PASAR MALAM (Amendment to guidelines)

Mr Chiam See Tong asked the Minister for the Environment whether he will amend the guidelines to hold pasar malam by giving equal treatment to all grassroots organisations and Town Councils in its allocation of pasar malam quota and to stop its practice of allocating two years' pasar malam quota at one time.

The Minister for the Environment (RAdm Teo Chee Hean): Mr Speaker, Sir, each constituency is allowed to have only one major fair a year with a maximum duration of 16 days. In addition, each Residents' Committee is allowed a 3-day fair every year. Every constituency has the same allocation and receives equal treatment. Three groups are eligible to apply as the organiser of the major fair. They are the Town Council, Citizens' Consultative Committee and the Community Centre Management Committee. My Ministry has allowed some flexibility in the guidelines I have just mentioned. If an organiser wishes to hold a fair that stretches for more than 16 days, he can use the following year's quota. Then the maximum duration of the fair will be 32 days. Alternatively, if a fair was not organised in the previous year, he can carry over that year's quota. As the guidelines have worked well, my Ministry will not be amending them.

Mr Chiam See Tong: When was this flexibility implemented for holding major fairs, whereby a town council, CCC or CCMC can use two years' quota to organise a fair?

RAdm Teo Chee Hean: Sir, this flexibility was given at the request of fair organisers who felt that 16 days in one given year may be too restrictive. So when several of these organisations asked for this flexibility, my Ministry acceded to them. It was more than a year ago.

Mr Chiam See Tong: If this flexibility is not changed, would the Minister not agree that in opposition constituencies, the opposition town councils will be shut out forever? They would not get a chance to hold fairs to raise funds. In the light of funds not being granted to town councils by the CIPC, how are they going to raise funds for their community work?

RAdm Teo Chee Hean: I am not quite sure how Mr Chiam has connected together all these variegated ideas. First of all, I think he is wrong in saying that opposition town councils have not organised fairs. Opposition town councils have indeed organised fairs since this policy was introduced in July 1994 and these are in Nee Soon Central and Hougang. So they have held some fairs.

Sir, my other point is that all the constituencies are treated equally. Therefore, all the constituents in these constituencies are treated in the same way.

Mr Low Thia Khiang: Sir, I wish to correct the Minister. Is the Minister aware that the Hougang Town Council has not organised any fairs so far? The reason is that the quota was taken up by the CCC because they were given this flexibility. May I request the Minister to reconsider this flexibility so that, strictly, each constituency can only use 16 days a year, rather than allowing the CCC, CCMC or whoever to stretch the period.

The other supplementary question is this. I would like to know the quota period stretches from which month of the year to which month of the following year?

RAdm Teo Chee Hean: Sir, on the first point, I wish to make a clarification. Mr Low is correct. Potong Pasir Town Council and Bukit Gombak Town Council have organised fairs and he is correct that Nee Soon Central and Hougang have not organised fairs, although the grassroots organisations have organised fairs since July 1994.

As I said, the flexibility is given so that we are not so rigid. The Government is always accused of being very rigid. In this case, when we have given some flexibility, we are being asked to remove that flexibility. I really see no reason why we should pursue this particular line.

Secondly, I repeat, the rules that have been laid down are to treat every constituency in the same way. I see no reason why town councils should be treated separately.

Mr Low Thia Khiang: Is it not true that grassroots organisations formed by Opposition Members of Parliament are treated differently? In other words, pasar malams are only allowed to be organised by grassroots organisations like RCs. My constituency's committee which is a grassroots organisation was excluded.

RAdm Teo Chee Hean: Sir, this is not the first time that Mr Low has pursued this line of questioning. This was also pursued in the budget debate last year and I think the answer has been given quite comprehensively. But I would like to say that if all the organisations within a given constituency are able to work smoothly with each other, then the constituents will be better served. For example, I know town councils which work very well together with the RCs and the CCCs to organise functions jointly to serve the needs of their constituents. Naturally, the constituents are well served in that sense. I think we should not be seeking to change the rules merely to benefit one particular type of organisation, in this case, the town council.

Mr Low Thia Khiang: Does the Minister agree that by changing the rule from 1st July 1995, it will shut off organisations like opposition grassroots organisations in organising pasar malams? They were allowed to organise fairs before the rule was changed.

RAdm Teo Chee Hean: Sir, as I said, Potong Pasir Town Council and Bukit Gombak Town Council have organised pasar malams since 1st July 1994.

Mr Low Thia Khiang: Sir, my question is grassroots organisations and not town councils.

RAdm Teo Chee Hean: Sir, there are recognised grassroots organisations in each constituency. These recognised grassroots organisations are allowed to organise pasar malams, but it is not within my Ministry's purview to determine which organisations are recognised and which are not.

Mr Low Thia Khiang: Sir, I would like to take up my supplementary question which I asked just now about the quota period. When is it open for application? How does the quota work? How does it stretch from one year to another?

RAdm Teo Chee Hean: Sir, the quota year is from July to June of a given year and applications can be submitted not earlier than two months before the commencement of each fair. As I have explained, a constituency can ask for next year's quota to be used in the current year. But then, of course, that constituency will not be able to organise a fair the next year. Alternatively, if a constituency has not organised a fair in the previous year, then it can carry forward the quota to the current year.

Mr Chiam See Tong: Sir, how does the Minister determine equality in respect of allocation of major pasar malams? Is he going to count the number of major pasar malams given to the town council and then an equal number given to the CCC or CCMC? If that is the case, which is the starting period? How can he determine equality? I just cannot understand the Minister.

RAdm Teo Chee Hean: Sir, I have already explained the qualifying periods, the times and how the quota is allocated. I am not sure which part Mr Chiam does not understand. In any case, I should reiterate the reasons why we introduced this rule in the first place. There was a proliferation of pasar malams all over Singapore and the durations were not controlled. They were starting to create a nuisance, noise and unsanitary conditions affecting two main groups of people: (1) the residents, because they were inconvenienced by all this noise; (2) shopkeepers were unhappy because these pasar malams came, operated without the overheads of having to maintain shops throughout the year in order to service their customers. And these pasar malams were coming in at particular times of the year, undercutting shopkeepers and taking away their customers. So in response to these concerns, we introduced some curbs on the duration of pasar malams, where they can be held, how often they can be held. I have explained the duration, the booking period and so forth. I am not sure which part Mr Chiam does not understand.

Mr Low Thia Khiang: The Minister said that the introduction of curbs was due to the proliferation of pasar malams. And as a result of the curbs, opposition grassroots organisations are not allowed to organise fairs. Is the Minister saying that this proliferation was due to the organisation of pasar malams by the opposition grassroots organisations and not by the RCs as well? Why is he not curbing the RCs as well?

RAdm Teo Chee Hean: Sir, Mr Low is mistaken on all the counts that he has raised. First of all, RCs are curbed. RCs have a limit of three days per year. RCs have curbs placed on them and there are controls. And it is also not true that opposition town councils are not able to organise pasar malams. Opposition town councils have organised pasar malams. As I said, Potong Pasir Town Council has done so. Bukit Gombak Town Council has done so. And the town councils are one of the three groups in a constituency, together with the CCC and the CCMC, who can use the 16 days for organising fairs.