COST REVIEW COMMITTEE REPORT

Mr Chng Hee Kok (Tampines GRC): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move,

*That this House endorses the conclusions of the Cost Review Committee contained in Paper Misc. 5 of 1993 and calls on the Government to accept the Committee's recommendations to contain rises in the cost of living.

*The motion also stood in the name of Mr Peh Chin Hua (Member for Jalan Besar GRC).

Mr Speaker, Sir, for a long time since independence, Government's statistics and published numbers and, least of all, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), have never been questioned by the public.

Unfortunately, as the Cost Review Committee (CRC) has pointed out, a confluence of factors resulted in questions being raised about the accuracy of the CPI. This comes on the heels of a change in the country's leadership, and doubts cast about the veracity of Government in a key economic indicator, such as the CPI, and this cannot go unchallenged with a detailed study. The study has been completed and the accuracy and relevance of the CPI has been established. I compliment Mr Lim Boon Heng's Committee for its work. However, the value of the time and effort spent cannot be easily measured when this is viewed as another step forward in the bond building process ---

The Leader of the House (Mr Wong Kan Seng): Point of order, Mr Speaker.

Mr Speaker: Yes.