MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND THE ARTS

BG (NS) GEORGE YONG-BOON YEO Minister for Information and the Arts

MITA will press on with our efforts to make Singapore an international hub for media and culture. We have made some progress.

Library 2000

2. The National Library will be restructured as a statutory board this year to implement the recommendations of the Library 2000 Review Committee. We will develop our libraries into convenient centres for enjoying books, pursuing knowledge and acquiring skills. More children's libraries will be set up. We will also cater to the particular information needs of the business and arts communities.

3. The Tampines Regional Library will be opened this year as a test bed for new ideas. We will involve the local community in running it.

Broadcasting

4. Exciting changes are taking place in the broadcasting industry. We cannot escape the effects of satellite broadcasting, channel proliferation and global competition.

5. To make SBC more competitive, we will corporatise it at the end of 1994 into several separate companies. These companies will be gradually privatised over a period of time. A statutory board, the Singapore Broadcasting Authority (SBA) will be set up to license and regulate broadcasters. SBA will help finance public service broadcasts and local production with funds from licence fees, franchise fees and the government.

6. The Singapore International Foundation launched the Singapore International Television (SITV) service on 1st January 1994. It is carried on Indonesia's Palapa Satellite, and broadcasts SBC_s English news live to Singaporeans and friends of Singapore living in the region. This is our first foray into satellite broadcasting.

7. An external radio service will be launched on 1st February 1994, broadcasting on shortwave.

8. We have started to wire up the whole of Singapore for cable TV and other multi-media services. This is part of our national plan to make Singapore an intelligent island. The cable network will give us a headstart over other cities in terms of information technology infrastructure. Within a decade, with data compression techniques, cable TV may provide Singapore households with up to 100 channels.

9. Where necessary, we will relax our rules to make it easier for international media organisations to base their regional operations in Singapore.

The Arts

10. The masterplan and schematic design of the Singapore Arts Centre will be completed in the first quarter of 1994. Construction will begin in mid-1995. When completed by the year 2000, the Singapore Arts Centre will have auditoriums for a wide range of performing arts.

11. We will continue to encourage the staging of world-class productions in Singapore which attract local and regional audiences. We can make Singapore a major centre for cultural performances and other art events in the region.

12. The National Arts Council (NAC) will help art schools like NAFA and LaSalle to achieve higher standards and become affiliated to good tertiary institutions at home and abroad. Our universities and polytechnics have increased their range of arts courses. NAC will extend its Arts Education Programme to more schools in 1994.

13. While we continue to nurture Singaporean artists and art groups, our indigenous talent pool will never be enough. We also encourage foreign artistic talent to live, work and settle here. Heritage

14. The Singapore Art Museum at the old St Joseph_s Institution will be ready in 1995. It will display works by local and foreign artists. The old Tao Nan School will be renovated by 1995, and will form part of the Asian Civilisations Museum. Work to refurbish the Empress Place Museum and provide it with international museum facilities will begin in early 1995. The National Museum will continue to bring in exhibitions from all over the world, including a major exhibition on the civilization of India in May this year.

15. The National Museum has attracted several valuable donations of art, most recently a collection of Chinese paintings from the Venerable Song Nian. We hope this will become a tradition among collectors in Singapore.

16. The Chinese community and the National Heritage Board will help to establish a Chinese Heritage Museum at the Administration Building of the former Nanyang University, and the Malay community a Malay Heritage Centre at the old Kampong Glam Istana.

17. The recent international art and antique fair, Tresors '93, was successful beyond expectation. We are becoming an international centre for the art and antique trade.