RETIREMENT OF MR ABILIO LOPEZ, CLERK OF PARLIAMENT

Mr Speaker: Order. I wish to inform hon. Members that the Clerk of Parliament, Mr Abilio Lopez, will be retiring from the Parliamentary Service on 31st March 1995.

Mr Lopez joined Government Service on 1st February 1941 as a Clerk in the General Clerical Service. Following various postings after the war, he was awarded a Departmental Scholarship to study at the University of Malaya in Singapore where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1953. In 1954, he was posted to the then Legislative Council as Second Clerk-Assistant. On 1st April 1956, he was appointed Second Clerk- Assistant of the Legislative Assembly. A year later he was promoted to Clerk Assistant, a post he held until his appointment as Clerk of Parliament on 1st January 1967. Mr Lopez retired as Clerk of Parliament on 29th August 1977 on attaining the retirement age of 55 years. Since 30th August 1977, he has been re-employed as Clerk of Parliament on a temporary basis.

I first met Mr Lopez when I entered the House after the 1976 General Elections. Like many new Parliamentarians, I was unfamiliar with the procedures of the House and it was Mr Lopez I turned to for guidance. Over the years I have found him to be an approachable person, most willing to assist a Member in discharging his or her duties within the ambit of Standing Orders. His meticulous knowledge of the Standing Orders is almost legendary and many of us have come to regard him as a walking encyclopaedia on parliamentary procedures. After I became Speaker in 1989, I had the opportunity of working closely with him in the day-to-day administration of Parliament and here again I found him to be equally adept in the discharge of his duties. His quiet, yet assuring demeanour has stood him well not just with hon. Members, but with his colleagues as well.

Mr Lopez has indicated to me on a number of occasions in recent years of his desire to retire because of his age. Each time I have convinced him to stay on. Hon. Members will agree that we have all benefited from Mr Lopez's vast wealth of experience in Parliamentary matters, and I was reluctant to release him. However, Mr Lopez is now 72 years old and a few months ago he expressed to me again his desire to retire.

I have accepted this somewhat reluctantly but have managed at the same time to convince him to stay on in the service of Parliament as a Consultant for a period of six months after his retirement at the end of this month. This is to facilitate the smooth take-over of the office of Clerk of Parliament by his successor. Also, Mr Lopez is currently the Secretary-General of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organization (AIPO) until the conclusion of the 16th AIPO Working Committee and General Assembly meetings in Singapore towards the end of September 1995, and he has agreed to complete his task as the AIPO Secretary-General.

I also wish to announce the appointment of Mr Periowsamy Otharam as the Clerk of Parliament with effect from 1st April 1995. Mr Otharam is a Legal Officer presently performing the functions of Deputy Senior State Counsel in the Attorney-General's Chambers and will be seconded to Parliament for a period of three years. During his stint in Parliament, Mr Ram will, amongst other tasks, assist me in grooming the younger members of the Parliamentary Service for wider responsibilities in the future.

On behalf of hon. Members, I extend a warm welcome to Mr Otharam.

I am sure that hon. Members will now join me in expressing our gratitude to Mr Abilio Lopez in the traditional way for his years of Government Service since 1941, and in particular for his 40 years of devoted and sterling service to Parliament, and in wishing him many years of happy retirement. [Applause.]

The Leader of the House (Mr Wong Kan Seng): Sir, we have just heard the Speaker announcing that Mr Abilio Lopez, Clerk of Parliament, will be retiring on 31st March 1995 after more than 54 years of distinguished service, much longer than I have been in this world.

Mr Lopez first joined the General Clerical Service as a Clerk on 1st February 1941, just a year before Singapore fell to the Japanese. After the Japanese surrendered, Mr Lopez worked with the British Military Administration and then the Colonial Secretary's Office before his posting to the Legislative Council and then the Legislative Assembly. After completing his Degree in July 1954 at the University of Malaya in Singapore on a Departmental Scholarship, he performed the duties of Second Assistant Clerk. He was confirmed in that appointment in April 1956 and within a year of that, promoted to Assistant Clerk.

Mr Lopez, as we have heard from Mr Speaker, has been the Clerk of Parliament since 1st January 1967. Although he reached his compulsory retirement age on 29th August 1977, he remained as the Clerk of Parliament for another 18 years.

Not many people know what a Clerk of Parliament does, including me, when I was a young Administrative Officer in the civil service, until my Permanent Secretary enlightened me. Our understanding of the term "Clerk" normally refers to someone who does the filing of papers, typewriting, recording entries, and so on. But a Clerk of Parliament does not do any of that. He is the head of all the permanent staff of Parliament. He is the expert in procedures and practices of Parliamentary proceedings. He gives advice to MPs on order and procedures in Parliament. His role is vital in ensuring the smooth administration of Parliamentary business and the running of the Parliament administration.

By the time Mr Lopez retires, again, he has served first in the Legislative Council (Legco), the Legislative Assembly and, later on, our Parliament for almost 40 years, or 39 years to be exact. He has been part of Singapore's Parliamentary history with an institutional memory of the struggles of Singapore, first, against the colonialists and then against the communists and the communalists, as enacted in the many debates that took place in this Parliament between the different political parties.

In his quiet, unassuming and ever-obliging ways, Mr Lopez has helped me to smoothly discharge my duties as the Leader of the House. I have, on many occasions, had to consult him and sought his advice on Parliamentary procedures and practices. Although he will now formally retire on 31st March 1995, he will remain for a few more months to help his successor and to help us organise the AIPO Conference in September this year, as he is the Secretary-General of the AIPO Secretariat.

Mr Lopez has deservedly earned his retirement but I know he will keep himself very busy. He will certainly have more time for his other pursuits or interests, for example, playing golf.

On behalf of this House and all the Members present here, both the PAP MPs and the Opposition, I wish him all the best in his retirement and many, many years of good health.

Our new Clerk of Parliament will be Mr Periowsamy Otharam, who is here in the Strangers' Gallery, but he is no stranger to me. I know Mr Periowsamy Otharam as P O Ram when I first met him when I was in the Ministry of Defence. Mr Ram is a senior Legal Officer with the AG's Chambers and has been in the Legal Service for more than 25 years. Mr Ram's long career in the Legal Service has seen him serve in the AG's Chambers, the Legal Aid Bureau and the Legal Department of the Ministry of Defence.

Apart from his work, Mr Ram has also found time to contribute as a volunteer in many organisations, such as Hin Seng Chinese Mutual Benefit Association, the Kong Ngan Athletic Association in Serangoon South School, the Sri Sivam Temple. He is also a Superintendent in the Volunteer Special Constabulary.

On behalf of this House, I welcome him as our Clerk of Parliament and we look forward to working with him in helping to ensure the smooth running of Parliamentary business. Once again, all our best wishes to Mr Lopez for his well-earned retirement. [Applause.]