MEDICAL REGISTRATION ACT (Compulsory voting of election of Singapore Medical Council members)

Dr Lily Neo asked the Minister for Health if he will consider introducing legislation to amend the Medical Registration Act where the issue of a practising certificate and the compulsory voting at election of Singapore Medical Council members are coupled.

The Senior Minister of State for Health (Dr Aline K. Wong) (for the Minister for Health): Mr Speaker, Sir, voting has been made compulsory at the elections of the Singapore Medical Council members under the Medical Registration Act 1997. This is because the Council, being the governing body of the medical practitioners, must represent the medical profession in Singapore. In the past, when voting was voluntary, only about 10% to 15% of the eligible doctors voted. Such a small turnout cannot represent the entire electorate among the medical profession.

It has been made clear to all the doctors that those who are not able to vote with a valid reason need only to write in and inform the Council. The penalty for those who do not vote and who are unable to provide a valid reason is a fine of $500. I believe doctors are responsible professionals and we do not have to resort to imposing the penalty. In fact, during the recent election conducted from 28th October to 1st November 1998, more than 90% of the doctors voted. For those who did not vote, the main reason was that they were overseas. This is a valid reason and no further action will be taken against them.

The Council will hold back the renewal of a doctor's practising certificate only when he does not vote without a valid reason and when he also fails to pay the penalty. There is no need to amend the Medical Registration Act on this matter.

Dr Lily Neo (Kreta Ayer-Tanglin): May I ask the Senior Minister of State if it is not too severe to cut off the livelihood of doctors just because they do not participate in the voting for the few representatives to the Medical Council?

Dr Aline Wong: As I have explained to the Member, if a doctor did not vote, but he had a valid reason for not voting, he would not be subject to a penalty. If he did not have a valid reason, but he paid the fine of $500, then no further action would be taken against him. In my view, I think this is very reasonable. As I said, the doctors are responsible professionals. I think most of them would want to exercise the right to vote.

Dr Lily Neo: May I ask the Senior Minister of State if she would consider just meting out the monetary penalty alone being sufficient to compel all doctors to vote for the representatives to the Medical Council?

Dr Aline Wong: I think the monetary penalty is not the point. The point is that doctors should take the responsibility to vote. If you say the $500 is too severe or too heavy, then I would have to ask you: what would be a sufficient amount of fine in order to ensure doctors would vote?

Mr Low Thia Khiang (Hougang): Sir, does the Senior Minister of State think that it is equitable to deregister a medical practitioner if he does not vote and refuse to pay up the fine? Is our professional practice based on whether or not the doctor is committed to vote in the future? And is this tantamount to saying that if a citizen refuses to vote or has no valid reason not to participate in the voting, he might lose his citizenship as well? It looks as if it is going to be the same case.

Dr Aline Wong: Is it equitable? As I said, doctors in the past had felt that they needed to be represented adequately on the Medical Council and therefore they valued the vote. But the trouble is, in the past, when voting was not made compulsory, only 10% to 15% of them ever turned up to vote. In the end, they felt that the number of members elected did not represent them. So it is a chicken and egg question. So, we say, if you value the vote, you should all turn up to vote. And the way to make you come to vote is to tie that up with some penalty which is heavy enough that you feel there is a pinch. But the money is not the question. I must clarify that when a doctor fails to vote, his practising right is not revoked there and then. It is only when he renews his practising certificate, he may not be given the permission. So he can pay up the penalty.

Mr Low Thia Khiang: Sir, I have no quarrel with compulsory voting. My question is whether or not it is fair to link the voting to the renewal of certificate. Can a doctor practise without renewing his practising certificate?

Dr Aline Wong: The linking of compulsory voting with the practising certificate is not limited to the medical profession alone. Even in health matters, for self-employed people, they are required to pay Medisave. If they do not pay up, then the renewal of their business licences could also be held up. So this rule is not peculiar to the medical profession.

Mr Low Thia Khiang: Mr Speaker, Sir, this is exactly what I am objecting. Why should we be linking everything to a penalty which would affect a person's livelihood and professional practice? Is it equitable in the first place?

Dr Aline Wong: As I said, this is really an incentive for people to come and vote. So if the livelihood is so important to them, by all means pay the penalty if you cannot vote.

Mr Low Thia Khiang: Mr Speaker, Sir, I am afraid this is only an administrative expediency. But the principle involved is whether it is equitable.

Mr J. B. Jeyaretnam (Non-Constituency Member): Mr Speaker, Sir, may I ask the Senior Minister of State whether any attempt has been made to find out why doctors have failed to vote in the past? Has any study or census been taken? They may have very good reasons. Maybe they think that the Medical Council is not effective enough for them.

Dr Aline Wong: Many of the doctors who failed to vote, when voting was not compulsory in the past, did so because they did not bother to.

Mr Jeyaretnam: Have you made any attempt to find out why they have not bothered? That is my question. Could you please try and answer the question?

Dr Aline Wong: My answer is yes, of course, we have attempted to find out.

Mr Jeyaretnam: This is becoming a fact of life in Singapore which is what we are against, and I support everything that has been said by my Party Member for Hougang.

Mr Speaker: What is your question, Mr Jeyaretnam?

Mr Jeyaretnam: The question is this: Singapore citizens seem to be living under one compulsion or another all their lives.

Mr Speaker: What is the question?

Mr Jeyaretnam: Is that desirable in a society where people should decide for themselves?

Dr Aline Wong: Mr Speaker, Sir, I do not see the relevance of this to the question asked by Dr Lily Neo.

Mr Simon Tay: The Senior Minister of State has my sympathies. I think the Medical Council has powers and therefore needs good officers and therefore responsible voting. May I ask the Senior Minister of State how many practitioners, in fact, have been knocked off and what serious obstacles, if any, are there to voting?

Dr Aline Wong: This is the first time that we are exercising this Act which requires compulsory voting. During the exercise in October, out of a total of 4,866 doctors eligible to vote, 90.2% turned up to vote. The majority of the 477 doctors who did not turn up to vote were overseas. There were also some doctors on medical leave. Therefore, so far, nobody has been struck off the register.