of the hawkers resettled into Hill Street Hawker Centre came from Capital Cinema car park, Stamford Road and Wayang Street. The business in this hawker centre has declined in recent years because of the springing up of many private eating outlets in the vicinity: in Marina South, in Liang Court, in the refurbished Colombo Court.

Sir, nowadays, one has to be extremely competitive to stay profitable and this is so in any trade one is in. A hawker who knows how to cook well will have a following of patrons no matter where he is located.

Now, public toilets. My Ministry has conducted numerous campaigns on public toilets over the years but there is still much to be done to get users and managements to keep public toilets clean. One of the perennial problems, as mentioned by Mr Chin Harn Tong, is the nuisance created by unflushed water closets and urinals. While we will continue to conduct public education programmes, my Ministry will also be promoting technical innovations to overcome the problem of unflushed sanitary fittings and improve the cleanliness of public toilets. In fact, my Ministry is embarking on a programme to promote the use of sensor-operated flush valves. This sensor-operated device can keep sanitary appliances clean even under heavy usage. This programme to promote the use of automatic flushing system in public toilets will be implemented over the next two years and, hopefully, the problem which Mr Chin Harn Tong so colourfully described will not happen again.

Sir, as a start, my Ministry has begun installing such device in our public toilets in the Ministry building at Scotts Road. The Ministry will also be installing the device in five ENV hawker centres currently being upgraded and 23 more ENV hawker centres will be added on to the list. The Ministry will also be writing to the other Government departments and statutory boards to request them to draw up programmes to install the device in their busier public toilets.

With regard to toilet attendants, Sir, I must say that in the past two years, my officers have encouraged the busier shopping complexes and restaurants to employ either full-time toilet attendants or at least part-time attendants for the peak hours of usage of their public toilets. And I am happy to say that many have paid heed to our advice and the standards of upkeep of their toilets have certainly improved. My Ministry will continue with this approach.

Sir, Mr Chin Harn Tong has also spoken of complaints about smell and smoke from Mount Vernon Crematoria. Sir, smoke emissions from the cremators of Mount Vernon Crematoria are closely monitored and have always been well below the acceptable emission standards laid down by our Clean Air Act. The cremators have high temperature furnaces to ensure complete combustion and, as a further precaution, multi-cyclones have been fitted to reduce smoke emission. Sir, these cremators are looked after by the Engineering Services Department of my Ministry. They are checked daily and serviced once in four weeks. The cremators undergo major overhauls once in every four years.

The recent fire at the crematoria which Mr Chin quoted has got nothing to do with faulty equipment or poor maintenance. But it was due to the charring of the roof truss of the cremator room caused by heat over the years. The matter has been rectified recently.

Encik Wan Hussin Zoohri has appealed for widows and elderly widowers to be allowed to continue supplying home-made cakes to hawker stalls. Sir, the law requires that all food intended to be sold to the public must be prepared in food establishments licensed by my Ministry. This is to ensure that the food is prepared under clean and hygienic conditions. Sir, in our enforcement against illegal food manufacturers, our enforcement officers have come across illegal food manufacturing in private homes under deplorable conditions. Private homes cannot be licensed as food establishments anyway. First and foremost, the building authority would never allow residential premises to be used for commercial purposes. Then there are facilities that would be needed to operate a commercial kitchen that are not available in a family kitchen. It is quite a different thing from preparing a meal for a family and preparing meals on a commercial scale.

Sir, as I have mentioned earlier on, the penalties for illegal food manufacturing are severe. I would advise all those involved with illegal food manufacturing, including widows and widowers who supply home made-cakes to hawker stalls, to discontinue with this activity. I would advise those widows and widowers who are in need of assistance to apply to the Ministry of Community Development. If they are in need of jobs, even though they are unskilled, to apply to the Ministry of Labour or even to the Ministry of the Environment. My Ministry currently employs about 3,500 unskilled daily-rated employees and we have vacancies for 300 more. I have also been told that the Ministry of Labour has about 2,400 job vacancies as at February this year and nearly half of these jobs require applicants with no qualifications at all and another 25% with only primary education. There is really no lack of job opportunities for those who are financially in need.

Sir, if we want to ensure that clean and safe food is sold to the public, then there must be some form of control on food manufacturing. If we allow food to be prepared in all sorts of places, then it will be extremely difficult for the authorities to administer effective check and control on the standard of food prepared.

Dr Lee Siew-Choh (Non-Constituency Member): Sir, how does the Minister explain that in the Hill Street hawker centre, level 3 is completely empty, level 2 is half-empty, and many of these hawkers who had been having good business in Wayang Street and the Capitol car park have now given up the ghost?

Mr Goh Chee Wee (Boon Lay): Sir, I am all for the measures to be taken to improve the standard of hygiene in our food establishments, hawker centres and restaurants. As the Minister has said, the food vendors are required to source their supplies from licensed food manufacturers and licensed food establishments. But when a vendor, say, a hawker stallholder, sources his supply from a licensed food establishment, he is not aware whether the food he has sourced is contaminated or not. Take, for instance, you do not expect a noodle or kway teow soup seller to take a sample of his noodle or kway teow and send it to the laboratory for testing every morning. But under the present law, the hawker or the food vendor will be the first one to be prosecuted if the food is found to be contaminated even if he has sourced the food from a licensed establishment. This, I think, is not fair to the hawker or the food vendor concerned. I hope the Minister will review this policy. The Minister may wish to clarify on this matter.

Dr Ahmad Mattar: Mr Chairman, Sir, I will answer Mr Goh Chee Wee first. I will assure Mr Goh Chee Wee and this House and also the food vendors concerned that if the cause of food poisoning can be traced to the supplier, in this case the licensed food factory, then of course we will take action against the supplier, and not the stallholder.

Coming back to the question raised by Dr Lee Siew-Choh, I think he has not heard what I said just now. The business in Hill Street Hawker Centre has declined in recent years because of the springing up of a number of new private eating outlets in the vicinity - Marina South, Liang Court and the refurbished Colombo Court. And again on why business of some hawkers failed, in this particular case Hill Street Hawker Centre, there are many reasons and I do believe that culinary skills would certainly play a part.

Mr Goh Chee Wee: Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Mr Wang Kai Yuen (Bukit Timah): Sir, I beg to move,

That the sum to be allocated for Head M be reduced by $10 in respect of Code MD 1500 of the Main Estimates.

Sir, most of the Sewage Treatment Works (STWs) currently in operation were built in what were then sparsely populated areas. However, over the years, as more and more residential properties were built, some of these developments start to encroach onto what could be considered buffer zones surrounding these STWs. As we all know, Sir, Singaporeans, with increasing affluence and higher expectations have become quite a demanding lot, especially when it comes to the living environment. A sniff of the offensive odour from such STWs would bring a chorus of complaints from the residents living around such STWs.

The Ulu Pandan STW is a case in point. When it was built it was sited in what was a rural area. Today, the districts surrounding it have become suburban. Residential and light industrial development has brought more and more people within close proximity of the Ulu Pandan STWs. When the prevailing wind is unfavourable, and especially after a shower, residents' olfactory organ will be assaulted.

Sir, I understand the STWs must be located somewhere within the confines of Singapore. However, STWs and residential housing cannot be located close to one another. The land use Master Plan would definitely have provided sufficient buffer zones around each of these STWs. None- theless, for those STWs where the surrounding lands are becoming developed, the Ministry of the Environment should consider relocating them. After all, to cater for the increased population, new STWs would have to be built. It might be better to build a few large centralized STWs and close some of the smaller peripheral ones.

I would like to find out from the Minister whether the Ministry of the Environment has a Master Plan for STWs, much like the Master Plan for roads in the Ministry of National Development, and whether the plan makes provision for some of the older STWs to be closed and relocated. In the case of the Ulu Pandan STW, I would urge the Minister to consider closing down the treatment works at an early date.

Dr Ahmad Mattar: Sir, to minimise the problem of odour, our sewage treatment works (STWs) are sited far away from residential areas. In addition, Sir, new residential developments are not permitted within one kilometre radius of STWs. Having said that, Sir, and conscious of encroaching developments, particularly the residential-type, the Sewerage Department of my Ministry sent a team of engineers to Japan last year to find out how the Japanese deal with odour problem from sewage treatment works in an urbanized area. The team visited several STWs in Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe, Nagoya, and held talks with officials in municipalities as well as at the sewage treatment works visited. For existing STWs, what the Japanese have done is to cover up the treatment units, extract and treat the odorous air before discharging into the atmosphere. For new treatment works or for works which undergo expansion, what they have done is to house the treatment units in a building, cover up each treatment unit, extract and treat the odorous air before discharging, as before. The Japanese have indicated to our team of engineers that it would cost probably between 50% and 75% more to build sewage treatment works under cover as compared with those without.

As a pilot project, Sir, a tender has been called to cover up the primary settling tanks at Ulu Pandan STW. My Ministry will of course assess its cost-effectiveness before we decide to extend the scheme to other tanks and other STWs. We will talk about building new ones and resiting existing ones after we have tried this one out.

Dr Wang Kai Yuen: Sir, I thank the Minister for his reply and beg leave to withdraw.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Mr Chin Harn Tong: Sir, I beg to move,

That the sum to be allocated for Head M be reduced by $10 in respect of Code ME 1500 of the Main Estimates.

Sir, in moving this amendment, I would like to know the progress in the pilot project for the installation of a computerized telemetric system in six sites in the Bukit Timah and Kallang catchment areas. Can the Minister also inform the House whether a cost-effectiveness study has been carried out? If so, what is the outcome of such an evaluation? Will the scheme be expanded to other areas in order to facilitate the speedy monitoring and announcement of flood situations?

I would also like to know the progress made in the Bukit Timah Flood Alleviation Scheme Phase IIA which was scheduled to have been completed in February 1990, that is last month.

Since Kranji and Tanjong Katong are also major flood-prone areas, are the proposed flood alleviation schemes in these areas carried out according to schedule? When will the flood alleviation schemes in these two areas be completed?

I suppose there is no way to test the effectiveness of the computerized telemetric system as well as the flood alleviation scheme because of the on-going dry spell which has lasted for more than a month.

Dr Lee Siew-Choh: Sir, linked to the Flood Alleviation Scheme in Bukit Timah are the other minor floods also in Bukit Timah which occur regularly. The mosquito menace and the minor floods on our roads are often caused by bad drainage, and obstruction of drains by leaves and heavy throw-aways from various sources, from households and from market stalls. The frequent mini-floods in certain parts of Bukit Timah Road and Dunearn Road are often due to such bad drainage and obstruction of rain water from flowing into the canal. Workers in construction sites often throw empty tins around the place and these breed mosquitoes. Perhaps more frequent inspections and checking of such construction sites will help cut down the mosquito menace.

I hope the Minister will be able to do something about this this time since he could not do very much about this last year.

Dr Ahmad Mattar: Mr Chairman, Sir, I will answer some of the issues raised by Mr Chin Harn Tong first before I deal with Dr Lee Siew-Choh.

Sir, on telemetric flood monitoring system, my Ministry has installed monitoring probes at three locations along Bukit Timah Canal. This system has enabled the Drainage Department of my Ministry to monitor the instantaneous water level in the canal at the three locations. Data are transmitted continuously to a central computer located in the Drainage Department. When the water level reaches a level which could cause flooding of the public road, the computer would automatically send a telex to the Police to alert them of the impending flood at the location. The system has assisted the Police, Sir, to respond more quickly to their reporting of floods through the SBC. The system is working satisfactorily and the scheme will be extended to other flood-prone areas.

