Far-sighted leadership still key to social mobility
By Clarissa Oon


HIS mother was so thin from her impoverished girlhood that when she married his father, she warned him she might be infertile, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan told the House.
'Of course she was wrong; she went on to have five of us,' said the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports with a wry smile, as the House tittered at his quip.
It was a small note of levity in a very serious tale of his hardworking teacher mum, whose family subsisted on handouts from relatives after her father died when she was a child.
Holding forth like an impassioned raconteur before outlining his ministry's key initiatives for the year, Dr Balakrishnan used the story to reiterate Singapore's bottom line when it comes to helping low-income households.
In a nutshell, it will be responsive to cries on the ground, but stop short of breeding sloth and over-reliance on the state.
Observing how his mother never spent money on herself and worked right up till retirement, the minister said he learnt from her that life 'is all about discipline and hard work'.
The other lesson is that to claw your way out of poverty, 'you need family support. Don't talk about MCYS first'.
But like it or not, one suspects the Government will face continued pressure to show - in very real and immediate ways - that it cares.
Already there is considerable unhappiness among the lower-income group, who need reassurance that they will not be left behind by the surging economy, Mr Sin Boon Ann (Tampines GRC) noted yesterday.
This group is faced with rising costs on everything from transport charges to school fees, while surrounded by displays of wealth from more affluent Singaporeans that they can only dream of, said Mr Sin. He is chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee on Community Development, Youth and Sports.
Like Dr Balakrishnan, Mr Sin also feels that more should be done to build up a culture of philanthropy and strengthen community-based organisations, instead of always turning to the Government for aid.
True as that may be, in a political culture where the Government is seen to be everywhere and managing every problem, it will have difficulty explaining why it cannot shoulder all responsibilities for giving the less fortunate a leg-up.
Therein lies the tension facing Singapore politics, and it was illustrated by the cut-and-thrust of yesterday's debates in Parliament.
No social problem was too small to be brought before Singapore's highest legislature, from the state of our homes for juvenile delinquents, to the trend of low-income men remarrying and not being able to support multiple families.
Every facet of the social safety net was raised, and appeals made for the Government to do more.
For example, given the beefing-up of childcare subsidies to enable more housewives from poor families to work, Nominated MP Kalyani Mehta suggested that reviews of childcare centres also be made available on the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports' (MCYS) online database of such services.
The minister said he would look into it.
It was all true to the form of Singapore-style technocratic politics, where the very nuts and bolts of administration are thrashed out in Parliament, rather than the ideological debates one sees in other countries.
However the heart of the matter, really, is one of ideals.
How does one help low-income households continue to believe in the Singapore Dream? To give them 'hope' that they can rise out of the poverty trap, as Mr Sin put it.
The MCYS yesterday unveiled a package of measures, including top-ups to the Public Assistance Scheme that provides a long-term basic living allowance for the destitute.
However the problem is bigger than what one ministry can tackle on its own.
The low-wage worker faces a crisis in today's globalised world, amid competition from cheap foreign labour and the hollowing out of certain industries because of technology.
As a result, social mobility may be reduced and inter-generational poverty more difficult to eradicate now than during the day of Dr Balakrishnan's mother.
Going ahead, more cohesion between different ministries, community development councils, self-help groups and voluntary organisations will be needed to give poor or broken families the sustainable solutions they need.
Whether it is training them for a more competitive labour market or addressing their children's educational woes, this social safety net involves many players - but must continue to be driven by compassionate, far-sighted leadership.