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Synopsis :

Recording contains three speeches by Devan Nair, Hon Sui Sen, Ong Teng Cheong at three separate functions.

1) NTUC Secretary-General Devan Nair gives a keynote address at the Asian Labour Summit at Hyatt Hotel on 06/05/1977.
He takes pride in the Asian Labour Summit as it is funded entirely by Asian labour organisatons and the planning and charting of the programmes and goals for the Asian trade unions all come from within Asia. He elaborates on several aspects, namely:
a) idea of holding a summit;
b) purpose of a summit of Asian labour leaders;
c) thematic paper put forward primarily to stimulate discussion;
d) facts on labout movement in developing countries;
e) trade unions in developing countries represent only a minority, and labour movement is also disunited and fragmented; main disadvantage it lacks political clout, usually the basis of power in any society.
He adds the Summit could be 'a watershed in the history of a democratic labour movement in Asia', or it could end up as 'another PR exercise'.  (Duration: 00:39:36 mins:secs)

2) Minister for Finance Hon Sui Sen at the opening of SIA's 747 hangar and open house-cum-exhibition on 07/05/1977.
He cites three reasons he is happy to attend SIA's dual ceremony, namely:
a) acknowledging 'SIA's signal contribution to the development of the engineering industry in Singapore';
b) SIA's 'correct judgement of balance of costs and benefits' in proceeding with the hangar project even though the government in 1975 plans to move to Changi;
c) open house-cum-exhibition, organised to commemorate the SIA Group's 30th anniversay, allowing thousands of the youths to understand the multi-faceted aspects of SIA Group's operations and 'multitude of careers' opportunities in the aviation industry.
He points out the efforts put into the ground service is not always appreciated by the public. To highlight the demands made on the engineering service, he elaborates on the engineering division, which makes SIA 'one of the largest engineering establishments in Singapore'. He adds the construction of the hangar is 'a logical follow-through of SIA's strategy to upgrade its engineering skills' and to extend its range of activities.  (Duration: 00:39:49-00:46:59 mins:secs)

3) Senior Minister of State for Communications, Ong Teng Cheong at the signing of the Singapore/ Philippines submarine cable contract at Shangri-La Hotel on 12/05/1977.
He points out the construction completed is only the first segment of the ASEAN Submarine Cable Network, which is jointly owned by the given ASEAN countries. He gives the expected completion dates of the other segments of the cable, the last by 1982, and provides some background to the establishment of the Network back in 1974. He views this project as 'one more step in our endeavours to enhance co-operation among ASEAN countries'. He also talks about:
a) the demand for more efficient and reliable telecommunication services as world economies become increasingly more interdependent;
b) the Telecommunication Authority of Singapore (TAS) being involved in this project and its plans to improve and expand the range of Singapore's communication services;
c) TAS's hopes to participate in the proposed Indian Ocean Commonwealth Cable Project.  (Duration: 00:47:13-01:02:24 mins:secs)