With regard to the Flood Alleviation Scheme in Kranji, Sir, I am happy to say that it has been completed and flooding in Kranji catchment has been alleviated substantially.

As for the Bukit Timah Flood Alleviation Scheme, more than 90% of work on the main diversion canal has been completed and the rest of the work is expected to be completed by July this year. The work could have been completed much earlier had it not been for difficulties encountered by the contractors due to inclement weather and labour constraints.

The main work under the Tanjong Katong Flood Alleviation Scheme comprises the re-construction and upgrading of two drainage pumping stations serving the low-lying catchment of Tanjong Katong. This project is expected to be completed by the end of this year. When completed, flooding in Tanjong Katong catchment will be alleviated substantially.

Dr Lee Siew-Choh complains of mosquito breeding at the construction sites of the Bukit Timah Flood Alleviation Scheme and workers throwing rubbish into the canal, and so on and so forth. To prevent mosquito breeding at construction sites of the Bukit Timah Flood Alleviation Scheme, the Drainage Department of my Ministry has taken the following measures:

Each contractor has engaged, in compliance with my Ministry's requirement, a professional pest control company to check the sites weekly and to destroy any mosquito breeding ground found. Inspection reports are submitted to the Drainage Department whenever they make these inspections.

Officers from the Drainage Department as well as the Environmental Health Department of my Ministry carry out independent checks at these sites to make sure that there is no mosquito breeding.

With regard to workers throwing rubbish into the canal and so on, I will get my Ministry's officers to go after the contractors to make sure that such habits will not happen again.

Mr Chin Harn Tong: I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Mr Goh Chee Wee: Sir, I beg to move,

That the sum to be allocated for Head M be reduced by $10 in respect of Code MF 1500 of the Main Estimates.

Sir, under this amendment, I would like to ask the Minister a number of questions.

First, on the disposal of toxic wastes. Sir, some of the industrial wastes generated by the factories and industry are highly toxic and cannot be disposed of easily. As our industry expands and new manufacturing and processing plants are set up in Singapore, the problem of industrial waste disposal will become more complex. I would like to ask the Minister whether the Ministry of the Environment has the necessary expertise to deal with such problem. I would also like to know how are the toxic wastes being disposed of today and are facilities available in Singapore to enable the companies to dispose of their toxic industrial wastes safely.

My second question concerns air pollution. Currently, industries are required to install pollution-control equipment to clean the gases released into the air to safe levels, as specified in the Clean Air Act. There have been complaints, especially from the residents living in and around the industrial estate, of air pollution caused by the industry. Their main complaint is the smell. But each time a complaint is made, the Ministry of the Environment would reply, and in fact it looks like a standard reply, that "the air quality as monitored by the Ministry's Anti-Pollution Unit is within safe limits." Nevertheless, the smell remains there in the air. Perhaps this is caused by gases which escape the Ministry's detection or that the gases pose such a pungent smell that even a small quantity causes irritation. I would like to ask the Minister whether further control could be implemented to improve the situation.

My third question concerns vehicular emission. I understand that currently the Registry of Vehicles and the Traffic Police are authorised under the Road Traffic Act to book offending vehicles which emit excessive amount of smoke. But the enforcement action cannot be 100% effective. Sometimes we can see vehicles, especially the heavy vehicles like lorries and trucks, emitting heavy smoke on the road. But the ROV officers and Traffic Police were not there to book them. I would like to ask the Minister: if a member of the public reports such cases to the Ministry, would the authority take action against the offenders? Would the Ministry encourage members of the public to make such reports and, if so, who should they call - ROV, Traffic Police or the Ministry?

Dr Ho Tat Kin (Toa Payoh GRC): Sir, pollution to the environment takes place in many forms. We have heard of the effect of release of CFCs or chloroflurocarbons into the atmosphere and the need to control CFCs. Besides cutting down on CFCs, we need to cut down also emissions due to the burning of fuels, as the global warming brought about by the greenhouse effect becomes more and more imminent.

Most drivers do not realise they have an important role to play in protecting the environment. In Singapore, as more and more people use cars, the emissions from the cars will add pollution to the air. All car engines burn fuels giving off carbon dioxide, unburned hydrocarbons and gas like carbon monoxide or nitrogen oxide. There is only one immediate way to reduce the pollution, and that is to burn less fuel. So to do that, control the number of cars. But that, Sir, is not desirable. In the longer term, much can be done by improving car engines and by better transport systems, for example, electrical transport system.

Car users can help in controlling air pollution by fitting catalytic convertors (CATs) to the car emission system, especially for old cars. Experiments have shown that a car fitted with a CAT reduces carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons by as much as 90%. A car fitted with a CAT can reduce nitrous oxide by as much as 70%. In Switzerland, many drivers have installed CATs to second-hand cars. In the Netherlands, by the end of 1988, over 60% of new cars have been fitted. In Sweden, catalytic convertors have now become mandatory.

Sir, I would like to ask the Minister to seriously consider the introduction of regulations to make it compulsory for all old cars in Singapore to be fitted with catalytic convertors and, in time, all cars should be so fitted.

I would also like to find out from the Minister, in the meantime, while my suggestion is being considered, what measures can be taken to reduce air pollution from motor vehicles.

Dr Ahmad Mattar: Mr Chairman, Sir, my Ministry controls toxic wastes at the planning stage at the time when a new factory is proposed to be set up. When consulted, my Ministry, amongst other things, scrutinises the various aspects pertaining to the management, treatment and final disposal of wastes expected to be generated by the factory.

The Ministry of the Environment, Sir, encourages the recovery and re-use of wastes by industries as a means of reducing the amount of wastes generated. Wastes which cannot be recycled have to be treated and rendered safe for disposal. Industries are therefore required to install in-house treatment facilities to pre-treat such wastes to standards stipulated in our Trade Effluent Regulations before they are discharged into sewers. The final treatment, of course, will be provided at the Government STWs. Industries which do not have such in-house facilities are required to engage licensed waste disposal contractors to collect their wastes for treatment and eventual disposal.

The chemical industry, Sir, is growing and the demand for facilities to treat chemical wastes is expected to increase. Therefore, the industry has been asked to set up a centralised toxic waste treatment plant. But there are no takers so far. My Ministry is now studying the feasibility of setting up such a plant to handle a variety of chemical wastes from local industries. The details of the plant together with its economics will have to be studied very, very carefully before a decision is taken on the matter.

Mr Goh Chee Wee also spoke of smell from industries. Sir, industries are required to install pollution-control equipment to clean their effluent gases to comply with the emission standards stipulated in our Clean Air Act, before they are released into the air. In addition, Sir, industries with odorous emissions are also required to install control equipment to remove the odorous pollutants before releasing the cleaned gases into the air.

Notwithstanding all these measures, Sir, low level fugitive emissions from industries sometimes occur, and these have given rise to complaints of smell nuisance in some areas. We have identified a few factories in some industrial estates from which there have been fugitive emissions of odorous chemicals in very low concentrations and we have asked the factories concerned to take some measures to reduce these emissions. I am happy to say that many of these factories have already submitted their proposals to us and we have approved these proposals.

However, Sir, some of the larger factories will require a longer time period to implement these improvements. For example, a pharmaceutical factory in Jurong would have to spend something like $3 million to implement the necessary control measures which would be phased in progressively over the next three years or so. But, in the meantime, my Ministry will continue to monitor the air quality in these areas and will take measures to make sure that the air quality continues to be good and within safe limits.

With regard to smoky vehicles, Sir, my Ministry always encourages members of the public to report such cases. They can always send them to my Ministry. When complaints of smoky vehicles from members of the public are received and the details of the vehicles are given, my Ministry will refer the complaints to the Registry of Vehicles. Only the Traffic Police and the ROV are authorised under the Road Traffic Act to book offending vehicles or call them up for inspections.

Dr Ho Tat Kin suggested that we should perhaps make it mandatory for all cars to be fitted with catalytic convertors, Sir, catalytic convertors are devices which reduce the high concentrations of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons in vehicular exhausts to low levels by converting them to carbon dioxide, nitrogen and water. But they have got to be used in conjunction with unleaded petrol. This is because the presence of lead in vehicular exhausts damages the converters and renders them ineffective. When this happens, the pollutants in the exhaust would enter the air without being removed. For this reason, we cannot implement catalytic converters in Singapore for as long as we do not have unleaded petrol. The current lead concentration in our petrol is 0.15 grammes per litre, and my Ministry is carrying out a study on the feasibility of switching to unleaded petrol and the study is expected to be completed in about six months' time.

Dr Ho Tat Kin may be pleased to know that emission standards to control smoke from diesel-driven vehicles have already been announced and will be implemented from January 1991 onwards for new vehicles and from January 1992 onwards for used vehicles.

Mr Goh Chee Wee: Sir, I thank the Minister for his reply and beg leave to withdraw the amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

The sum of $199,117,200 for Head M ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates.

The sum of $413,197,000 for Head M ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates.

Head I -

Dr Hong Hai (Bedok GRC): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move,

That the total sum to be allocated for Head I of the Main Estimates be reduced by $100.

Sir, Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) has a monopoly of the printed press in Singapore. It runs as a private concern and is among the most profitable companies in Singapore.

Should SPH be nationalised and converted into a statutory board under the Ministry of Communications and Information? Editors and journalists would then be civil servants. Would we have as a result a more informative and a vigorous printed press? I do not think so. Members of the House will agree, I think, that it is better that SPH stays as a private enterprise.

Sir, if we find it odd and unpalatable that SPH should be a statutory board, why are we content that the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) should remain a statutory board? After all, SBC seeks to inform, to educate and entertain the public as much as SPH does. Of course, it is true that there are some differences. For one thing, television is potentially a much more powerful medium, and cannot be left entirely to the fancies of the marketplace to decide the content of its news programmes or the moral slant of its entertainment programmes. But the same can be said about the newspapers. The solution lies in having fair and flexible regulatory guidelines.

Sir, last year, my GPC called for the partial privatisation of SBC. We had in mind the privatisation of the popular entertainment divisions which were likely to be commercially viable by themselves.

After having observed the performance of SBC over the last one year, we are convinced that SBC's management now has the ability to face the rigours of the commercial world and become an even more dynamic and viable enterprise. I would like to propose that the Government considers privatising SBC totally. In addition, I suggest that a competing station be encouraged to be set up by the private sector.

Sir, I believe that the privatisation of radio and television will make it more market-driven, and produce even better news, better current affairs programmes and entertainment programmes than we now have. I am aware that the Minister for Communications and Information is concerned that, by becoming more market-driven, the quality of SBC's programmes could decline, even degenerate. But does the market have bad taste? Is it more profitable to pander to public appetite for the lurid, the violent or the quirky?

Sir, I agree with the Minister that, left entirely to market forces and with no regulation to maintain standards, there is a tendency for the media to cater to the lowest common denominator of the public. But that need not be the case with privatisation. Regulatory authorities can continue to set standards for the tone and quality of programmes. Hong Kong television is completely privately operated. It has not descended into the abyss of the lowly or the distasteful. On the other hand, it is a vigorous and thriving industry, bringing much joy and excitement to viewers and, at the same time, playing an effective information and educational role.

