Families in rental flats, changing mindset on accepting help among issues discussed in post-Budget dialogues

SINGAPORE - Young Malay/Muslim couples will get more help to find jobs and gain new skills, as plans are being drawn up to provide better support for less well-off families to own their homes.

Couples in their early to mid-20s have the highest potential to earn a regular income with Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions that can secure them housing loans to buy a home, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, Dr Maliki Osman, at a post-Budget dialogue with members of the community.

Noting that many such young people work in the gig economy, which does not provide benefits like CPF, he said: "The first intervention would assess if they can attain gainful and sustainable employment. We want volunteers and social workers to go in and assess their current level of skill sets and see where they fit into the larger economic opportunities."

Dr Maliki shared the plans, and said more details would be furnished in time, on March 17, during one of four post-Budget dialogues between Malay leaders and community members that ended last Tuesday (March 22).

Organised by Mesra, the People's Association Malay Activity Executive Committees Council, the sessions saw some 150 Malay/Muslim youth and community leaders engaging on current issues regarding families and businesses such as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

At the dialogue with Dr Maliki, participants flagged concerns about the increasing number of Malay families in HDB rental flats.

Census data released in 2021 showed that the number of Malay households in one- and two-room rented HDB flats more than doubled in the past decade, from about 9,100 in 2010 to about 18,600 in 2020.

Those from other races increased at a smaller rate. The number of Chinese households in such rental flats went up from 28,000 to 28,700 over the past decade, while Indian households saw a jump from 4,600 to 6,800.

In June 2021, the Government announced Project Dian@M3 - a programme to provide holistic support for Malay families in public rental flats with the aim of guiding them towards owning their own homes.

Dr Maliki said the doubling trend did not mean that the Malay/Muslim community had fallen behind other groups but was largely a result of HDB building more rental flats over the last decade to satisfy demand. He noted that households living in rental flats tended to be young first-time flat buyers, divorcees, and retirees who wanted to live on their own instead of with their children.

At another dialogue on March 18, some participants felt there was a tendency in the Malay/Muslim community not to accept help even if help is available.

One example given was that there are families who cannot pay the fees for their children's full-time madrasah education at the primary level for one or two years, though families with a per capita income of not more than $500 per month are eligible for fee subsidies under the Progress Fund Madrasah Assistance Scheme.

The fees for madrasahs offering primary level education can range from $130 to $180 every month.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, said this was because people were either unaware of the support given or were not comfortable with seeking help.

Some attendees raised the possibility of implementing social media campaigns to drive awareness of the various support avenues and encourage families and individuals to seek help.

Mr Masagos said the Government would consider looking at such campaigns. It has also worked on other efforts to engage families, such as providing early contact points through volunteers or community leaders, who can assess where help is needed and offer it.

He added that volunteers play a vital role in M3, a tie-up between Mendaki, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) and Mesra to support the community.

"M3 was set up to get closer to those in need of help, like those in rental flats. To help families, we need to send people who know them well, such as a religious teacher or ustaz and volunteers to continue to build rapport," said Mr Masagos.