Date: 4/11/09

To: MCYS Ser Luck TEO
cc: stforum@sph.com.sg, tnptalk@sph.com.sg, chiamco@singnet.com.sg, tkl.volunteers@gmail.com

From: De Costa Daniel Augustine

Re: Financial Assistance

Dear Mr Teo,

I refer to our correspondance below and I would like to further comment/feedback on CDC’s means-testing assessment and criteria.

I can’t help but notice that the government is initiating policies that are slowly but surely shifting away and shedding as much social responsibility as it could. I couldn’t believe what I witnessed and had to go through when I went for the means-testing conducted at Southeast CDC as instructed by your goodself.

Policies are formulated such that Gross and not Net salaries are into account when accessing families income but isn’t the government aware that there are such things as mandatory deductions made to institutions such as CPFB, self-help groups and other contributions deemed necessary by various companies in their capacity such as work men’s insurance. The workers’ are by no means, able to pocket those monies.

Secondly, overtime pay are also made an issue by the CDC when considering disbursing assistance but isn’t again the government aware that overtime are a privilege and not an automatic entitlement and may be withdrawn at any given time?

With such policies, calculative measures and high ceiling income cap that are in place, it is no wonder to me when PM announced that out of the 5 million set aside for the poor and needy, only 1. something million was evantually disbursed. The explaination given is that people are not aware of government’s measures that are in place to assist them but I am starting to wonder if it could be due to the impossible criteria that are set for them that in more than half of those who applied are rejected.

I am not advocating a welfare state or system nor do I personally believe in them but what I do believe is that those who derserve and need the help should receive it and not be turned away just because of the government’s fears that it would open the ‘floodgates’. I don’t see the government having such fear that it would lose 100 billion dollars of S’poreans money when it chose to freely invest in failed financial institutions. The same also goes to the various town councils who lost money in failed investments.

While I should say a word of fairness and give credit where it is due to goodmen MPs like your goodself and Mr Yao, I am afraid I would have to vote against all PAP MPs even though they may be good as they do not constitute solution but become part of the problem that should be ractified come election time as they are unable to vote against party line to be able to render much needed valuable assistance to the people.

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