At present, SBC works under a certain amount of strain because of its dual objectives. On the one hand, it must pursue the commercial objective of providing programmes that enjoy high viewer ratings and command good advertising revenues. On the other hand, it is also the information arm of the MCI, producing news and current affairs programmes in accordance with national objectives. The tension between these two objectives, the serving of two masters, so to speak, could result in schizophrenia. So far, SBC's staff and management have done a good job under very difficult circumstances, and I hope they can continue to preserve their sanity and sense of balance.

Sir, a privatised SBC would have certain advantages. First, it would have a single objective, that of being a commercially successful broadcasting station.

Second, the privatised station would be run by private sector executives that are not subject to the behavioral constraints of the civil service or to the remuneration scales of the public service. This in turn means a wider talent pool from which to choose and greater flexibility in the planning and production of programmes. With better pay and more room for development of individual talent, SBC can provide a more challenging and rewarding career to talented Singaporeans.

Thirdly, a privatised SBC, in my view, will produce better news and current affairs programmes. This might seem unlikely because these programmes currently enjoy substantial Government subsidies, and they do not generally enjoy very high viewership. Would a privatised SBC or a competing private station not choose to cut back on such programmes? This will not be the case if Government Ministries viewed themselves as customers of SBC. Ministries and public bodies which seek to bring about better public understanding of Government policies or national issues must be willing to pay private TV stations market rates for the production and screening of these programmes. For example, if Parliament felt that a national objective could be achieved through the screening of its proceedings, it must be willing to pay for the resources and the high cost of producing programmes like "Today in Parliament" in a manner that would attract large audiences and project an image of credibility and dynamism in Parliament. Likewise, if evening news is to attract larger and interested audiences, it needs to put resources into purchasing material from satellite news transmissions, recruiting more qualified and talented journalists and producers and setting up comprehensive research facilities within the broadcasting station. If the Government deems it desirable for news and current affairs programmes to serve a national purpose above and beyond what the market is willing to pay for them, then it is incumbent on Government to pay for such programmes to private station operators.

Sir, both the privatised SBC and the competing broadcast station must make their programmes sufficiently informative and interesting to be able to capture wide viewership. Competition between them can only drive them to better levels of service. Who knows, with two privatised stations, Singapore audiences could enjoy some of the programmes that some of us have yearned for. For example, we might get morning news magazine programmes, we might get late evening news, we might get post-midnight movies and more relaxing programmes late in the night. And like many stations in Hong Kong and overseas, we might also get foreign news and current affairs broadcast via satellite from the BBC, CNN and so forth. These programmes are fairly standard now in Hong Kong, Australia, Europe and America. Sir, should we remain so far behind?

The Chairman: Order. Your time is up.

Dr Wang Kai Yuen (Bukit Timah): Sir, additional registration fee (ARF) as a measure to control car population has one important worthy social benefit from the country's point of view. Basically, most of the money people pay for their cars goes to the Government. Only a third goes to the foreign car manufacturers. In this way, ARF can be considered as a measure to conserve our foreign reserves. The ARF also, being a percentage of the value of the car, is a progressive tax. Being such a hefty amount, people buy the car they can afford. The rich buying a luxury car pays more and the less rich buying a utilitarian car pays less. As such, it is also readily accepted by our people.

The levies collected by our Government via ARF are spent for the public good. The amounts are substantial, so much so that Mr Heng Chiang Meng has called the MCI as the other Ministry of Finance. If one mentally tags the money collected by MCI and the money is spent by MCI as the same dollar, then one can visualize that the ARF money is being transferred to build the MRT. Viewed this way, then the MRT becomes one of the largest income redistribution programmes of this Government. Such income redistribution programmes are the hallmarks of a socialist government. So Dr Richard Hu was right in his rebuttal to Dr Lee Siew-Choh when he pointed out that one working example of a socialist government he knew of is the PAP government. In this sense, the car owners are the ones who paid for the MRT. People who scratch other people's brand-new cars out of frustration, jealousy and envy have got it all wrong. They should instead be thankful to car owners for funding the MRT instead. The ARF also resulted in a spread of different types of motorcars on our road, from the very small and, very basic to the very luxurious. Contrary to Dr Augustine Tan's opinion, I think it is good to have Skodas and other inexpensive cars on the roads. In this way, it provides the aspiring owners something to aim for. Furthermore, the discrepancy of income in our society would not be so obviously displayed.

The First Deputy Prime Minister in his discussion with grassroots leaders recently has correctly pointed out that when the ARF is reduced and replaced by a fixed levy, it would then become easier for car owners to upgrade their cars. This means that there will be proportionally more expensive cars on our roads. This is good from the car owner's point of view. After all, since he is already paying so much for his car, he might as well drive a big car rather than a small one.

However, from the national interest perspective, that would be a bad development. To begin with, more big cars mean greater leakage of foreign exchange to foreign manufacturers, not to mention greater air pollution from poorer fuel efficiency. Thus, a reduction in ARF benefits the individuals and the foreign corporations. The greater leakage of foreign reserves for the same number of cars on the road would be a negative development in that sense. Furthermore, to me, to have more luxury cars running around is an unnecessary flaunting of wealth. It only makes those who cannot aspire to own cars that much more resentful. I would urge the Government to leave the ARF scheme basically intact as it is. If a reduction of the ARF were to be made, I would urge the Minister to take the point I raise into consideration.

Sir, can I take the second amendment together?

The Chairman: Yes.

Dr Wang Kai Yuen: Thank you, Sir. Experience in other advanced countries like Japan, US and Western European countries indicates that, as the population of a society becomes more educated and more affluent, their demand for TV entertainment would become more focused. This is known in the industry as fragmentation of the TV industry. In these countries, the market responded with specialised channels targeting to these specific market segments. In the US, cable networks have sprung up with dedicated channels for news, sports, movies, merchandising, Christian evangelism and others. Even in neighbouring countries like Indonesia, Thailand and Taiwan, there are now satellite dishes scattered over the countryside pulling down television programmes to be re-transmitted over cable to the subscribers. In Hong Kong, a pay cable TV franchise has been awarded to Hong Kong Cable Communications which will start to provide pay television programmes 24 hours a day with 25 channels by 1995.

In Singapore, our people, especially the younger generation, have good education and increasingly higher disposable income. They have more leisure and more diverse interests. Our consumer behaviours are basically similar to other people, Sir. We like hamburgers, pizzas, hot-dogs. I am also confident that we will love cable television. It is fair to say that our TV audience has also become fragmented. The figures released by SBC to the advertisers show that different people tune in to different programmes.

Sir, Singaporeans also travel quite a lot. A fair number of us also have studied overseas. After our people have visited countries with pay television they will find our choices of television channels rather limited. I believe there exists a craving for more variety and better programmes. This demand for better programmes will build slowly but surely. If this demand is not met, I believe there will be attempts to use dish antennas to pull down programmes from the satellites sooner or later. To-date, SBC has done a good job in trying to satisfy the needs of Singaporeans. Channel 12 is a good example to meet some of these specific demands. However, in trying to reach out to the greatest number of audience, it also leaves those with different tastes behind. A measure of this unmet demand can be gauged from the prevalence of VCRs in our homes and the brisk business done by video rental stores.

Over a cable TV network, subscribers who pay for the privileges can then gain access to the specific programmes they like. The market decides what will be available, subject to certain moral and ethical guidelines which the Government can lay down and enforce, as mentioned earlier by Dr Hong Hai.

Indeed, the infrastructure for a nation-wide cable television system is already in place in Singapore. 86% of our people live in HDB flats. Each HDB block has a community antenna TV or CATV system. Whether we have intended it or not, we have laid the backbone of a nation-wide cable television system in Singapore. All that is left for us to do is to tie all these CATV systems together and we will have our cable television network. The technical details can be left to the engineers.

There are advantages which a cable network can offer and we should consider it carefully. Typically, the bandwidth over the cable is owned and controlled by the cable company. Those who want to be carried on the network must obtain permission from this cable company. Whereas in comparison, the airwave is free and less readily controlled.

In this region, Sir, Singapore being the richest consumer market, there are always temptations by various private media organisations, in particular foreign ones, trying to tap the rich Singapore advertising market by offering advertisements prohibited in Singapore. Radio Zoo from Batam and TV3 from Malaysia are good examples. Besides cigarette advertisements, some of the programmes on TV3, such as their Cantonese programmes, actually take advantage of our Speak Mandarin campaign. It is also conceivable that in future a TV Zoo might emerge to beam television programmes into Singapore. A cable TV system would pre-empt that.

A private company can be set up to assume ownership of the cable network I mentioned earlier in HDB estates. This system can be transferred to the company which could provide additional channels, like 24 news and movie channels, much like a TV version of Rediffusion. Much like Rediffusion, these channels could also be required to carry programmes like SBC News and Today in Parliament, so that we can still carry on our nation building process. With good programmes, I am confident that the residents would pay for these additional services on the cable TV. Having a private company to take over the CATV systems would also lighten the load of town councils by removing another expense from their list of infrastructures to maintain.

The Chairman: Order. Your time is up, Dr Wang.

Mr Lau Ping Sum (Yio Chu Kang): ( In Mandarin): Sir, I would like to refer to TV3 of Malaysia.

Since TV3 was set up in Malaysia, HDB residents have not been able to receive programmes from that television station because the authorities concerned have been unwilling to adjust the TV antennae. I think this decision should be reviewed.

In recent years we have focused attention on the relationship with ASEAN member countries, especially Malaysia and Indonesia. Every year, our Ministers, MPs and civil servants visit their counterparts in these countries who have reciprocated. This is a very good sign.

Besides official relations, we encourage people to people relations to foster understanding, eliminate prejudice and promote trade and investment for mutual benefit. If our people have a chance to watch the television programmes of our neigh- bouring countries, eg, programmes on construction and development, discussion of social problems, commentaries on current affairs or reports on sports, all these will certainly promote further understanding of our neighbours' way of life. I believe there will be considerable advantage and no harm in seeking to enhance the relations between the peoples of neighbouring countries.

Some people may object to the contents of foreign programmes. In this respect, each country has its own historical background and culture and values. In reviewing and censoring imported television programmes, different countries have adopted different sets of criteria. The censorship standards adopted by Singapore and Malaysia may not coincide. However, because of religious influence, our neighbour has all along been quite strict, perhaps more so than we are. In fact, the local drama produced by SBC has been rather modern. Apart from showing scenes of fast action and excitement, there are quite a few bold scenes of passion.

It is a fact that TV3 frequently telecasts dialect serials imported from Hong Kong. At the same time, we have the Speak Mandarin Campaign. Some people are concerned that the dialect programmes may affect our Speak Mandarin Campaign. However, we have achieved superb results in the Speak Mandarin Campaign in the last 10 years. Most of our citizens of Chinese origin can speak Mandarin and have accepted Mandarin as a common language. I believe allowing our people to watch some dialect programmes will not hinder the progress of our Speak Mandarin Campaign, because the great impact created by our schools and SBC Mandarin programmes cannot be replaced by a few hours of dialect programmes each week.

It has been said that the main reason for preventing HDB residents from watching TV3 ins SBC's fear that it may lose advertising revenue to TV3. But we have always believed in fair competition and opposed protectionism. With competition, there will be progress. If there is another TV station for our viewers, it will encourage SBC to raise the quality of its programmes and to cater for the needs and preferences of various segments of the population. In the end, it will be our television viewers who will benefit.

Last year, Batam island set up a new radio station broadcasting the ever popular tunes of the 50s and 60s. On the other hand, they also broadcast the latest music of Europe and America, attracting quite a number of our listeners. Soon after, SBC responded by introducing new programmes of songs and music and reducing the frequency of heavy rock music of the early and mid-80s. SBC managed to regain the support of some of the listeners.

