Is the merit of Healthcare
Insurance scheme being exclusive considered by the Worker's Party
only ?
The report
Lee Kuan Yew's "Socialism" Reconsidered' detail the
following:
: "From its inception, the PAP advocated that social security be
available to 'all those who through sickness, infirmity or old age
can (no) longer work'. The Party's 1955 election
manifesto went further by calling for the introduction of
child endowment, maternity
allowances and unemployment benefits, as
well as the benefits outlined in the party's original Manifesto.
During the subsequent election campaign the PAP called for
the abolition of the
CPF."
(Page 35 - 36)
On 15 March 1962, Lee Kuan Yew had told the Legislative Assembly
that the Government intended to introduce social insurance
benefits:
... first, to cover unemployment and redundancy; next sickness;
then old age; and finally, of course, the Central Provident Fund
can be dissolved in this wider and bigger institution to ensure
stability and security for the worker.....
Having sweated over this comprehensive social security scheme... we
are not likely to just forget about it....
Lee's reference to "having sweated over: this scheme was not just a
piece of polemic. The speeches of Lee and Goh earlier in this
debate reveal that Goh had laboured greatly over the drafting of an
unemployment insurance scheme and had successfully negotiated an
arrangement with employer groups. His negotiations with the
pro-communist trade union leaders broke down only when they refused
to promise industrial peace in exchange for the introduction of the
scheme and when the Government insisted that employees must
contribute to the scheme alongside employers and the government.
Although Lee stated the Government intention to replace the CPF
with a social insurance scheme, he also used this debate to
indicate that the matter was not a high priority. (Page 36 -
37)
The report further highlighted
that Goh Keng Swee saw the competitive need between national
development and public housing for the limited funds
available.
CPF was seen as the best vehicle to accumulate funds at the expense
of the long term social security of Singaporeans.
After FORTY YEARS of development, CPF has served its purpose of
national development and housing, however, what of the social
security of the Citizens ?
Singaporean's social security remains uncovered with the present
CPF mechanism.
The high costs of medical, health, and unemployment security remain
unresolved with the limited resources of each CPF Account
Holder.
This situation is fully known to the Singapore Government a.k.a the
Ruling Political Party - which solved the inherent problem of the
CPF, by requiring the Singapore Citizens to pay CASH with the
limited CPF clearing a minor portion of the Medical and Health
Costs.