Social Dimension Singapore

The Context of Social Welfare in Hong Kong: History, Economics, and Politics

 By Ng Guat Tin, PhD

 
Assistant Professor,

Department of Applied Social Sciences

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

email: [email protected]

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION

During my current stint of teaching in Hong Kong I have received various enquiries from Singapore delegations and individual social workers regarding social services and social work education in Hong Kong. An often heard expression is that “Social work in Hong Kong is more dynamic than in Singapore.” I do not know if anyone has sought to measure or compare professional dynamism but certainly the number of registered social workers in Hong Kong is impressive, when compared to Singapore: 17,615[1] as of 18 April 2013 (http://www.swrb.org.hk). However, not all of them were practising social work, as the social work manpower requirements system indicated smaller staff strength of only 12,011[2] as at 31 March 2011 (Joint Committee on Social Work Manpower Requirements, 2011).

State Perspectives on Poverty & Welfare in Singapore: The Case for Low Income Families With Long Term Medical Conditions

By: Arvinder Kaur

    “Self-reliance” and “family as the first line of defense” might sound like foreign terms to some but they tug deeply at the hearts of all Singaporeans. These ideologies have been well internalized by Singaporeans, rich and poor alike, reflecting the success of the government in nurturing an ideological consensus amongst its citizens. However, when such ideologies move beyond political rhetoric to actively shape the states’ perspective on poverty and welfare, it spells significant consequences for social groups who are unable to live up to the dominant discourse of self-reliance.

    One such social group would be low-income families with member(s) suffering from long-term medial conditions. In the recent years we have often heard the saying “If you’re sick in Singapore, you better be rich, If you’re poor, you better not fall sick”. It is one thing to hear and utter statements such as these; it is quite another thing altogether to be living and experiencing poverty and sickness in Singapore. Over a period of 4 months, I had the opportunity to be connected to 12 such families through two welfare organizations; the Ang Mo Kio Family Service Centres & the Singapore Sikh Welfare Council. In an attempt to study the impact of the current welfare policies on low-income families with long-term medical conditions, I had requested the organizations to link me up to families with:

(a) At least one member in the family suffering from a chronic disease, immobility or any other medical conditions

(b) The family member is currently on or has applied for Medifund or any other medical or non-medical assistance scheme

(c) Combined Household Income of less than $1,500

 

Four Fallacies about the Singapore Welfare State

Ng Kok Hoe

 

    If ever one needed proof that habits of thought are hard to break, we need only look at the way social welfare is treated in Singapore. There is probably no other policy domain which impacts on our lives more directly and yet is less contested.

    The whole question of the well-being of vulnerable members in our society is framed by a core of ideas that over time have become so ossified that we no longer check and challenge ourselves, and because of that, foreclose any chance for change. In times when everything else is changing – from interpersonal communication and family structures to patterns of international migration and global financial systems – static policy thinking is risky.

    At risk of simplification, this static thinking about our social welfare can be roughly summed up in a few statements: Singapore is not a welfare state and should never be, because the Western welfare state is doomed to fail and social welfare is fundamentally un-Asian. As a small country with no natural resources, we have no choice but to define our own style of social welfare, which by and large has worked over the years. So why fix it if it ain’t broke?

    Underlying these statements are four powerful ideas about social welfare and Singapore society. In the spirit of critical reflection, let us now examine the truth in each of them.