The following is a report by Channelnewsasia which reported MCYS minister Dr Vivian Balakrishan’s response to questions in Parliament about the homeless issue. The minister said: “Some irresponsible websites have also caused these falsehoods to circulate widely on the internet. Now that the facts are out, let us see whether those who have been propagating these falsehoods have the courage and the honesty to set the record straight.”
It is unclear what these “irresponsible websites” which the minister was referring to are. We assume The Online Citizen, which ran a one-week focus on the homeless, is one of these “irresponsible websites.”
We will respond to the minister’s comments in due course.
Here is the Channelnewsasia report:
Govt takes Al Jazeera to task for misreporting on homelessness cases
SINGAPORE: International news agency, Al Jazeera, has been taken to task for not checking its facts in its report on the homeless in Singapore.
Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister Vivian Balakrishnan stressed that homelessness is a complex problem and that the government will continue to enable people to be self-reliant.
A video titled “Government Policies Force Some Onto The Streets” was produced by Al Jazeera.
It featured a couple camping on the beach, claiming that they had been homeless for nearly two years as a result of divorce proceedings.
The government then made some checks and found a different story.
The man in the video had made a tidy sum of over S$220,000 from the sale of three flats. Meanwhile, the woman still owns an HDB resale flat with her ex-husband.
She was also getting financial help from the South West Community Development Council.
Dr Balakrishnan said: “Despite these circumstances, the social workers and the FSC then offered sheltered housing for this couple. However, the couple rejected the offer and other services offered by MCYS.
“This is a clear example where a foreign media has failed to ascertain the facts. Some irresponsible websites have also caused these falsehoods to circulate widely on the internet. Now that the facts are out, let us see whether those who have been propagating these falsehoods have the courage and the honesty to set the record straight.
“Homelessness or potential homelessness is a universal threat all over the world. The question is how best to fix this.
“In Singapore, we have given housing, cheap affordable rental housing as well as heavily-subsidised first-time entry into home ownership.
“The people we have who insist on staying in beaches and parks are not first timers and not people who have bought their first flat or first rental flat. These are people who have almost always sold their second flat or a third flat, have unfortunately dissipated the subsidies and cashed them and now have run into problems.
“Members would have faced this problem which almost become emotional blackmail.”
Meanwhile, Al Jazeera has ceased to operate its channel on mio TV.
This prompted Nominated MP Viswa Sadasivan to ask about the talk that this is linked to the report on the homeless.
Acting Minister for Information, Communication and the Arts, Lui Tuck Yew, said: “On the speculation that recent critical or negative reports by Al Jazeera were the reason why the channel was taken off mio TV service, this is unfounded. In a report by TODAY, Al Jazeera itself was quoted as saying that “it was a ‘mutual’ decision between Al Jazeera and SingTel for the broadcaster to drop out of the latter’s pay TV service.”
Mr Lui noted that Al Jazeera’s contract with SingTel was coming to an end and was looking into other distribution avenues in view of its low subscriber households. – CNA/vm
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Here is the Al Jazeera report which the minister was referring to:
in a europeans system…illegals aren’t permitted to be on social welfares..
all social welfares receipents must hav proof of abode..i.e. a livin address..not emails address…
@ridiculous,
Like I said, no need to justify your intelligence, it’s embarrassing. FYI, I did offer but she had enough pride in her refuse my offer and build her life from her own will and hold on to her dignity even when she did not have anything else. I can’t say that you acquire the same qualities.
Hi XiiAoGeNgEnX and other PAP supporters,
Since I am living in UK for the past 8 years and is still doing so, let me give you an example which I did in other blog with some modification to suit this blog:
One of my colleagues aged 45 (a shop assistant) earns £1,300 a month for 5 days a week of 8 hours a day with OT, after paying tax, National Insurance and Pension, he has £900.00 left per month, he is married with 2 children and living in a terrace house of 3 rooms, a car and a garden, how is he going to survive with such a pathetic pay in order to service his apartment and paying all bills? Not in Singapore of course.
See this, with free education (text books are free and need not pay Miscellaneous expenses in school) and health care is free as well (not subsidized) which all residents receive and on top of this, and this is essential: he has a tax credit and child benefit of £560.00 from the government return to his account every month, yes every month! Why? The reason is simple; he earns less than £30,000.00 per annum and this is to assist him to raise a family. He has 2 children of aged 16 and 12 respectively. UK government is trying very hard to help the lower income group and I agree wtih this policy.
Tax is high in UK, indeed. VAT is 17.5%, however this tax does not apply to necessities like bread, milk and butter etc and all items which fall into group of young person (below 16) are not taxed, Through my personal observation, the goods in UK are comparatively cheaper in Singapore, there are 4 giant super markets and a few smaller chain stores compete with one another and the prices of all commodities are so sensitive that none of the big 4 dare to charge higher than the other. Free market competition is the key word, no GLC involved. Therefore to raise a family is so much easier and stress free compares to have babies in Singapore, you need not to hang carrots to get young Singaporean to have baby if we have a safety network in place, by the way, there is a baby boom in UK this year and in Singapore, the birth rate I can only sigh!
