Forum: Don't let elderly, itinerant workers fall between the cracks

While I applaud the cash payouts by the Government, I write with the hope of official assurances that a long neglected group of Singaporeans, many from the Pioneer and Merdeka generations, will not once again fall between the cracks of bureaucracy and administrative small print.

These are the sellers of an assortment of things (tissue packs, lottery tickets, ice cream, trinkets, and so on), cardboard collectors, cleaners, dishwashers and others who may not be engaged on proper employment terms but on an hourly basis.

Now that the circuit breaker measures have kicked in, their daily attempts to get some immediate cash in hand will be severely hampered.

Amid the various cash and nurture schemes, is the money getting into the hands of those who need it the most?

More than one tissue seller, when asked why they sell tissue, have said to me that there is little benefit until they fall sick. Poignantly, one said that even then, subsidies do not fill tummies.

A short conversation with them will reveal that many are not connected to the news flow that most of us assume everyone should know.

Some do not own a mobile phone. Some may not even have a bank account. For various reasons, others are fearful of approaching the authorities for more assistance. Then there are those who are simply ignorant that there is help available.

What is needed is a concerted effort to reach out to this group of Singaporeans who may number in the thousands. A comprehensive database has to be assembled so that the most hard-pressed in our society are cared for.

It would be disastrous to find, when the circuit breaker measures ease, that some of them have lost their lives, alone at home.

Meanwhile, as we head out to take away food and buy other necessities, we should press as many dollars as we can spare into the hands of the next tissue seller, cardboard collector, cleaner and destitute person who crosses our path.

Loh Kin Poh

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