Some say that HDB's unwillingness to adjust the antennae could be due to the question of cost. But since we have let the town councils take over the maintenance of the estates, which includes the maintenance of the antennae, the town councils have greater autonomy in such matters. I suggest that the town councils deal with this matter with more flexibility. If the residents want to watch the programmes of TV3, and if the town council finances permit it, then let the town councils decide accordingly. In fact, the residents of private housing estates have been watching the programmes of TV3 for some years. We should therefore review the question of whether there is a need to continue preventing HDB residents from watching TV3 programmes.

The Government has always emphasized that we should develop consensus and a common sense of identity. Any problems or controversial measures should be clearly explained so that the people understand the reasons for such measures. In this way, they will not readily believe rumours and distortions which blemish the good name of the Government.

Mr Chiam See Tong (Potong Pasir): Sir, I would like to speak on the privatisation of Telecom.

The purpose of the privatisation of Telecom must be the further improvement of its service and the cutting of its costs. What the public does not want to see is a situation where, once Telecom is privatised, rates will be increased to raise the revenue. This will result in windfall profits for Telecom. I would like to ask the Minis- ter whether the privatisation of Telecom will result in increase in profits for Telecom. Will Singaporeans have to pay more for services?

I am not saying that once privatised Telecom should not be growth or profit-orientated. I think what everybody really wants is the assurance of the Minister that profits will only rise because of cost-cutting and rise in its sales volume.

Shareholders want a good return on their investments. On the other hand, consumers want their telephone rates to be as low as possible. This conflict could be ameliorated if as many consumers as possible could own Telecom shares, where the pay-out of services could be returned to them in the form of dividends. Will the Minister be ready to limit the number of shares which could be owned by each individual or each company, so as to spread out the ownership of Telecom shares?

Another concern is foreign ownership. Telecom, like any other statutory body, is a monopoly of the services it provides. It is of course not wise to have foreigners holding majority shares to have control of a major service in Singapore. Will the Minister say whether his Ministry has a guideline to limit foreign ownership of Telecom shares once it is privatised?

Any private company will seek to maximise its profits. Telecom will also do the same once it is privatised. But in the case of Telecom, it has a monopoly of its business. Will there therefore be any price control? Will the rates and returns and profits of Telecom be regulated? The prices chargeable by Telecom, I say, must be regulated and controlled in the interest of the public who are the consumers.

The Minister for Communications and Information (Dr Yeo Ning Hong): Sir, let me reply to Dr Wang Kai Yuen's question on ARF. Dr Wang has asked that the ARF be kept as it is because of the fear that any reduction of the ARF may result in people buying bigger cars and, as a result, a greater outflow of foreign exchange.

Sir, if you recall, the Select Committee on Land Transportation Policy did specifically recommend that the ARF be reduced in order to offset some of the increases that would result from the application of the quota system. I would like to assure the Member that, while we are looking at the reduction of ARF and PARF, we will bear in mind his concerns. It is not necessary that a reduction in the ARF would lead to bigger cars. With a rebate given back to future owners of cars, there is nothing to prevent them from keeping the money and just buying the same car that they previously intended to, and use the rebate on the ARF for some other purpose. So it does not necessarily follow that a reduction in ARF will result in bigger cars.

Sir, Mr Chiam asks about the privatisation of Telecom. The purpose of privatising Telecom is quite simple, which is to take Telecom to even greater heights. At the moment, most people agree that Telecom has done very well. Indeed, the World Competitive Report published in 1989 by the World Economic Forum based in Geneva, Switzerland, ranked Singapore as number one in the world in terms of telecommunication infrastructure, giving Singapore a total of 98.06 points out of a possible 100. Consultants appointed to study the feasibility of privatisation have also concluded that Telecom is efficiently managed.

Telecom also competes with the other telecommunication authorities in other countries. Contrary to what many people thought and what Mr Chiam has said, Telecom is not a monopoly. Every time you make an overseas telephone call, you can either pay the Singapore rate or have someone overseas call you up and pay the rate of the incoming call. In many cases, Singapore's rates are much lower than the rates for the incoming call. I think any businessman who has to do a fair amount of international calls knows that. Our IDD rates are generally much lower than the incoming calls. If you do comparisons, you will find that our domestic rates for local calls are also very, very low, compared to other countries.

But my belief, Sir, is that, in spite of the high level of performance of Telecom, there is still room for improvement. We have to strive for higher levels of excellence. We must keep trying, and privatisation provides us with the means of doing that. In particular, privatisation is important for Telecom, because Telecom works in an industry that is high-tech with very rapid changes. We must be able to adapt quickly. Operating as a statutory board does have some disadvantages. For example, a statutory board has to operate under civil service requirements. Let me give an illustration. If a new model of telephone is introduced, and if Telecom wants to bring that model in quickly, it is not possible to respond rapidly, because civil service requirements say that a proper study has to be made, technical studies have to be carried out, tenders have to be called and so on. So the time spent for responding to changing circumstances is fairly long. Also, by being a statutory board, Telecom has to follow fairly strictly certain personnel policies. This makes for inflexibility in personnel management.

The telecommunication industry world-wide is undergoing very rapid changes with deregulations and liberalisation in the policies of many countries. We want to be able to be in a position to take advantage of opportunities that may surface. This we can do speedily, only as a private company. Hence, on balance, I believe that it is worthwhile privatising Telecom in order that we go for much greater efficiency and effectiveness.

Sir, I have stated in my press conference on 9th November last year that where we are able to secure advantages, increase savings effectiveness and increase efficiency, these will be passed back to the consumers by way of lower rates. Telecom has a good record. Over the last 10 years, Telecom has been systematically, reducing its rates to the tune of something like $2.4 billion in terms of revenue forgone over the last 10 years; in other words, an average of about $200 million each year. And if privatisation does bring about greater efficiency, greater effectiveness and greater competitiveness, then I am sure rates over the coming years will come down. But of course, it will take us some time to privatise Telecom, maybe another two or three years. There are a lot of factors that cannot be pre-determined at this stage - cost of equipment, cost of computers, cost of labour. These are factors where it is not possible to forecast at the moment. Therefore, whether the Telecom rates will come down or not in two to three years' time remains to be seen.

Sir, Mr Chiam asks whether the rates will be regulated. One of the reasons for operating a private company instead of a statutory board, is that the company will have the flexibility to respond to market changes. Therefore you do not want now to regulate features that are best determined by the market, such as the charges that the company can make. If that is so, then we might as well stay as a statutory board. However, I am conscious of the fact that the interests of Singaporeans have to be protected. I have stated that very clearly, at the lass press conference, that we will take into account the public interests and to ensure that privatisation will not mean higher postal and telecommunication charges.

Our role is to protect the public's interest, and to ensure that anybody who wants a telephone will be able to have a telephone, that when he picks up a phone, the phone will work, and any time you want to call anybody in Singapore or outside, the call will go through. In other words, we must have quality services and charged must be kept low. Indeed, the objective is to offer the best possible service at the lowest possible cost. That has been the mission of Telecom over these years and it will continue to be Telecom's mission even after privatisation.

Should we regulate foreign ownership? Sir, here we can look at the examples of other companies that have been privatised and then publicly listed on the stock exchange. SIA, for example, has restriction on foreign ownership. So too with other public companies like banks and major conglomerates in Singapore. I would expect some restriction on foreign ownership will also be appropriate. These are matters that Telecom is currently studying and will in due course decide. But almost certainly, we will not permit Telecom to have majority foreign ownership. What we want is to encourage as many Singa- poreans as possible to own a share in Telecom.

My Ministry will be working together with the CPF Board to try to make it possible for as many Singaporeans as possible to own shares in Telecom when it is floated. Telecom is likely to be one of the largest companies in Singapore with a market capitalization expected to be in excess of $10 billion. And with the total market capitalization of the stock exchange at approximately $70 billion, it gives you a feel for how big Telecom is. Telecom is a national asset. We want to enable as many Singaporeans as possible to buy into this successful company. If we manage Telecom well after privatisation, as we do right now, then Telecom is likely to be the sort of shares that one would like to buy and keep and then give it to one's grandchildren and then start them off well in their lives.

Sir, I will ask my Minister of State to answer the other questions.

The Minister of State for Communications and Information (Mr Mah Bow Tan): Sir, last year Dr Hong Hai called for the partial privatisation of SBC. In response, I pointed out to him that this was already the case. SBC Enterprises, for example, had already been set up. This year, as I listened to Dr Hong Hai, I thought for one moment that he was going to ask Government to nationalise SPH instead. I saw many relieved faces in the press gallery when he made it clear that this was not his intention.

Sir, this year, his call is not quite so revolutionary. His call is for the total privatisation of SBC and it would appear to be a next logical step. But before we answer this question, we need to ask ourselves: privatisation for what purpose? It cannot be just to subject SBC to the rigours of the commercial world, as Dr Hong Hai put it. Contrary to the popular belief that SBC is a monopoly, it already faces considerable competition. It faces direct competition from RTM, to a certain extent from TV3 and from the video cassette recorder. It also faces indirect competition from other media and other leisure activities. In fact, with the advances in satellite technology, SBC will face even stronger competition in the years ahead. This can be good news for Singapore and Singaporeans if it means a better SBC. To meet this challenge, it is necessary but not sufficient for SBC to spend money on talent and technology. It must also have the flexibility, the fleetness of foot, the business acumen, the innovativeness of the business world to be able to attract and retain its viewers. Does this then mean that the answer is to privatise SBC and to convert it into a commercial station whose performance is judged by its audience ratings and by its profits?

I believe there is another important factor that we need to consider, ie, the privatisation of SBC must not leave the station without a role in nation building. We must find a way to have this happy marriage, this reconciling of two seemingly opposite roles of nation building, on the one hand, and business efficiency, on the other. SBC is currently attempting to make this marriage work, to try and reconcile these two objectives.

Will a privatised SBC do a better job? I do not know, but I think we must try. My Ministry is looking at the experiences of other countries. One model is the British model where BBC, which is the national broadcasting station, competes in all areas of broadcasting with the commercial stations. Another model could be the American model. Here, the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) concentrates mainly on current affairs, education, information and cultural programmes. It does so also in competition with the commercial stations. There is a third model which is the Hong Kong model where the government station produces current affairs and other educational programmes and then pays for it to be telecast by commercial broadcasting stations or, in certain cases, gets that air time free of charge. Which model, if any, or which variations thereof, will best suit our circumstances? This we need to study.

My Ministry welcomes views from hon. Members of this House as to which way we should go, if we decide to go. But whether SBC is privatised or not, I must say that the Government has no objection in principle to commercial broadcasting stations in Singapore.

Sir, allow me next to respond to Dr Wang Kai Yuen on the feasibility or the possibility of cable TV in Singapore. Again, let me say that the Government has no objection in principle to the introduction of cable television in Singapore. Of course, if it is a commercial operation, then the usual local broadcasting requirements need to be met, such as multilingual broadcasting, conformance to our censorship standards and so on. A nation-wide cable television system requires very, very heavy investments. Although Dr Wang has pointed out that the communal antenna systems are already in place, nevertheless, we need to feed the signals to the communal TV antennae and a cabling system, if the Hong Kong experience is any indication, is an extremely expensive proposition. I am told that in Hong Kong they intend to spend well over S$1 billion to lay the cables. So before the Government can decide whether SBC should provide such a service, we need to do a very careful evaluation.

