LOW-INCOME FAMILIES (Plans to improve their lot)

Mr J.B. Jeyaretnam asked the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence what plans the Government has to improve the lot of families in our society whose gross income is less than $750.00 per month.

The First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence (Mr Goh Chok Tong): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Member for Anson has asked how the Government intends to improve the lot of families in our society whose gross income is less than $750 per month. A family who earns $750 per month is not poor. It can afford to own its own 3-room HDB flat. The lot of such a family has improved as the fortunes of Singapore have risen.

In his Address at the opening of Parliament, the President said:

'My Government will pay particular attention to those who find it difficult to keep up with the pace of change.'

These are the older families earning less than $500 per month and whose capacity to earn more is limited. These are the families I would regard as the relatively poor in Singapore. They form about 12% of the population.

Even here, we have made dramatic progress. In 1977, 475,000 persons earned less than $500 per month. In 1980, the number dropped to 400,000. In 1982, the figure dropped further to 306,000, a reduction of 36% in five years. This has been achieved through economic growth and education.

Our economic growth has been rapid - from 1974 to 1984, it has been 7.9% per year. The expanding economy meant more jobs and better wages. Everyone could move up, provided he made the efforts. The incomes of the poor went up even faster than that of the general population. In the same decade, they increased nearly twice as quickly as incomes of the average wage earner: by 4.2 times as compared to 2.4 times, in real terms. Without growth, there would have been widespread poverty in Singapore. Our Government will therefore continue to target for economic growth in the years to come.

Education is the other key to unlock families from poverty. The better educated and trained a person is, the more productive will be the job which he can do, and the more will he earn. The statistics show this clearly. Among the poor wage earners, fully 56% have less than PSLE qualifications, while among average and above average wage earners, only 32% have less than PSLE. This is why the Government has emphasized, and will continue to emphasize, education as a means of upgrading the next generation.

Education is of course not only a matter for the schools and the teachers. It is also a matter for the homes and the parents. Poor families with many children will have great difficulty giving all of them adequate parental care and attention. Furthermore, each child will only have a small share of the limited resources in the family. As a result, the children's school work will suffer, and so will the chances of the family making good in the next generation. This is why our Government strongly encourages poorer families not to have more than two children. The $10,000 cash grant scheme is designed with this purpose in mind.

The scheme also serves the purpose of helping poorer families own their own homes. The sum of $10,000 is more than adequate for a down-payment on a 3-room flat. Helping the poor to own their own homes is an important objective of our Government. Then they will not feel left out. Their sense of commitment and belonging to our society will increase. Their children will have a better environment to grow up in.

Besides the cash grant scheme, the HDB is considering making it easier for the poor to buy flats. At present, applicants of HDB home ownership flats are required to pay a 20% down-payment at the time of application. The HDB is considering reducing the down-payment to 5% for tenants of HDB rental blocks, if they buy a 4-room Simplified or smaller flats. If the tenants wish to buy a 4-room Model A or bigger flats, the down-payment will be 10%, with another 10% payable upon allocation of flats. The HDB will grant loans to the buyers for the remaining sum. It will also increase the maximum repayment period, from the present limit of 20 years, to 25 years.

Even with the easier repayment terms, the families will have to earn enough income to pay for the flats. One way to increase the family income is for both husband and wife to work. Many wives from poorer families presently do not work. They cannot afford to pay for child care services. To help them to do so, the Ministry of Community Development is embarking on a programme to provide more child care centres in housing estates at affordable prices.

Mr J.B. Jeyaretnam (Anson): $150.

Mr Goh Chok Tong: Then mothers can leave their children in good hands while they work.

The Government's approach to the problem of the poor is therefore high economic growth, universal education and skill training, small families, home ownership, and working wives. It has in large measure succeeded, although it has not eliminated poverty altogether. Our experience has confirmed that welfare and generous handouts are not the solution to the problem.

Mr Jeyaretnam: Sir, does the First Deputy Prime Minister appreciate that he has not really added very much more to what was said by his junior Minister, the Minister of State for Defence and Trade and Industry, when he spoke at Guild House sometime ago? Would the First Deputy Prime Minister say whether the Minister of State was speaking on behalf of the Government when he said that the eradication of poverty must remain a mirage? Is this Government resigned to poverty in Singapore for a section of its people?