Those who are rich and famous in UK will send their children to private school and to see doctor in private hospital, they will not like to mingle with the lower income group, therefore abuse of free education and medical care are out of the question. There are good state schools in UK if you would like to know , check out Grammar School and you will know what I mean.
My main point is here, the government is taking care of the lower income group in UK, of course there is no perfect government in this world, but with check and balance cum accountability and transparency we will have the almost perfect one in Singapore, and sad to say this: this could only happen in future.
I agree that we all want others to do the “dirty job”.
CPF is for your benefit, if we Singaporeans can save properly and, we
After all it is still your money, and you can use to purchase home. If the govt wishes so, they could have just implemented a 20% tax. This is ridiculous as the USA have defined contribution plans too
And everyone here that opposes TOC are either clones and/or trolls. Gemami and Human Being seems to use the same bullets too, can I say they are clones and trolls?
Hi SG in UK.
Now wouldnt that make
And demographics are different. Singapore subsidized wards are already abused by the rich.
I don’t think necessities in Singapore
I’ve been to UK and Europe and everything is expensive there. The only thing that is cheaper are maybe dairy products. I know fellow Singaporean exchange students who survive daily on vegetables, brocolli and carrots, the rest are too expensive they say.
In Singapore, education is subsidized and first ten years are free. You only pay misc. fees. Singapore public education system is also far superior then UK’s.
Now what is the problem with that system? It breeds laziness. Now a person would think, why would I work that hard and yet deprive myself of all the benefits. If I work less, I get tax breaks, I pay less taxes, and may end up getting more! Why not spend the time relaxing and not work that hard? Can Singapore afford that?
Demographics and situation are also different. Land is scarce in Singapore. UK, like sweden, also has oil money to tap on.
I’m also proud to say that in SG, the public health and education system are soemthing yearned for, not despised.
//pep
//In Singapore, education is subsidized and first ten years are free. You only pay misc. fees. Singapore public education system is also far superior then UK’s.
Yeah right, and they are producing more innovations and nobel prize winners than we do.
//he only thing that is cheaper are maybe dairy products. I know fellow Singaporean exchange students who survive daily on vegetables, brocolli and carrots, the rest are too expensive they say.
You should be asking a working adult if things are that expensive there.
They make more monies so things are not as expensive.
Students are there to spend monies. And they didn’t work sufficiently to begin with.
//pep
//the only thing that is cheaper are maybe dairy products. I know fellow Singaporean exchange students who survive daily on vegetables, brocolli and carrots, the rest are too expensive they say.
You go ask the working adults what they think.
//pep
//Demographics and situation are also different. Land is scarce in Singapore. UK, like sweden, also has oil money to tap on.
excuses again.
UK got old monies to tap on? Where?
YOU meant BP? But we also had oil companies.
Yeah, HC sold it at a discount to other people.
…
//pep
//In Singapore, education is subsidized and first ten years are free. You only pay misc. fees. Singapore public education system is also far superior then UK’s.
curious how come their academics are the ones we employ as presidents of universities, professors, dean etc in our local institutions.
You don’t see things happening the other direction.
//pep
//CPF is for your benefit,
Provided the govt is managing it well.
If most of us after 40 years of contributions cannot have sufficient monies to retire, then it is not managed well.
//if we Singaporeans can save properly and, we
CPF monies cannot be withdrawn until 55 (last time). Then how can you say we didn’t save properly.
//After all it is still your money, and you can use to purchase home.
CPF monies of singles who cannot buy hdb are lent out to people who can.
When they can buy, prices had risen by 40%.
So, what if we can purchase a flat. the system is not fair.
//If the govt wishes so, they could have just implemented a 20% tax.
Take a look at the transactional cost in the purchase of a flat and the speed at which prices are jack up, the is more than 20%.
//This is ridiculous as the USA have defined contribution plans too
And it is really a retirement plan not a cash machine for govt to take monies from the people.
@pep 30 April 2010
>>”Singapore subsidized wards are already abused by the rich.”
We should not think of it as abusing the system.. Know that the rich are generally paying higher taxes, so what’s wrong if they should opt for a “subsidized” ward… One thing we should bear in mind is that no sane person would deliberately get himself seriously ill just so as to “enjoy” the “subsidized” medical treatment..
>>”Now what is the problem with that system? It breeds laziness. Now a person would think, why would I work that hard and yet deprive myself of all the benefits. If I work less, I get tax breaks, I pay less taxes, and may end up getting more! Why not spend the time relaxing and not work that hard? Can Singapore afford that?”
If the system is so bad that it breeds laziness, then we should see plenty of lazy people in UK, there would be plenty of lowly-educated people who laze around and collect money from the govt, there would not be any nobel prize winners from UK, and UK would not be a economic power (it is in the G8), but fact is that is not the case, don’t you agree?
@pep 30 April 2010
>>”Singapore subsidized wards are already abused by the rich.”