Sir, Mr Lau Ping Sum has asked whether the Government will review its policy on the reception of TV3 programmes. In responding, may I first of all point out a misimpression on this matter. The Government does not prohibit Singaporeans from watching TV3, but neither should Government go out of its way to facilitate the reception of foreign commercial broadcasting stations and consequently the HDB has decided not to modify its central antenna systems to be able to do so.

Dr Hong Hai: Sir, I withdraw my amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Mr Goh Choon Kang (Braddell Heights): Sir, I beg to move,

That the sum to be allocated for Head I be reduced by $10 in respect of Code IA 1500 of the Main Estimates.

Sir, members of the public are quite concerned about Telecom's intention to charge for local telephone calls. The general feeling is one of apprehension. I think there are two reasons for that. One is that the full details have not been released. Secondly, over the last 1(r) years or so, several changes introduced by the Government and its statutory boards, especially privatisation, have meant for the man-in-the-street higher costs. Although wages have increased, to many wage-earners, it may not be sufficient to offset the increase in the cost of living. Apart from the cost of owning a car, medical fees, school fees in independent schools, tertiary institutions, postal charges, etc, have all gone up. As such, people are generally apprehensive of Telecom's intended move.

The rationale given was that under the present system, the majority of telephone subscribers are subsidising the minority. The question is: if the majority are happy and have accepted the present system, why should changes be made? And was there any study or survey done that shows that the majority are unhappy with the present system?

Furthermore, what guarantee is Telecom giving to the people that the majority of them will pay less if the proposed change were implemented? Would this proposed change be against the Government's aim of making Singapore into an international communications centre? Has Telecom measured the effect of this proposed change will have on the cost of doing business in Singapore or on the cost of living for all Singaporeans?

Sir, I think small businesses are particularly worried as this would mean extra cost which would also further undermine their competitiveness. Members of the public are also worried that such an increased cost will eventually be passed on to the consumers. Can the Minister comment?

Dr John Chen Seow Phun (Hong Kah GRC): Sir, as Mr Goh has said, Singaporeans are fearful that, because of the recent announcement of the intention of Telecom to restructure the telephone charges and the impending privatisation of Telecom, this will mean higher cost for them. The Minister has promised that Government will look after the interest of the public. I would like to ask the Minister that after privatisation, will he consider setting up a telecommunications council, not unlike OFTEL in Britain, to regulate future increases of Telecom charges, just like the Public Transport Council which regulates public transportation charges? This telecommunications council can be given clear guidelines, such as ensuring that any increase in a year must not exceed a certain percentage of the inflation rate, and also requiring that any increase must have the approval of the council. This watchdog body is necessary to allay the fears of the public because Singapore Telecom is a monopoly and will be a monopoly for many years to come. Unlike SIA, if one is not satisfied with its price, he can always go to another airline, whereas one cannot do that with Telecom.

Sir, for privatisation to benefit Singaporeans in terms of lower telephone charges, there must be healthy and fair private competition, not the kind that we see among our petrol companies. Singapore Telecom has taken a positive step by allowing private competition in the sales of telecommunications equipment and peripherals. Will the Government facilitate competition by allowing private companies to compete at other levels, such as the domestic service level, the inter-exchange service level and the international service level? For instance, will the Government allow a private company to provide telephone service to a new housing estate and ensure that the company is allowed to tap onto the exchanges of Telecom by paying a fixed fee or a certain fee per call. Another example will be allowing a private company to set up a satellite station to compete with Telecom in providing international telecommunications services to local companies. Sir, if the growth of our telecommunications industry continues at a sufficiently high rate, which is what we hope it will, I am sure such competition can not only be accommodated, but also will be desirable and beneficial to Singaporeans.

The intention of Telecom to charge telephone use on a per call basis is a separate issue from privatisation, although many people unfortunately link it to the privatisation plan.

Sir, I understand that Telecom's objective is to curb wastage which has contributed to a tremendous growth of telephone traffic. This is a sound objective which makes a lot of economic sense. However, people are worried that it may result in rising costs for businesses, inflation for Singaporeans and, last but not least, a psyche cost that people have to pay because they find it irksome whenever they make a phone call. The end result is a lower quality of life, they say.

Sir, I would like the Minister to provide some details about telephone charges. First, are we currently subsidizing local calls, for both residential and business phones, taking the infrastructural cost into consideration? Second, where does the wastage which contributes to traffic growth come from - the residential sector or the business sector? When does Telecom intend to restructure telephone charges? Is the proposal finalized? Are they considering charging per call or per connect time? Can we achieve the objective of curbing wastage without increasing the cost of telephone service?

Sir, if the wastage comes from the business sector, may I propose that we leave the residential telephones alone. As for the business telephones, we should allow them an acceptably large number of free calls for the subscription fee they have paid, and any call beyond that number would then be charged accordingly.

Sir, if Telecom decides not to leave residential telephones out, surely we should charge residents on a per-call basis only during working hours, say, from 8.00 am to 6.00 pm. There is no reason to charge them after office hours.

I hope the Minister will consider my suggestion.

The Chairman: Order. We will take a break now.

Thereupon Mr Speaker left the Chair of the Committee and took the Chair of the House.

Mr Speaker: Order. I suspend the Sitting and shall take the Chair again at 3.05 pm.

Sitting accordingly suspended at 2.33 pm until 3.05 pm. Sitting resumed at 3.05 pm.

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Debate in Committee of Supply resumed.

Head I (cont.) -

Dr Yeo Ning Hong: Sir, I want to thank Mr Goh Choon Kang and Dr John Chen for raising the subject of local telephone charges. It is a subject of some interest among the public. A number of people have asked me about it.

At the moment, Singapore is one of the last countries in the world to have a flat rate for charges for telephones. Most of the other countries have moved to a system of charging on the basis of the number of calls or the amount of time taken during these calls. Telecom is studying the system used in a number of different countries.

Let me give two simple illustrations to help Members understand the difference between a flat charge versus a variable charge. I use two examples: a restaurant serving buffet lunch and a petrol station. For a buffet lunch you pay the same charge and you eat as much as you like. It works reasonably well, because between the smallest eater and the biggest eater, there is not that much of a difference in food consumed. There are also significant savings in overheads. So when you charge for somewhere in between, it is quite all right. So many restaurants operate that sort of pricing, charging a flat rate, without taking into consideration the amount that you eat. Now, take the example of petrol station. Some cars consume very little petrol because they travel a few kilometres a day. At the other extreme, some vehicles may be running 300-400 kilometres a day. If everybody pays a fixed rate and just use as much petrol as they need, then that will result in severe cost distortion. The very small consumer will end up subsidizing heavily the very large cosumer. If someone using one litre a day has to pay the same rate as someone consuming 10 litres a day, would that be a good system?

In the past, the telephone was used largely for voice communication, you use a phone to talk to somebody. There was a certain self-regulatory mechanism at work. Beyond a certain level of usage, someone wanting to use the telephone might find the telephone engaged. So people would use another telephone elsewhere, use or subscribe to an additional telephone. Today, telephones can be used for other purposes, other than for voice communication. You can use it for a data transmission and for fax communication. As a result, some subscribers can use the telephone for many hours at a go each day. On the ohter hand, residential subscribers usually use their phones three, four, five times each day taking up a few minutes per call. If we continue with the same flat charged for use of the telephone, then those who are using their phones infrequently, ie, a few calls each day, will end up having to to subsidize those who make hundreds of fax calls each day.

Members will probably recall that in the newspapers a month ago, one particular organization said that whenever it sends fax messages out it sent more than 500 of such messages on each occasion. Such are the subscribers who are being subsidized by our residents who are making a few calls a day. Telecom is considering whether we can come out with a system of pricing that is more appropriate to the different levels of usage. Many other countries have experienced this problem and they have moved to a variable charge. I want to assure Members of this House and members of the public that if a change in the pricing system, the majority of Singaporeans, ie, the majority of resident subscribers and the majority of small businesses, will find that far from having to pay more, they will end up having a rebate on what they are paying at the moment. In other words, telephone rates will came down and not go up, for the majority of subscribers.

Telecom has not made a decision yet, contrary to what the newspapers have reported. This matter is not something that we want to rush into. It is something that we want to study very carefully. The objective is to keep cost down, and cost is kept down by ensuring that there is a fair way of charging for calls mede.

Dr John Chen also touched upon the subject of privatisation of Telecom which we discussed earlier. Yes, it is very important when we move to the privatisation of Telecom, that we ensure that its rates are kept low. Dr Chen suggested the possibility of a telecommunications council similar to that of the Public Transport Council. It is a good suggestion. We can consider that suggestion together with other possibilities.

Sir, we are not the first country in the world to privatize our telecommunication authority. Other countries have gone before us. There are a number of different models. What we want to do is to study the different models to ensure that we are able to have a high degree of competition, and a high degree of efficiency, so that the rates can be kept low. At the same time, we must remember that the network of lines needed to provide an efficient and excellent telecommunication system is extremely cost-intensive. What we do not want is to have a lot of duplication of networks, because the duplication must eventually be paid for by subscribers. At the moment, Telecom is looking at a number of consortiums of consultants with experience of privatisation of other companies or boards overseas. We should be making the appointment of consultants to help soon.

Mr Goh Choon Kang: Sir, in view of the assurance given by the Minister, I withdraw the amendment for the time being.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Mr Lew Syn Pau (Tanglin): Sir, I beg to move,

That the sum to be allocated for Head I be reduced by $10 in respect of Code IC 1500 of the Main Estimates.

Sir, today, 31% of the monthly operating cost of a taxi (including depreciation of the taxi) is made up of Government taxes, namely, registration fees, old and new, road tax and diesel tax. Just over a year ago, when diesel tax was only $1,100, tax made up only about 12% of the total monthly operating cost. In just over a year, the monthly Government tax on a taxi has gone up by $550. This is not an insignificant amount by any standard.

Like all good citizens, taxi drivers pay income tax based on their net personal income from taxi driving. Taxes on taxis should be borne by commuters, not taxi drivers, since commuters are the ones who enjoy the personalised door-to-door service of a chauffeur-driven car. The demand for taxis, however, is quite elastic, as was shown during the taxi fare increase in 1985. When the taxi fare rises too steeply, the demand drops drastically. This is because there exist many other alternative modes of transportation to taxis, such as buses, MRT, private cars and walking. When taxes on taxis are imposed too steeply and too suddenly, the taxi drivers are unable to pass them on to the commuters at the same quantum and speed. Hence, they become financially worse off for quite a while until the commuters have totally re-adjusted to the new fares. The unhappiness of taxi-drivers, therefore, lies in what they perceive to be a lack of understanding of their plight on the part of the Government.

They have not quite recovered from their indigestion before they were recently hit again by the vehicle quota premium they will have to pay when the quota system is implemented in May this year. They are very concerned about the long-term implications of linking the taxi quota premium to the private vehicle quota premium of the 1.0 to 1.6 litre car category. In the future, when the ARF for private cars is reduced, the quota premium will rise correspondingly, affecting both commuters and taxi drivers alike. I hope the Minister will do this very gradually so that taxi drivers will have time to adjust their taxi fares and pass them on to commuters. Alternatively, the Minister may wish to decouple this linkage between taxis and private vehicles where the quota premium categories are concerned, so that a reduction of the ARF for private cars will not bring about the unintended consequence of very sharp tax increases for taxi drivers and commuters.