Mr Goh Chok Tong: Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Minister of State for Defence and Trade and Industry is a member of this Government. His views are therefore not just personal views, but views which reflect the thinking and the philosophy of the Government. I do not believe when he said that the eradication of poverty is a mirage, he meant that we are not making the effort to eradicate poverty. What he meant, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, is that it is not possible in any society to totally eradicate poverty. We can make all the effort to improve the lot of the lower-income group, but the reality is, no matter what we do, there will always be a group of people who remain relatively poor in our society, and in any country for that matter.

Take the United States for that matter. The US has been trying to eradicate poverty with welfare programmes, food stamps for the poor, welfare payments for the aged, but has it succeeded in totally eradicating poverty? And the United States is a much wealthier society than Singapore. We will make the effort. We will try to the best of our ability to keep the number as low as possible. But we have to be realistic. It is not possible to totally eliminate poverty from any society.

Mr Jeyaretnam: Do I then understand the First Deputy Prime Minister to say that the Government is resigned to poverty in Singapore? Does he not think that the duty of any socialist government is to commit itself to the eradication of poverty? Am I to understand that this Government does not propose to commit itself?

Secondly, may I ask the First Deputy Prime Minister, when he says that education is the key, what steps the Government is taking to provide better education for the children from these poor families? Would the Government consider my suggestion in this House in the debate on the President's Address to give child allowances to children from these poor families who are in primary schools or secondary schools so that they could better their education in the schools by the provision of more reading books and other aids?

Mr Goh Chok Tong: Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Member for Anson should have listened carefully to my reply. As a Government, we are committed to improving the lot of all Singaporeans. And as stated in the President's Address, we will pay special attention to those who are not able to keep pace with the economic progress of Singapore. When I said that we could not totally eradicate poverty, I also said that we have to be realistic. As a Government, we are committed to improving the lot of these people, but do not expect that total eradication of poverty can be achieved. 11.15am

Mr Jeyaretnam: Why not?

Mr Goh Chok Tong: No society has done so and I hope that the Member for Anson would be able to tell us how this can be done in Singapore. We have been asking him for his programme of action on many things.

Mr Jeyaretnam: Why don't you resign?

Mr Goh Chok Tong: So why not tell us in due course how he plans to totally eradicate poverty in Singapore? If he has a solution, he should in fact tell it to us.

Mr S. Chandra Das (Chong Boon): It is a secret plan!

Mr Goh Chok Tong: Then he can be sure of winning the votes of the poor. But if he is unable to come out with any solution, then he should listen to us. Our means of reducing poverty in Singapore is through education, economic growth and a few specific programmes to help them, as I have mentioned.

He has suggested giving child allowances to help children from poorer families to buy books for their education. It is not necessary for us to provide cash grants in the form of child allowances to such families. School fees are free. The miscellaneous charges are minimal. And any poor family can always apply to the Education Ministry for bursaries, for textbook grants. The schools have adequate facilities in the form of books, libraries, teaching aids, to help these children. There is no need for any special child allowances for these families. You cannot eradicate poverty by giving allowances, hand-outs to poor families, as proven in programmes elsewhere. In the United States, hand-outs create more poverty. They do not solve the problem of the poor.

Mr Tang See Chim (Chua Chu Kang): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, is it not true that children who could not afford to pay for textbooks could apply to the .Education Ministry and they would get free textbooks?

Mr Jeyaretnam: He has answered it. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, would the First Deputy Prime Minister say how the provision of $10,000 which is to enable the HDB to get rid of its houses, would enable the children of these poor families to be better educated, if he says, and quite rightly, that the only way to lift them out of this poverty is through education?

Mr Goh Chok Tong: Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, they are actually two separate issues. First, on the education of children from poor families. No child in Singapore is prevented from attending school simply because he is unable to pay. Nobody in Singapore is denied an education, just because he is poor. A child coming from a poor familiy can apply to the school for free textbooks and for other financial assistance. So education should not be confused with this cash grant scheme of $10,000 to help the family to improve their home environment. The cash grant will enable poor families to upgrade from congested old rental blocks to a better environment. And with a small family living in a better environment, the parents can devote greater attention to the children, give them more resources, and a better environment for the children to spend time on their studies. With the financial assistance given by the Education Ministry, they can hopefully proceed beyond PSLE, go on to the 'O' level, and for some of them, even to the Universities.