2 
III. STAFF 
7. Mr. G. H. Addison, Curator, ceased duty on 1st March and retired 
on 12th June under the terms of Government’s Malayanisation policy. 
Mr. Addison had served the Department for over 22 years. Mr. J. L. Pestana, 
Laboratory Assistant (Special Grade), retired on 31st July after 31 1 years’ 
service. The post of Assistant Director, vacant since January 1958, was ad- 
vertised but no appointment was made. However it is possible to report some 
slight improvement on the very difficult staff position recorded in the previous 
two years’ reports. It was decided to regrade the post of Assistant Director as 
Botanist and Miss Chang Kiaw Lan, a Botany Honours graduate of the Uni- 
versity of Malaya, was appointed on 7th July. One officer was away on 
overseas training throughout the year but three others completed their training 
during the year and resumed duty. These absences threw extra responsibilities 
on the staff members remaining on duty at Singapore. The services of 
Dr. Furtado, a Botanic Gardens pensioner, were retained as a training replace- 
ment officer in the post of Botanist. 
8. Mr. Sinclair was on overseas leave from 1st April to 13th October 
and the Director on short overseas leave from 16th December for the rest of 
the year. 
9. The decision to regrade the post of Assistant Director was taken after 
failure to fill the appointment. At the same time it was decided to designate 
the post of Keeper of the Herbarium as “Botanist (Keeper of the Herbarium).” 
The posts of Assistant Director, Keeper of the Herbarium and Botanist are all 
on the same salary scale in the Botanical Research Division of the Department 
and grading them all as Botanist will simplify the allocation of duties and 
obviate certain establishment procedures in filling the posts. 
IV. TRAINING 
10. Under Government’s policy of training personnel the following offi- 
cers were on courses of study overseas: 
(i) Mr. Chew Wee Lek, Botanist, continued to study for a post graduate 
degree at Cambridge University under Mr. E. J. H. Corner, who 
was at one time Assistant Director of this Department. 
(ii) Mr. Lam Hin Cheng, Horticultural Assistant, successfully com- 
pleted a two-year course of study at the Royal Botanic Gardens, 
Kew, for the Kew Diploma. He returned to duty at Singapore 
on 10th October. 
(iii) Mr. Bajuri bin Sappan, Laboratory Assistant, successfully com- 
pleted an eleven-month course of instruction in plant breeding 
and propagation at various institutions in England and returned 
to duty at Singapore on 3rd January. 
(iv) Mr. Tan Kim Ho, Librarian, went to Australia on 20th February 
on a fellowship awarded by the Australian Government under 
the Colombo Aid Plan to study Library Management. He studied 
at various libraries under arrangements made by the Common- 
wealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, and re- 
turned to duty at Singapore on 26th November. 
V. LABOUR 
11. The labour force averaged 70 men, w'omen and juveniles in the 
Botanic Gardens, 4 in the herbarium, 55 in the Istana Negara (Government 
House) Domain and 8 in the Nature Reserves. 
