SINGAPORE - A major effort to wage war on poverty is not just something Singapore can afford, but something it must do, said Mr Leon Perera (Aljunied GRC) on Wednesday (March 2).

Speaking in Parliament on the third day of debate on Budget 2022, he raised several proposals to alleviate poverty and substantially improve access to support for the well-being and dignity of the poor; children in poor homes; and the employability of those at risk of being stuck in low-income jobs or long-term unemployment.

"Our pledge to build a society based on justice and equality calls on us to act," said the Workers' Party (WP) member. "But beyond that, investing in additional anti-poverty and early intervention action for poor children may reduce the incidence of persons needing social welfare support in future. Such investments may unlock talent for our economy, which would raise GDP (gross domestic product) and the tax base."

Importantly, said Mr Perera, a war on poverty would strengthen the foundations of social solidarity in Singapore and help realise the promise that "we truly have everyone's back".

Mr Perera, addressing the belief that too much welfare could create a disincentive to work, said: "To be sure, I am not suggesting that welfare assistance should be unlimited and unconditional in all cases, or that the levels should be so high as to make it unattractive to work.

"But as we apply progressive wage laddering, the quantum that makes work unattractive will rise and this should be reflected in our welfare schemes."

He also noted the view that Singapore was already attempting to tackle poverty through various social and wage initiatives like ComCare and Workfare or the ethnic self-help groups.

But Mr Perera said that the "objective evidence" paints a different picture, with recent years showing no real downtrend in demand for ComCare, rental flats and other assistance schemes.

He also cited findings from research reports, surveys and replies to parliamentary questions, including how two in five Singaporean households experience food insecurity at least once a month; that the utilisation of community safe shelters for the homeless in 2021 was 93 per cent; and that from his own estimates, the average living space per child in one- and two-room rental flats is just 10 sq m - 60 per cent less than the average living space per person.

He noted about 100,000 Singaporean workers were on a gross income of less than $1,300 a month, below the minimum $1,400 which a 2019 study said a single elderly person would realistically need for basic necessities.

Mr Perera then suggested ways to increase the accessibility of state assistance schemes. These could be funnelled through a central account manager, with one manager paired to each poor family to help administer the schemes and social workers at Family Service Centres playing this role.

A separate account manager could take charge of employability issues for each family and low-income worker, while also coaching them on how to assess opportunities, access various schemes or upskill or reskill.

Mr Perera, who was the last WP MP to speak at the Budget debates, then turned his attention to what he described as the complex and exhausting processes of applying for financial assistance.

He said this could be provided based on declarations rather than potentially embarrassing interviews with family members, and asked if beneficiaries could grant agencies access to records to alleviate the burden of having to produce physical documents.

He also suggested a longer term ComCare structure instead of its current short-to-medium-term form, "to avoid the uncertainty and stress that comes with having to renew the support every few months".

"There should be a certain runway… to enable the beneficiary to settle debts, to adapt to the new income structure and so on," said Mr Perera.

His next area of recommendations was on increasing the quantum of financial assistance and relief, based on beneficiaries "committing to positive actions that would help them and their family".

These conditions could include ensuring attendance of their children at school, showing initiative on the employment front by signing up for training and taking care of their health through screening.

"In fact, some of the increased (financial assistance) can come in the form of digital currency that can only be spent on healthier food," Mr Perera suggested.

"There is scope to revisit and significantly increase the quantum, duration and conditions of welfare assistance we provide, to better protect the vulnerable, particularly the children and unemployable elderly," he added. "We should address the issue of poverty in a results-oriented fashion; and in a way that takes into consideration new research."

The WP media team head surfaced other proposals such as setting up a state-backed facility to provide loans to poorer individuals to set up micro-businesses such as home-based catering.

He also highlighted the need to invest in more manpower in the social work profession, and to ensure compensation be well-matched to the rigours of a job which can be "intellectually, socially and emotionally draining".

Mr Perera's final calls were to release more and better data; undertake in-depth studies; measure inter-generational social mobility at least every decade; establish a nationally recognised poverty line; and track the inter-generational rate of reliance on ComCare financial assistance and rental housing.

"I understand that changing our mindset and paying to tackle poverty costs money," he said at the end of his speech. "(But) there will be returns from investing in a war on poverty and the poverty cycle.

"If the help is provided in a results-oriented, holistic way, with sufficient dollars, there is every reason to believe that that spending will diminish over time and yield broader social and economic and even socio-political benefits, as more people improve themselves in terms of health, life skills, employability and - that most precious commodity of all - self-belief and confidence in themselves."

He urged Singaporeans to not judge success solely based on GDP growth but also by the elimination of poverty.

"We must break this cycle and make a substantial dent in poverty," he concluded. "Then and only then can we truly claim to be living in a First World country."