The pandemic has sharpened political and social divisions in many countries, and Singapore needs to renew and strengthen its social compact to guard against such fractures in society, MPs said yesterday.
This includes paying closer attention to vulnerable groups, and making better use of limited resources to deliver outcomes, they said.
Speaking on the second day of the Budget debate, Ms Carrie Tan (Nee Soon GRC) said Singapore faces the difficult challenge of balancing support for marginalised groups with the need to maintain fiscal prudence amid the current crisis.
Class segregation and division are emerging as the biggest fault line in Singapore, she noted, and the effects of the pandemic-fuelled recession have likely worsened it.
Sharing resources can be one way to achieve better outcomes, said Ms Tan, who proposed ways to optimise them in various areas, including in housing and social services.
Given that a majority of the elderly wish to live in the same flats that they have raised their families in, their homes may be underused in their silver years, Ms Tan noted.
Elderly home owners can share their living space by renting out spare rooms to low-income families at HDB-subsidised rates which will help to prevent their social isolation, as well as give the rental-flat families more living space, Ms Tan suggested. The elderly can also help to care for such families.
Ms Tan also called for more to be done to professionalise the social services sector and build up social service professionals' expertise, so they can better help the vulnerable communities, and develop a more effective social safety net.
Parliamentary Secretary for Culture, Community and Youth Eric Chua wants more support to address mental health needs of the youth, citing a 2016 study which found young people were more vulnerable to mental disorders.
"It is not enough for us to just have a conversation. We need to change the way we think about mental health if we have the well-being of our younger generations at heart. And more importantly, we need to act," he urged.
In his speech, Mr Xie Yao Quan (Jurong GRC) said prudence must remain a key principle in healthcare subsidy expenditure, with Singapore having to dip into its reserves for the second year running.
"If costs grow faster than fiscal revenue, then healthcare subsidies might need redistribution - because ultimately the pie is finite," said Mr Xie.
At the same time, Singapore should review how subsidies could be distributed across various care settings, he added. He called on the Government to beef up investment in the intermediate and long-term care sectors, so that Singaporeans who need such support can receive more dignified care.
"But more subsidies for this sector may mean less subsidies for acute and specialist care in hospitals, for example. These are tough choices, but choices that we, as a maturing society, must continue to make," added Mr Xie.
