Posted: 29 February 2012 1626 hrs
SINGAPORE: Minister of State for Community
Development, Youth and Sports Halimah Yacob has urged the
government to help a very specific segment of society - women who
cannot work outside their homes as they have young children or
elderly parents to look after.
Mdm Halimah, who is also MP for Jurong GRC, said this is what's
needed on top of measures in the Budget which she says are
pro-family.
She said one way is to allow these women to run home-based food
catering businesses.
But first, she says the government needs to relax its rules banning
home kitchens, so that these women can earn extra income from their
love of cooking.
Mdm Halimah said: "Recently many had received warning letters from
the NEA and they are worried and confused, and their source of
income has been disrupted.
"A couple of weeks ago, I was invited by Dewi, the women's arm of
the Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce, to a dialogue session
which was attended by more than 300 women. The women strongly
appealed to the government to relax its rules prohibiting home
kitchens.
"They were told to cook at central kitchens which are commercial
cooking facilities but many cannot afford the rent and other
related costs, and because of their caregiving responsibilities
they cannot work outside their homes.
"Using a central kitchen is not a viable option for them. The women
understand and are mindful of NEA's concerns over hygiene, safety
and neighbours' complaints.
"Therefore in their proposal, they had suggested various measures
to address these concerns including even devising a contraption to
absorb smoke, grease and smell from their cooking. Sir, I would
like to urge NEA to look into this proposal."
- CNA/de