Dr Wan Soon Bee (Pasir Panjang GRC): Sir, I would like to declare my interest. I am the Chairman, Board of Directors of NTUC Comfort.

Sir, taxi is a public transport. This fact bears repeating. Taxi ridership is 700,000 passenger-trips per day. This is double that of the MRT. This high ridership clearly shows that taxi is an important mode of public transport. It also provides services which neither the buses nor the MRT can fulfil. It is also a very efficient mode of public transport. As the Member for Whampoa, Dr Augustine Tan, had rightly pointed out not too long ago during the Select Committee meeting on land transportation policy and I quote:

'Although the 10,000-plus taxis in Singapore comprise only 2% of vehicles, they provide 700,000 passenger-trips a day.'

Coming from an economist, this is the best endorsement of the economic value of taxi services.

The transport policies are expected to push up the cost of car ownership, and many people may have to give up owning a car. These people must be provided with viable alternatives. No doubt, we have the MRT and public buses but essentially these are mass public transport and run on fixed routes. Moreover, in terms of comfort, convenience and efficiency, they are no substitutes for private cars. There are certain needs of the people which only taxis can fulfil. Although a taxi is also nowhere close to a car, it is certainly the best alternative available. The taxi service serves not only our local commuters but also the many tourists who visit our country each year. The efficient services provided by our taxi drivers and the good reputation earned by our taxi service have helped to enhance the image of our country as an excellent place to invest and visit.

If the intention of the Government is to discourage people from owning their own private cars so that our road system remains to be efficient to meet the needs of our national development, then I think it would be wise for the Ministry to ensure that the taxi service remains an affordable alternative for the people. The Ministry seems to have confused the taxis with private cars. Technically, taxis are cars, and they are right, but functionally, they are obviously wrong. The role played by the taxis is completely different from that of the private cars. Perhaps it is because of the belief that taxis are also cars and are equated to private cars that the Ministry has been taking all the necessary steps to bring taxis in line with the private cars. And over a short span of 1(r) years from November 1988, taxi drivers are slapped with rapid succession of increased up-front cost of more than $10,000. In November 1988, the diesel tax was increased by $3,300. In November 1989, the diesel tax was further increased by $2,200 and more recently, the $5,000 interim additional registration fee imposed on private cars was also applicable to taxis.

The introduction of the $5,000 interim additional registration fee is meant to dampen the tremendous demand for cars. But the number of taxis to be put on the road is controlled by ROV. What then is the rationale to impose it on the taxis? Here we are not talking about a large business in perhaps a comfortable position to cushion such hefty increased cost. Here we are talking about a middle-age family man who drives 10 to 12 hours daily throughout the year for a living.

In addition to these increases, the Yen has appreciated over the years which makes the taxi more expensive. The diesel price has also increased from 31.7 cents in October 1988 to 47.4 cents in March 1990. This is a hefty 50% increase. The higher operating costs which are beyond the ability of the taxi operators to absorb will inevitably bring about higher fares, which will in turn raise the cost of living for everyone.

With regard to the fare increases, I would like to appeal to the Minister to get the Public Transport Council to be more realistic and responsive to the request for fare increases.

We are proud of our land transport system and by and large we have got our land transport policies right. But I feel there is something not quite right with the policies on taxis. I would like to appeal to the Minister to review them. But if he is still convinced that the policies are necessary and right, and it is good for the nation, I will give him my full support. However, I would like to urge him to introduce the changes more gradually to allow the people affected time to make the necessary adjustments.

Mr Chiam See Tong: Sir, basically I have got a query for the Minister.

The Minister has told us that there are about 93,000 cars that are over 10 years old on our roads. These cars at the moment are not subject to payment of quota premium or certificates of entitlement. When the quota system is implemented, owners of these old vehicles will be subject to pay additional taxes. It would appear therefore that the pool of vehicles which are required to pay taxes will increase.

My query to the Minister is this: will the Minister provide us with an estimate of how much tax revenue will be collected from the motor vehicle quota system over the next three years, assuming that the quota premium averages $5,000 per vehicle?

Mr Choo Wee Khiang (Marine Parade GRC): Sir, I would like to talk about road tax on old cars. I would also like to declare my interest.

Sir, the Minister for Communications and Information lately announced that old cars which are more than 10 years old will be subject to a 10% surcharge and up to a maximum of 50%. I would like to appeal to the Minister that old cars are not necessarily bad, and bad cars are not necessarily old. Unless the Ministry is able to produce figures showing that old cars are actually causing a lot of congestion in Singapore, I would tend to agree with him. Because from statistics by the Ministry, it was shown that old cars which had gone through Vicom or AA inspections, most of them had some kind of problem one way or another. But the very fact that these cars are able to get through Vicom or AA inspections shows that the cars are not bad either.

I would like to appeal to the Minister to consider again whether it is possible to waive this 10% surcharge. If that is possible, it will make a lot of old car owners very happy.

Dr Yeo Ning Hong: Sir, I want to thank Mr Lew Syn Pau and Dr Wan Soon Bee for their concern for the taxi drivers and their livelihood. The Government is also very concerned with the livelihood of the taxi drivers. Hence when policies are made we bear in mind their impact on the livelihood of taxi drivers in Singapore. But as Dr Wan rightly pointed out, a taxi is a car. It has taken a long time for Dr Wan and Mr Lew to come to that conclusion, and I am very pleased that they have finally agreed a taxi is a car and, therefore, taxis are likely to cause the same amount of congestion as an ordinary car. Hence we should try to strike a balance to ensure that we do not have congestion caused by taxis. Because it does not serve much purpose if we are to prevent congestion caused by cars only to replace it with congestion caused by taxis.

Mr Lew has suggested that changes should be made gradually. Yes, I agree. Changes will be made gradually. In fact, they have been made very gradually. I have shown the figures many, many times to Members of this House, that even if we assume a figure of $5,000 for the quota premium, it will only add another 0.4 cents per kilometre to the operating cost of the taxi driver. So it is a small step, a small increase, and therefore manageable.

Yes, taxis provide personal door-to-door service, as Mr Lew rightly pointed out. Therefore, for that quality of service, the public should be prepared to pay something more than what they are prepared to pay for a bus ride or for a MRT ride. Taxi fares are determined by taxi operators, not by the Government. As recommended by the previous GPC for Communications and Information, the Public Transport Council acts as a watchdog body, to ensure that nobody - not taxi operators, not bus operators, not MRT operators - can charge artificially high fares. The PTC plays a moderating role and ensure that fares are acceptable, both to the consumers as well as to the operators. If the taxi operators are able to provide good figures to justify any fare increase, I have no doubt that the Public Transport Council, made up of ordinary Singaporeans, unionists consumers and employers, would only be too happy to look at the figures provided by the taxi operators and make the adjustments accordingly. In fact, so far, all applications for fare increases have been acceded to, sometimes with minor modifications.

So fares are decided by the taxi operators. Indeed taxi operators not only decide fares, they also decide the number of taxis, contrary to what Dr Wan said. The number of taxis is not controlled by ROV. Yes, ROV maintains the records. At the moment, ROV has issued 14,000 taxi licences to the various taxi operators. However, there are only 11,000 taxis on the road. Taxi operators decide when they want to add on to their fleet and how many more taxis they want, not the Government.

Sir, I now come to the question by Mr Chiam See Tong. He asked for an estimate of the amount of revenue expected over the next three years assuming that the quota premium is $5,000. The amount can be derived quite easily. There are about 500,000 vehicles on the road. Assuming they have an average lifespan of 10 years, so each year, about 50,000 vehicles would be scrapped. Multiply that by $5,000 to get one year's revenue. It is simple arithmetic.

Mr Chiam See Tong: What about the old cars?

Dr Yeo Ning Hong: The old vehicles are included in the 500,000. They are part of the total number of vehicles on our roads.

Sir, Mr Choo asked whether we could remove the 10% surcharge for old vehicles. We have gone through this many, many times. I have provided the figures of failures at the first inspection. I have also asked my Ministry to arrange for the detailed figures to be sent to the newspapers and they have published the figures. We do have some fairly old cars that are really not very satisfactory. Half of them, in fact, are unable to pass the first test. Mr Choo says that since they have passed, they should be all right. No, it is not so simple. The inspection standard represent only the minimum standards. What is important is to ensure that people who want to keep old cars should maintain their vehicles well. The more we have of such old vehicles, which are poorly maintained, on our roads, the more likely it is we are going to add to pollution, to breakdowns, and to accidents. What we are trying to do is to contain the problem of rapid increases of old vehicles from getting out of hand.

Over the last three years, such vehicles have grown by 70%. That is a very dramatic increase. So let us bring the numbers down to something reasonable. Then we can look at how we can encourage owners of old vehicles to pay a little more attention to maintaining their vehicles so that they do not break down or cause accidents on our roads.

Mr Choo Wee Khiang: Will the Minister agree that it would be better for the old car owners to make use of the surcharge on the road tax to maintain their cars rather than pay to the ROV for the use of old cars on the road? Also, will the Minister agree that preventive measures would be better than penalising the old car owners by way of surcharge?

Dr Yeo Ning Hong: Sir, surcharge is meant to discourage those with old cars from keeping their cars beyond a reasonable lifespan. Owners should maintain their vehicles whether or not there is a surcharge.

Mr Lew Syn Pau: Sir, I am pleased to hear the Minister say that he will in future impose taxes for taxis very gradually. With that, I withdraw the amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs (Encik Yatiman Yusof): Sir, I beg to move,

That the sum to be allocated for Head I be reduced by $10 in respect of Code ID 1500 of the Main Estimates.

Sir, Singapore has successfully moved towards globalisation of world business. As a country strategically located, we have taken full advantage of the latest developments and we are shifting towards higher value added technology based and service-related industries.

It is in the port area which I would like to speak today. A fully loaded container ship can be emptied and be placed in warehouses within 12 hours. The sea and air cargo is passing through this area with increased tonnage. As a result of this latest development, Singapore has discovered that the formation of a distribution centre will require a completely new role. Singapore is introducing what is known as the distripark, a new phenomenon in our industry with a promising future. We provide a specialised service. We bring the market nearer to the buyers. We provide the modern breaking of bulk and repacking businesses. We provide, most important, Sir, the warehousing industries.

Sir, in order to be successful and effective in this new area of service industry, we need to upgrade our capability so that Singapore remains competitive, not only to other ports in this region but also from this continent. In view of this, I would like to ask the Minister how much we have improved in our information gathering system, how sensitive are we in keeping touch with the changing movement of goods and services and also the demand. If there are competitors, who could be our potential competitors to our distribution centre's role?

Dr Yeo Ning Hong: Sir, I want to thank the Member for his interest in distriparks and in the Port of Singapore Authority. For 1989, Singapore was able to maintain its position as the world's busiest port for the fourth time in a row. We have a total of 430 million gross metric tonnes of shipping calling at our port. We need to build upon this achievement by ensuring that the ancillary services of the port are also kept up to date with adequate investments in infrastructure.

At the moment, the PSA has two major distriparks in Pasir Panjang and Alexandra. Together, they have a total of 317,000 square metres of covered warehouse space. This is approximately 16% of the total warehouse space in Singapore. With its proximity to the port, these distriparks are extremely valuable for transit cargoes which comes into Singapore on one container ship, and then leave on by another container ship a few days later.

These distriparks enjoy almost full occupancy. That means we have to build more distriparks. We intend to construct a major centre costing some $52 million, next to the present Pasir Panjang Terminal. This will be a 3-storey building making full use of the limited land that we have. It is expected to be completed some time at the end of the year and it would add another 50,000 square metres of warehousing and office space.

