PUBLIC ASSISTANCE ALLOWANCE (Withdrawal of)

Mr Hwang Soo Jin asked the Acting Minister for Social Affairs (a) how many people have had their public assistance allowance withdrawn in 1980; and (b) whether his Ministry ensures that every recipient of such allowance will be able to obtain alternative assistance before it withdraws the allowance.

The Acting Minister for Social Affairs (Dr Ahmad Mattar): Mr Speaker, Sir, a total of 1,984 Public Assistance recipients had their allowances withdrawn last year, 1,586 or 80% of the total were supported by children or close relatives. Another 239 or 12% lost their allowances because either they or their family members had found employment. The remaining 159 or 8% were fit and within employable age but had refused employment.

On the second part of the hon. Member's question, my Ministry does ensure that Public Assistance allowance is not withdrawn unless the recipient has adequate alternative means of support. In particular, a recipient will not lose his Public Assistance allowance if his relatives, themselves in difficult financial straits, can only give him occasional help. Of the 1,984 recipients who had their Public Assistance allowances withdrawn in 1980, only 152 sought other forms of assistance. They were assisted in cash and kind by private charitable funds and voluntary welfare agencies through the intervention of the Social Welfare Department.

Mr Teo Chong Tee (Changi): Mr Speaker, Sir, despite the Hon. Minister's assurance that the Public Assistance allowance is not withdrawn unless the recipient has adequate alternative means of support, I still receive a large number of appeals from constituents who complain about the stoppage of public assistance allowance. I am sure many of my colleagues in this House face the same problems with their constituents.

Some hon. Members: Yes.

Mr Teo Chong Tee: For example, in my Constituency there were about 210 public assistance recipients in 1979, and in 1980 the number was drastically reduced to about 90. Maybe the Director of Social Welfare is too strict in carrying out this exercise. May I ask what steps has the Hon. Minister taken to ensure that fair judgment is given to each and every case?

Dr Ahmad Mattar: Mr Speaker, Sir, as you know, I have on many occasions in this House enunciated the principles which govern the administration of the Public Assistance Scheme. The application of these principles on individual cases calls for the exercise of judgment, and it is to be expected that there will always be room for disagreement as to whether or not a particular case is a deserving one.

Sir, with a view to ensuring some measure of uniformity of standards in the administration of Public Assistance Scheme, I have recently set up a Committee called the Public Assistance Review Committee, or PARC. I chair this Committee myself, and members of this Committee include my Senior Parliamentary Secretary, my Permanent Secretary, the Director of Social Services of my Ministry, and also three hon. Members of this House. They are the Member for Khe Bong, the Member for Tiong Bahru and the Member for Kampong Ubi. The setting up of this Committee, Sir, will hopefully allay the fear of the hon. Member for Changi and the fears of other Members of this House that the Social Welfare Department or the Director of Social Welfare has been unduly strict in the administration of the Public Assistance Scheme.

Mr Ho See Beng: May I ask the Acting Minister for Social Affairs how much money has he saved from stopping this allowance to the 1,600-odd recipients?

Dr Ahmad Mattar: Mr Speaker, Sir, I cannot give offhand the amount that has been "saved", as the Member put it. Perhaps if he wants, he can put in another question for Oral Answer. But since he is a Member of the PARC, he will know soon.

Mr Ho See Beng: Does the Minister also know how much the good name of the Socialist Government like the PAP Government has suffered because of this withdrawal?

Dr Ahmad Mattar: That is why the PARC is set up.

Mr Seah Mui Kok (Bukit Ho Swee): Sir, I am glad that the Acting Minister for Social Affairs has given us the assurance that there is a Public Assistance Review Committee to review the public assistance allowance that is given to the poor people. But I would like to have another kind of assurance from the Minister. There was the case of a Social Welfare Officer who came to know that a recipient has a daughter who is married and that she has the means to support him. There was a written assurance given by the daughter that she will support the father with a sum of $80 p.m. This written assurance was interpreted into Hokkien to the daughter. After some time the father came and said that the daughter did not give him the money.

Therefore, Sir, I want the assurance of this Review Committee that in cases where the son or daughter who gives such kind of assurance in writing in order to save face but does not actually give the money to the parents, this Review Committee will see that the son or daughter who has given the assurance of supporting the parent actually hands over the money to the Social Welfare Department so that there is no nonsense or bluff about giving support. If that assurance is given, I will be happy.

Dr Ahmad Mattar: Mr Speaker, Sir, first of all, I would like to request the hon. Member for Bukit Ho Swee to submit to me this particular case or similar cases he has in mind. What I would like to say is that I would assure the House that the PARC will try to be as fair as possible in its deliberations.

Mr Seah Mui Kok: Mr Speaker, Sir, "submit another Question" - this is the style of the Minister. But no. What I want to know is this, can the Minister give us an assurance that the son or daughter who has given a written assurance of giving the money to the parents actually hands over the money to the Social Welfare Department, so that there can be no bluff at all?

Dr Ahmad Mattar: Sir, first of all, I would request the hon. Member for Bukit Ho Swee to give me the particular case he is talking about. If the sons or daughters, as he has said, had pledged or made written statements to say that they agreed to give money to their parents, then I will make sure that such pledges are honoured.

Mr Hwang Soo Jin (Jalan Kayu): Mr Speaker, Sir, two supplementary questions. First of all, to have 1,984 cases withdrawn within a course of one year. Does it not suggest that, in the first instance, there must be something wrong with the approving system? Secondly, would the Minister please ensure that before withdrawing assistance in any particular case, he would keep the relevant Member of Parliament informed?

Dr Ahmad Mattar: As to the second question, Sir, it is my policy, which I have directed to the officials of the Ministry, to keep Members of Parliament informed of the outcome of their appeals referred to the Ministry.

Some hon. Members: No!

Dr Ahmad Mattar: In particular, those Members of Parliament who refer their cases to me personally, I make sure that I reply to them personally too.

On the first question about the breakdown which the hon. Member for Jalan Kayu has asked for, the reasons for withdrawing the allowances are as follows.

Mr Hwang Soo Jin: On a point of clarification, Sir. I do not think I have asked for a breakdown. All that I said was that to have a situation where 1,984 cases are withdrawn within a course of one year, there must be something basically wrong with the whole approving system. Therefore, it is not a question of reviewing. It is a question of going into the entire system of approving in the first place. In the second place, it looks to me that the Minister has only just made a policy decision. I am not aware of the fact that Members of Parliament are ever informed prior to the withdrawal of public assistance. All that I have requested is that in future prior to the withdrawal of assistance the Member of Parliament concerned is duly informed.

Dr Ahmad Mattar: Sir, the Member's request will be looked into.