Here is the
exchange which took place after Ms Yu-Foo Yee Shoon
had answered Dr Neo’s original question, and the Speaker was ready
to move on.
Mr
Speaker: Dr Lam Pin Min.
Dr Lily
Neo: I am sorry, Mr Speaker. Can I be allowed
to come in here, because I
was asked a question? Therefore, I should be
given a chance to reply.
Mr
Speaker: Your question was not
answered?
Dr Lily
Neo: No, Sir. One, my question was
not answered and, two, I
was asked a question.
Mr
Speaker: Yes.
Dr Lily
Neo: Mr Speaker,
I like to object to the fact that I
was asked a question on what I wanted.
Was assistance for 20% or 30% enough? No, that
was not what I was asking for. I
was asking for 100,000 households which are only 3%
of the population. I could not
be asked a question. We have already given 20%
of ComCare, and may I just qualify that ComCare was temporary
assistance, and that was really out of the question.
Mr
Speaker: To cut it short,
your question was not answered then?
Dr Lily
Neo: Sir,
the questions I asked were:
(1) Was it correct to say
that there were 100,000 households that require long-term
assistance, whereas the assistance schemes we have at the moment
are all temporary?
(2) Can they be
helped with long-term solutions to get them out of the poverty
trap; and
(3) Can their
children be given a better chance?
But I have definitely
never asked for assistance for 30% or 40%
of Singaporeans, and I object to
being asked that kind of question.
Mr Speaker: Mrs
Yu-Foo, would you like to answer
that question?
Mrs Yu-Foo Yee
Shoon: Mr Speaker, Sir, I did not say that Dr
Lily Neo asked for 30%. I just said that,
generally, we have one million households. If we say 100,000,
it is about 10% of the households. After we have the ComCare
scheme, actually the Government covers the bottom 20%
of households in Singapore. My question to
Singaporeans is whether we want to cover beyond the
bottom 20%. I am not saying that Dr Lily
Neo asked for more than the bottom 20%. I
just want to clarify that.
Another point is that, for the very, very
poor, it is about 3,600 persons who are under Public
Assistance. Some are under the interim ComCare scheme
while others are under the Workfare Scheme. Together, if we
add the 4,000 or 5,000, those are the really poor
cases. But those with income beyond $1,500 who can
manage but have difficulty when their children go to
school.
Mr Speaker: Mrs
Yu-Foo, you are actually repeating your replies.
Source: TOC