We should not think of it as abusing the system.. Know that the rich are generally paying higher taxes, so what’s wrong if they should opt for a “subsidized” ward… One thing we should bear in mind is that no sane person would deliberately get himself seriously ill just so as to “enjoy” the “subsidized” medical treatment.. Fact is I think medical treatment for serious illness should be made free..
>>”Now what is the problem with that system? It breeds laziness. Now a person would think, why would I work that hard and yet deprive myself of all the benefits. If I work less, I get tax breaks, I pay less taxes, and may end up getting more! Why not spend the time relaxing and not work that hard? Can Singapore afford that?”
If the system is so bad that it breeds laziness, then we should see plenty of lazy people in UK, there would be plenty of lowly-educated people who laze around and collect money from the govt, there would not be any nobel prize winners from UK, and UK would not be a economic power (it is in the G8), but fact is that is not the case, don’t you agree?
@pep
>>”I’ve been to UK and Europe and everything is expensive there. The only thing that is cheaper are maybe dairy products. I know fellow Singaporean exchange students who survive daily on vegetables, brocolli and carrots, the rest are too expensive they say.”
I think that’s because we are earning sing$ while the prices in uk are in british pound.. If I am earning 4k british pound, I would find that stuff in singapore is dirt cheap..
To SG in UK and other left-wing Socialists:
WOW That sounds like such an awesome government that I want to vote for that too!
Wait, then how come this awesome-sounding-super-caring government only gets 36.2% of the votes in 2005,and is only expected to get 26.8% in this elections?
http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/
Hell, why does it look like the British people are voting in a PAP-styled, oops I mean, Conservative Government?
Hi PEP,
I don’t know where the exchange students live or where do they shop, besides supermarket there are markets (outdoor or indoor) everywhere in UK Town, small or big you name it. I can buy 5 sea bass for £10.00 from the fish monger, and a £1 fruit basket be it 6 to 8 apples or a big bunch of bananas etc. so on and so forth. Why these traders can offer such low price even lower than the big 4? The reason is simple, they pay rent between £25.00 between £35.00 a day, and that is why they can compete. Advise those exchange students to shop in area like this if they have a tight budget.
@XiiAoGeNgEnX
At least the different parties in UK got equal chance, unlike the oppressed opposition parties in singapore…
Hi Pep,
‘And demographics are different. Singapore subsidized wards are already abused by the rich.’
If we have a free medical heath services, abolish the different in classA, B1 or B2, I think this problem will solve itself.
Have to rush to work now, talk to you guys later. (7 hours differnt)
Hi Pep, XiiAoGeNgEnX and PAP supporters,
Those who are still following this blog I hope all of you have a good long week end ahead.
Talk about education, I do not agree that Singapore have a better education system than UK, equally good may be. Talk about free education, each and every year parents in SG spend $100 to $200.00 when school reopen on text books and others, not in UK as textbooks and all exercise books are provided FOC.
Check this link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/datablog/2009/oct/08/top-100-universities-world
UK has 7 universities in top 30 and Singapore has one, I left Singapore 8 years ago because of my children’s education, I do not believe in streaming in primary school and my eldest daughter went through the PSLE and she got 217 points and entered a neighborhood sec school (the school is alright though), I felt she was not quite fit into SG education system as some children development slower than others. She enrolled in a private school in UK (the fees was then £9000.00 per year) and gained an entry to Grammar School (state school, no fees) in subsequent year.
Your need to check on UK Grammar School before you comment something like Singapore has a better educational system, the approach of teaching is different here, it is all about learning and not studying, not just on academic success, it is about the development of a whole person. My daughter is doing her Bio Medical Sciences in the university and is graduating soon, if she is still in Singapore I wonder what would become of her, probably in a polytechnic and not the topic she enjoys.
Forgot to add a link which I kept few years ago: Does Singapore have world class universities?
http://aaron-ng.info/blog/does-singapore-have-world-class-universities.html
@SG in UK,
So, your kids left the SG education system & studying in UK? Don’t worry mate, I am sure SG garhem will soon organize a big SG Feastive in London to attract back those that had left our shores.
Had friends that got screwed cos’ of their Chinese language years back, fell off the system (meaning NOT allowed past secondary school), pursue successful education overseas, some highly qualified & now we are trying to attract back these people! Sure, “someone” recently admitted our teaching of Chinese was “a mistake”; well you can imagine what those we are trying to attract back are saying of our system now. Most simply gesture with their fingers.
Disclaimer: I didnt post this, TOC did, on their facebook. Just thought it was interesting and relevant.
“After 13 years of New Labour we must send a message to all those who think the British Public are stupid and can be fooled. We were fooled, we watched house prices grow, credit cards fall in our laps and forgot about politics, each new repressive law went unchallenged and the Politicians grew … See moretoo big for their boots – lies, spin and pocketing taxpayers money knowing we weren’t even listening anyway.
A victory for Labour will result in all those spinners, Mandelson etc slapping their laps and laughing “We got away with it! We can do anything we want and we don’t have to pay!”
We must send a message that we are now awake and we will hold you to account. “