Sir, Mr Yatiman also asked also whether our information network is adequate. We are fully computerised in the PSA, in our distriparks. This ensures that there is rapid exchange of information between the port, the warehouses, the distriparks and the users of these services. We are also linked via electronic data interchange with a number of other ports in the world, eg, with Bremen in West Germany. Such telecommunication facilities enable rapid exchange of information and enhances our efficiency as an important distribution centre. We want to encourage other ports in the region to participate also in Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). But it will take some time for other ports to achieve the same level of computerisation and hence compatibility with our database. Every effort will be made to encourage such development in the region.

Mr Yatiman also asked who our competitors are, in port management and in the distribution of cargo. In effect, in today's world of streamlined sea trnsportation, every port within a very large region competes one with another. We are competing with ports like Hong Kong, Kaoshuing, Klang, and Colombo, indeed every port in the entire Asian region. Sea communication has reached to a point where it is no longer cost effective for a large modern container ship to call at a large number of ports. Every time a ship gets into port, the ship is not making money. A ship makes money only when it is on the move. What has evolved over the years is a trend towards few port calls by very large containers. It is important, regardless of who our competitors are, that Singapore maintains its premier position as a key port in this part of the world. This we strive to do.

PSA sends out regularly overseas promotion missions, to reach out to our customers, to keep in touch with them, to update them on the latest developments on our infrastructure to get to know their needs, their requirements and to ensure that we are in the best possible position to service the needs of our customers. We also have regular exhibitions and seminars held in Singapore, the latest of these is the Singa Port 90 Conference and Exhibition organized by PSA. We had a total of more than 330 companies from 26 countries participating in the conference. We have to continue to press forward, to achieve greater heights of excellence and efficiency, and then pass on all these cost savings to our customers, and keep our rates low and therefore competitive.

Encik Yatiman Yusof: Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Encik Yatiman Yusof: Sir, I beg to move,

That the sum to be allocated for Head I be reduced by $10 in respect of Code IE 1500 of the Main Estimates.

Sir, in moving this amendment, I would like to re-state the fact that information is power. It is a cliche. It also makes us more knowledgeable and wiser. Sharing of information could also increase the sense of mutual trust, especially among neighbouring countries. But, Sir, information can be a powerful double-edged knife. It can build, it can carve, it can destroy, it can kill. Therefore, Sir, managing the flow of information in a constructive and responsible manner must be a key consideration for greater and deeper understanding from among neighbouring countries and among countries in the world.

To illustrate my point, Sir, the Americans came up with a proposal of Free Trade Agreement, which involved Canada. While on the economic side, the Canadians were quite happy to work closely with their closest neighbouring country, which is the biggest economy in the world, they were quietly making their fear known that there could possibly be the danger of a fall-out in the form of some kind of cultural influence as a result of the Free Trade Agreement. For us, Sir, statements made in one country by one particular constituency or by one particular group, if openly published in the media, can have an alarming effect. However, Sir, should we avoid ourselves from the possible fall-out of such exercise by closing the air or constricting the cables? The answer is no. Singapore is a country situated in an area where information flow is crucial for our survival. We have to manage our information flow in the most judicious and responsible manner.

But, Sir, in the past, we have been at the receiving end of an unbalanced flow of information resulting with countries in the world looking at us through their own tinted glasses. We have to change this unhappy state of affairs. The Hon. Prime Minister, through his various interviews given to the various major media of the world, had to some extent, succeeded in providing some kind of balance in the flow of information by telling the major media what we are, how we work, and what is crucial for our survival and what other countries must learn from us.

I think there is a need for us to create an atmosphere where the flow of information is institutionalised through an effort where there will be a balanced flow of information. We have been inviting journalists from our neighbouring countries to stay here for a month, meet our Ministers and learn. We also have an exchange of wire services. We have seminars, forums and discussions among media owners. But how do we achieve this state of balance in future is a question which I would like to ask the Ministry. What is the mid-term and long-term plan to ensure that there is a balanced flow of information?

The Chairman: Mr Mah.

Encik Yatiman Yusof: Sir, actually I have another amendment under the same heading.

The Chairman: You should have spoken.

Encik Yatiman Yusof: I am sorry.

The Chairman: You will wait for the reply.

Mr Mah Bow Tan: I cannot agree more with Encik Yatiman Yusof when he says that information is power. But it is a power that has a double edge to it. It can do good as well as do harm. The Ministry's role in managing the flow of information between the countries in the region as well as between Singapore and the world is a critical one. We have taken advantage of our position in the region and of our excellent telecommunications and communications infrastructure to enable ourselves to become an information centre for the region and also to become an information centre for Asia and the world. We provide links via satellite with more than 50 countries. We are home to the world's major news agencies and organisations. We are served by about 4,000 foreign publications. The BBC World Service is relayed 24 hours on FM. There are 106 accredited correspondents representing some 59 foreign news media organisations. They not only cover Singapore but also from Singapore to the world. Apart from this, more and more publications, including the Economist, Time, USA Today, are printed in Singapore for regional distribution. As you can see, Sir, the role of Singapore as a regional information centre is one that we can justifiably claim to be.

Steps are also being taken to improve the two-way flow of information with Asean. As the Member rightly pointed out, there are regular exchanges of information, and regular exchanges of journalists between Singapore and other countries in Asean. Malaysia's official wire news agency, Bernama, has an office in Singapore. My Ministry welcomes more such news agencies from Asean countries setting up base in Singapore.

There are also regular exchanges of meetings of Asean editors. The Singapore Government invites journalists from neighbouring countries on regular fact-finding missions or visits to Singapore, and such programmes have helped to disseminate information on Singapore.

As for information flow between Singapore and the world, as I indicated earlier, apart from the wide network of media organisations that operate from Singapore, we also keep the world informed about us through the efforts of our foreign missions and also through the efforts of the various organisations that have offices overseas, like STPB, SIA, EDB, TDB and also MCI's own external publicity efforts.

Encik Yatiman Yusof: Sir, on broadcasting cooperation with neighbouring countries, I just want to ask a short question. What is the Ministry's plan to broaden and deepen broadcasting cooperation with our neighbouring countries, apart from holding joint performance between SBC and the various other similar broadcasting medium, exchange of programmes and so on and so forth? Could the Minister enlighten the House?

Mr Mah Bow Tan: Sir, at the moment the cooperation is really on two levels. One, of course, is at the Government-to-Government level, which is conducted under the umbrella of the Asean Committee on Culture and Information (COCI). Then there is the other level which is the station-to-station level. The on-going COCI project includes annual exchanges of programmes and artistes as well as joint production of documentaries. But also on the station-to-station level, SBC has very good bilateral relations with its counterpart stations in the other countries - RTM, TVRI, Radio and TV Brunei. Also, in November last year, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed with Indonesia which provides for exchange of materials and programmes for broadcast in our respective countries.

But I am pleased to also inform the Member that, outside of the region, SBC has got regular exchanges of news item with stations such as NHK of Japan, SBS of Australia, and CNN of USA. In addition to this, it exchanges programme materials with stations in other countries such as China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Insofar as the co-production is concerned, last year it had a very rewarding project with the BBC where it co-produced a programme called Tomorrow's World which incidentally featured Singapore as the main highlight.

Encik Yatiman Yusof: With that explanation, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Encik Wan Hussin bin Hj Zoohri (Aljunied GRC): Sir, I beg to move,

That the sum to be allocated for Head I be reduced by $10 in respect of Code IG 3100 of the Main Estimates.

Sir, school buses provide an essential service to our school children. Parents feel secure in seeing their children transported to and from school safely. However, Sir, what is of concern is that the bus fees charged by the various bus operators seem to be on the increase. Some parents are at the mercy of some of the school bus operators. Since there are no other operators in certain areas, some parents have no choice but to pay the demanded prices for their children. Furthermore, a few operators, I am told, charge the full month's fee during the school holidays when other operators charge only half a month's fee. In this respect, Sir, could the Ministry provide certain guidelines, like taxis, on the rate of charges for the benefit of the parents? This would of course act as a restraint on the operators not to overcharge parents either during school terms or during school holidays. Again, the MCI would help if they could monitor the situation periodically.

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Communications and Information (Mr Ho Kah Leong): Sir, allow me to respond to the points made by the hon. Member for Aljunied GRC, Mr Wan Hussin.

For safety reasons, school buses are regulated under the Road Traffic Act and subsidiary legislation. The legislation spells out the licensing requirements such as the statutory lifespan, seating capacity, etc to ensure the roadworthiness of the buses and the safety of school children. The job of the ROV is to make sure that the school buses comply with the relevant regulations.

As regards fares, Sir, I think they are determined by the market-place between the bus operators and the parents, similar to fares for adult workers transported by private hire buses and for tourists in excursion buses.

Sir, on its part, the Government has helped by keeping road tax down and exempting school buses from the quota system. In this respect, I would like to urge school bus operators to keep their fares down in order to provide a valuable service to as many school children as possible.

Encik Wan Hussin bin Hj Zoohri: Sir, may I also enquire from the Senior Parliamentary Secretary whether he agrees that this is also, if not a fully public transport, a semi-public transport. In that sense, would not the Public Transport Council have a look at this situation? If it is fair for the parents, then I think I have no problem. But there is no body or avenue for parents at least to register their dissatisfaction. The Ministry could at least ask such a Council to just look into this matter and to ensure that this is a fair deal.

Mr Ho Kah Leong: Sir, the points raised by the hon. Member are not new. In fact, sometime in February last year, the Consumers Association of Singapore had a meeting with two relevant associations, namely, the Singapore School and Private Hire Bus Owners Association and the Singapore School Transport Association, whose members are mainly school bus operators. The decision of that meeting was contained in a letter to the editor which was published in the Forum Page of the Straits Times dated 10th February.

Sir, please allow me to read out the relevant decision, and I quote:

"At the meeting it was unanimously agreed that bus operators would take the following steps and their Associations would ensure compliance:

(i) Maintain a close rapport with parents so that the terms and charges are fully understood and accepted by parents prior to engaging the bus operator's services;

(ii) Allow variations in charges to encourage competition and provide consumers with a choice; and

(iii) Not to engage in cartelism or price-fixing arrangements.'

If the Member is interested, I can pass on to him the press cutting.

Encik Wan Hussin bin Hj Zoohri: Sir, my interest goes beyond the notes. My interest is simply to get a fair deal for the parents. However, while I am not too satisfied, I withdraw the amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Encik Wan Hussin bin Hj Zoohri: Sir, I beg to move,

That the sum to be allocated for Head I be reduced by $10 in respect of Code IH 5200 of the Development Estimates.

Sir, my concern in making this amendment is to enquire from the Minister what progress has been made in minimising the noise level in areas where the MRT is running close to the housing estates.

I have in my constituency, Sir, several HDB blocks at Eunos Road 5 where the MRT is running quite close to these blocks. The Residents' Committee of this zone has received feedback on the high noise level of the MRT passing through these blocks. I would like to know if the MRTC has taken steps to minimise this problem.

Mr Teo Chong Tee (Changi): Sir, on more than one occasion, I spoke in this House with regard to my request for an extension MRT line to Changi Airport. The line could be extended either from Pasir Ris Station or Tanah Merah Station. Although the Hon. Minister for Communications and Information, in his previous response to my query, had said that the extension line to Changi Airport was not a viable proposition, may I, once again, request the Minister to further persuade the MRTC to study the proposal.

