HOW MANY PORTIONS OF HELP, Sir?
(Today Online)
12 April 2007 by Jasmine Yin and Gracia Chiang
Some say the allowances given to those on public assistance are too
small. Others say charities should step in. So, who's right?
THE Central Business District skyline was glittering under the
mid-day sun.
But from the void deck of a block of one-room rental flats at Kreta
Ayer, 89-year-old Choo Tua Tow had no interest in admiring these
symbols of progress.
His attention was fixed on the white styrofoam packet of rice, two
types of vegetables and a small slice of fried pork before him.
This $3.30 meal from the nearby coffee shop had wiped out almost
half his daily Public Assistance (PA) budget.
Some floors up, his neighbour, Madam Lim Gek Neo was resting on her
single-bed frame she does not have a mattress before deciding
what to cook for the day. The 74-year-old had walked for 25 minutes
to get home after her polyclinic consultation.
The previous day, she had cooked fish bought from the wet market.
Lunch was one side of the fish which was the size of a child's
palm and dinner, the other side. To supplement the meal, there
was rice, since several packets had been donated to her.
Mdm Lim, who has diabetes, knows she should not be eating too much
rice. "But I won't feel full because I don't have much of anything
else to eat", she grumbled in Cantonese.
Mr Choo and Madam Lim scrimp to survive on public assistance of
$260 a month a sum that will be raised to $290 from July. Their
Member of Parliament, Dr Lily Neo, recently spoke up strongly for
them and those in their situation in Parliament, arguing for a
bigger rise in public assistance and saying that ensuring three
meals a day for such people should be "a priority".
Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, the Minister for Community Development,
Youth and Sports, countered that there was "enough, by and large"
for most on the PA scheme to get by. He stressed that everyone
from grassroots and voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs) to
"compassionate" individuals and the Government has a role to play
in helping the needy and disadvantaged.
But how much comfort has this "many helping hands" approach
provided to those who qualify for public assistance?
And, with globalisation likely to push more towards the fringes,
should charities step up their game or should the Government
shoulder a larger burden?
CREAKING CHARITIES
There are currently about 3,000 households on PA in Singapore and
they do not qualify lightly. These people have been deemed unfit
for work due to illness, old age or disability, and there is no one
to support them. The official numbers have not changed much since
2002, although charities insist that more are knocking on their
doors.
"We feel our burden is getting heavier over the years because there
are more and more elderly," president of the Singapore Buddhist
Lodge Lee Bock Guan told Today. There has been a 5-per-cent
increase in the number of people who qualify for the charity's $100
hongbao given to PA recipients during the Chinese New Year
period.
Also, from giving out 70 sets of rice, oil and bee hoon every month
to those on PA 10 years ago, the charity now hands out 200
sets.
The Society of St Vincent de Paul's vice-president Paul Foo was
more blunt. "I think the Government needs to open its pockets
more," he said. "Try living on $290 month. The bulk of PA
recipients are the elderly. What's wrong with giving them another
$50 a month so they can have a plate of chicken rice?"
The Catholic charity distributes cash and grocery vouchers ranging
from $30 to $200 every month to 1,700 families. Mr Foo estimated
that 30 to 40 per cent of these families are on the PA
scheme.
For such families in need, he feels there is one very good reason
why more help should come from the Government. Such help, he said,
would at least be guaranteed help and people in such plights need
such assurances. Charities, on the other hand, have fluctuating
finances many complained of a squeeze after the National Kidney
Foundation saga and may not be able to ensure everyone who needs
help, gets it.
Also, charities usually help in kind, not cash. But "there are lots
of people who would rather take money instead of a free meal", said
Mr Lee Kim Siang from the Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society. "They feel a
sense of security when you put money in their pockets."
A bigger allowance would also 74-year-old Mdm Lim take a bus to her
polyclinic. Right now, "walking does not cost anything and then I
have money for food", she said matter-of-factly. But her eyesight
is failing fast and, soon, even long walks may be beyond her.
COINS HAVE TWO SIDES
The solution may seem simple: Just get the Government to raise the
allowance. After all, another $50 a month for 3,000 households on
PA works out to an extra $150,000 monthly a mere drop in the
larger ocean, surely.
But Mr Lee from the Singapore Buddhist Lodge cautions against a
knee-jerk dole.
"It is very hard to satisfy someone fully," he said. "Some of the
poor we've met want to eat duck and drink beer. Sometimes, we also
meet people who have mobile phones or dress very well when they
come to us for help. There are even times when we give them money
to take a bus home, but they say they want to take a taxi because
their leg hurts ... and when I look at them, they can walk very
well."
His point is that the needy must learn to live within their
means.
Charities, too, must play their part instead of always looking to
the Government, others stressed.
Dr Teo Ho Pin, the North West District mayor, worried that
increasing government help for the needy would only make society
less compassionate.
"The Government has to provide a basic lifeline, then I think the
community must respond," he said. "The community knows there are
people here who are very poor, destitute and living in one-room
flats, right? Why are they not responding? I think the more the
Government does, the less the community will give support."
Many others involved in helping the needy acknowledged there were
other ways to pitch in.
Mr Johnson Lee, director of the Asian Women's Welfare Association
Family Service Centre, said those on PA also had needs, such as
housing and medical care. "The hospitals and clinics could be the
helping hands in such cases," he said.
The mayor of South West District, Dr Amy Khor, pointed out that
some grassroots agencies and VWOs were helping the needy with their
utilities bills, meals and school fees.
The Lions Befriender Service Association of Singapore renders help
in another way its volunteers visit 984 seniors on public
assistance to provide a listening ear. They give the needy an
opportunity to vent their grouses and seek help for them if the
need arises, said the charity's executive director Jennifer
Yee.
SMARTER HELP
Almost everyone interviewed agreed that those on PA could do with
more targeted help. But the fact that they were a diverse bunch did
not make it easier to decide if more money should go their
way.
"This is not a homogenous group. I think we do not want to give the
wrong signal about welfare to those with families, especially those
with children. Having been on the welfare scheme, they should try
to eventually become self-reliant again," said Dr Khor, who is also
Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment and Water
Resources.
Of course, ironing out little wrinkles in delivering help would
make life easier for those in need.
Ms Cindy Chat, manager of Kreta Ayer Senior Activity Centre, said
the elderly who were offered free meals at the centre did not like
some of the procedures, such as having to decide one week in
advance whether they would prefer free lunches or dinners. Such
issues "are implementation problems on the ground that we can
improve on", Dr Khor said.
Still, the critical question remains: Should the allowance for
those in real need such as Mdm Lim be raised, or should the
idea be shelved because some might abuse it?
Charities might chip in with meals and medicine, but they hesitate
to dole out cash. This does not help someone like Mdm Lim, who may
not be able to walk to her polyclinic much longer.
Perhaps one way to solve the problem would be to review the PA
allowance more frequently, instead of waiting five years, said Dr
Khor.
"Is the money enough? It is always subjective," she said. "But
perhaps the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports can
make it more transparent as to what it takes into account to derive
at the amounts. This will be one way to allay people's concerns and
assure them that, 'Look, we are not heartless or miserly'."
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Sources and Relevant Links:
TODAY HOW MANY PORTIONS OF HELP, Sir?31 March 2007
Financial Times Proposed GST adds to worries over income disparity
20 November 2006
International Herald Tribune Singapore tries to redress income gap
22 February 2007
Asia Times Million Dollar - Ministers to get fatter pay 08 April
2007