Sir, before I proceed further, I would like to declare my interest.

Changi Airport is the best airport in the world, having been voted twice to be the best by frequent business travellers to Singapore - once in 1988 and another in 1989. The people who contributed to this world-renowned achievement for Singapore were indeed the airport workers. They number approximately 20,000. In October this year when the second Passenger Terminal becomes operational, the number of airport workers is expected to increase by another 5,000 or more. They will be the potential users of the MRT eventually. The big number of airport workers will no doubt form a substantial base to ensure the viability of the extension line as compared to some other MRT lines. One clear-cut example is the Marina South extension. Very few people make use of this line. I feel strongly that these airport workers should not be deprived of the construction of a modern transportation facility such as the MRT at their work place for their convenience.

Sir, to help the MRTC study further on the justification of an extension line, may I offer some other reasons for their consideration.

Firstly, an extension line linking Changi Airport from one of the existing MRT stations will definitely enhance the 'Best Airport' image. When constructed, Changi Airport will be the first airport in Asia to have a transit system, comparable to European airports of London, Frankfurt and Zurich.

Secondly, it provides an opportunity for more transit air passengers in Changi Airport to visit and shop in the city. This is because the MRT can provide not only a fast transportation to enable them to go to the city for their shopping pleasure but an uncomplicated means of transportation which will enable them to travel to and from the city conveniently.

Thirdly, Sir, the shift duty works of most airport workers at different times of the day and night will ensure the optimum utilization of the extension line. This group of workers will provide the volume for the slack times of the MRT.

Fourthly, Sir, employers in the airport will be able to tap a wider labour market from other parts of Singapore, like the northern and western Singapore, unlike the current practice of concentration of getting workers mainly from the eastern part of the island.

Fifthly, airport workers need not spend too much time travelling to and from work. Their transfer from one SBS bus to another takes away too much of their precious time. The time saved will help to improve the nation's productivity.

Sixthly, Sir, car owners will use the MRT instead of their cars to work. Many workers are currently forced to drive to work as the airport working hours are irregular, with the busiest time in the early mornings and late evenings when the public transport is least efficient. By not driving their cars to the airport, they can also save on the monthly parking fees of $75 at Changi Airport.

Seventhly, aside from airport workers, the MRT will also serve well-wishers. At peak hours of the airport operations, the number may be around 2,000. At off-peak hours, the public also make visits to the airport as part of their sight-seeing tours.

Lastly, but not the least, Sir, budget-conscious travellers to Singapore will find the MRT economical and convenient.

Sir, having said all these reasons to justify my request, I would like to urge the Hon. Minister to bear them in mind seriously. Perhaps, in the planning of the Changi Airport's third Passenger Terminal, the planning of the MRT extension line could be incorporated.

Mr Goh Choon Kang: Mr Chairman, Sir, I would also like to see the MRT extend its line, but in a different direction, to the north-east.

Sir, on 7th August 1988, a news report said that the Minister had announced a $2.2 billion extension of the MRT from Chinatown to Punggol and Jalan Kayu at his constituency's National Day dinner. According to the newspapers, the Minister even went to the extent of saying, and I quote: "I hope a lot of our local contractors would be able to get a very large share of the contract available." So that report gave hope to an early implementation of Phase 3 of the MRT project. But that hope was dashed in view of the more recent statements made by 1DPM and also the Minister himself. Now the impression given is that it can be as long as 10 to 15 years from now.

Sir, the first two phases of the MRT have been completed and the last station, the Boon Lay Station, will be opened by the President sometime in July this year. I would like to urge the Government to immediately launch the third phase. I believe there will be sufficient demand for the north-east line to be viable.

Sir, as it is, the north-east route is already densely populated. Upper Serangoon Road, for example, I think the Minister knows, is one of the busiest corridors in this country. In case the Minister is still not convinced, let me give him some figures. I have done a rough count of the number of existing flats along the proposed north-east line. Starting with Selegie and Waterloo area, there are 1,700 units of flats. And then further down, Towner Road/McNair Road/Kempas/St. George's/Bendemeer, there are 7,300 flats. Kolam Ayer, we have 19,000 units. Potong Pasir, 4,000 units. Serangoon New Town, 16,400 units. Hougang New Town, more, 36,000 units. So the total number of units is 67,000 units. If you multiply by an average of four or five persons per household, it will give you a population of around 300,000.

Apart from the HDB estates, along this route we also have very busy business centres such as Little India, Serangoon Town Centre, Hougang Town Centre and so on. Also, I think the HDB estates in Hougang New Town and Punggol are still under construction. They are expanding. Apart from the HDB estates, we also have numerous private housing estates along this route. So there is no lack of critical mass to support the MRT line. My guess is that it would not be less viable than the north west line, but certainly more viable than the Marina Extension.

Sir, I would therefore like to urge the Government to take a decision as soon as possible. Ten years is too long.

Dr Yeo Ning Hong: Sir, I know that we have exceeded our guillotine time. I want to thank you for your graciousness in permitting me to respond. Let me be very brief.

Sir, I sympathise with the Member for Aljunied GRC for bringing to our attention the fact that some of his residents find the MRT trains noisy. This is not the first time we have heard of it. Each time an MRT goes to a particular area, the first few months or so, we get a fair number of complaints. But fortunately the pattern has been that the complaints subsided over a period of months. For example, in Tampines, we had 23 complaints in December. By March, there were no more complaints. Aljunied, 14 complaints in October. No more complaints in March. Eunos, 14 complaints in October. No more complaints in March.

An hon. Member: All gave up!

Dr Yeo Ning Hong: Sir, we are aware of the noise. It is the nature of moving vehicles to make noise. MRTC will make every effort to minimise the noise. It will systematically monitor the situation, grind the wheels, make the rails smooth, keep the friction low, and keep the noise level down. And indeed there has been significant improvement. We have been able to bring the noise level down from about 82 decibels, down to about 77. And that, in simple words, is a sharp drop in noise level. We will make every effort to keep it down.

Sir, I want to thank Mr Teo and Mr Goh for giving the Ministry a lot of reasons why we should build the MRT extension lines. The reasons are very good and very valid. But, unfortunately, the Mass Rapid Transit system is a very, very capital intensive and high cost operation. Unless and until there is a sufficient volume of traffic to meet, not the cost of capital expenditure, to meet the operating cost, it would not be viable to construct any extension route. Otherwise, passengers in other places having nothing to do with these two routes, will end up having to bear the burden on behalf of people in these areas. But I have already stated that the Government has accepted in principle the building of the north east line. Indeed, I have gone further. I have said that the Government will build MRT lines all over Singapore. But this is the long term. We are not talking about the short term. And as soon as we are able to get a viable number mass of flats along a particular line to justify the operating cost of that line, we will build it. The latest indications are that the first of such lines to be proceeded with would be the Woodlands line rather than the north east line or the Changi line.

Sir, the Member has mentioned Marina Bay. I want to clarify this because I do not want Members to have any misunderstanding. Marina Bay was built for the purposes of enabling the trains on the North South line to turn around. Of course, the station would also serve future development in Marina South.

Encik Wan Hussin Zoohri: I beg to withdraw the amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Mr S. Chandra Das (Cheng San GRC): Sir, I beg to move,

That the sum to be allocated for Head I be reduced by $10 in respect of Code IJ 3100 of the Main Estimates.

Sir, in moving this amendment, I would like to bring to the attention of the Minister to some of the suggestions for the improvement of SBC's Indian programmes. A committee was set up by the People's Association Cultural Group Coordinating Council to study the standards of the SBC's Indian production and programmes. This committee accepted the fact that Indian programmes are usually not revenue generating and it is usually difficult to get advertisements and sponsorship. Notwithstanding these limitations, it was felt that SBC could improve on the number and quality of the Indian programmes. As its impact cannot be denied, the programmes telecast must bear quality and be suitable.

Mr Speaker, Sir, the committee reviewed the various Indian TV programmes and gave its views in respect of the quality, usefulness and drawback of the various programmes. News, documentaries and talentime programmes were rated good by this committee. It felt the news programmes could be further expanded to include financial reports as well. However, the committee was very critical on programmes relating to local drama largely because of the negative values portrayed. The general conclusion was that the SBC Indian TV programmes, particularly local dramas, leave much to be desired.

Sir, I would like to make two suggestions to the Ministry on behalf of this committee. Firstly, SBC has not appointed a head or executive producer for the Indian programmes since the last gentleman retired. Maybe this lack of leadership is one of the problems. Maybe SBC can look into the appointment of an Indian head of programmes.

Secondly, maybe SBC could consider some additional inputs in the form of members of the advisory council to advise SBC on Indian programmes, particularly dramas.

Encik Wan Hussin bin Hj Zoohri: Sir, it is gratifying to know that the SBC's Mandarin dramas command very higher viewership. According to the latest SBC Annual Report, the serials like Teahouse in Chinatown, Mystery, Ups and Downs, attracted an average viewership of more than 900,000. Now the SBC has started dubbing into English, selected SBC Mandarin serials and its success has led to the setting up of an English dubbing unit in SBC.

Sir, many Singaporeans are very much Anglophile in their daily interactions. They speak the English language, they watch English TV programmes. Would it not be timely for SBC to start producing its own local English plays and dramas? I am told there are abundant talents in the local English theatre circles. Such a unit in SBC would certainly give our local players the added motivation and fillip to bring our local English plays to greater heights. Related to this, Sir, I would also like to know the frequency of SBC screening our locally-produced English plays over TV.

Sir, lest I be accused of being a Western Oriental Gentleman (WOG), I would now like to turn my attention to the Malay drama. Currently, Malay drama is shown over TV only once a week. May I know from the Minister whether there are plans to increase the frequency of Malay drama over TV?

Mr Teo Chong Tee: ( In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, in recent years, the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation has spared no effort in raising the production standard and quality of its programmes and has produced a number of Chinese TV serials of standard comparable to imported TV movies. Their efforts in providing our people with excellent broadcasting programmes are certainly commendable. However, I feel there is still room for improvement. In our Chinese TV serials with contemporary background and characters, not much emphasis is given nor is there sufficient reflection of the various lifestyles of the people of our multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious society and the concept of racial harmony in Singapore.

Sir, this issue was raised by me in Parliament two years ago. However, I feel that the progress in this direction is still inadequate to meet the demand of our multi-racial society. I fully understand that details of daily life and subject matters of the TV stories need to be beautified and dramatised to achieve its dramatic effects. I have also noticed that in the dialogue of a number of locally-produced contemporary TV serials, some slangs and jargons frequently found in our daily life are being used. For example, in the TV serials about police and army life, the military and police personnel address their superior officers as "Sir", which is a term actually used in our armed forces and police force. If we use the Chinese characters chang kuan, meaning superior officer, instead of "Sir", then it will sound unnatural and unrealistic.

In another environmental drama serial currently being screened, the character who is in the habit of taking medical leave is called MC king in English. This is an interesting description frequently used in real life. MC king is definitely better than ping chia ta wang. Literally translated, it means "king of medical certificates". I think this interesting description will be more readily acceptable by the audience.

The Chairman: Order. Moment of interruption.

Thereupon Mr Speaker left the Chair of the Committee and took the Chair of the House.

Dr Yeo Ning Hong: Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to report that the Committee of Supply has made further progress on the Main and Development Estimates for the financial year 1990/91, and ask leave to sit again tomorrow.

Mr Speaker: So be it.