Family matters the key issues at Yew Tee dialogue

Marriage and baby policies are about values: Grace Fu

By Rachel Chang, The Straits Times, 5 Nov 2012

MARRIAGE and babies were on the minds of Yew Tee residents yesterday as they peppered a visiting minister with questions on what could be done to address the country's stubbornly low birth rate.

And while Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Grace Fu laid out many of the different measures and incentives the Government has tried to encourage more Singaporeans to have babies, she said the policies ultimately would have to be about values.

"Family values must be the starting point, and I hope the young people here will agree with me - that they want to have their own families because they enjoy growing up in a loving environment, that they also want to carry on and bring the love to their own children and the future generations," she said.

Ms Fu, who was in the ward on a constituency visit, oversees population matters.

One of the highlights of the dialogue was when a resident asked that more be done to help singles meet and marry.

Ms Fu replied that the Government's matchmaking efforts are currently focused on funding private-sector operations, but that reaction to this has been mixed.

"I've found that ladies prefer more gentle, less government involvement in this area," she told reporters later. "But men seem to think it's good to bring SDU back," she said, referring to the now-defunct matchmaking arm, the Social Development Unit.

Other participants at the dialogue at Limbang Shopping Centre approached the baby problem from a different angle: that of young people finding the rising cost of living too onerous to settle down and start families.

The Government's $1.6 billion-a-year marriage and parenthood package is designed to "mitigate" these costs, Ms Fu said.

But, in a glimpse of where the Government's new direction on boosting the birth rate may lie, she emphasised that more help to afford infant care and pre-school is forthcoming.

Since primary and secondary school education here is already "almost free", the Government is now "putting a lot of attention" into childcare, infant care and pre-school education, she told reporters.

During the National Day Rally in August, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong answered calls to nationalise the pre-school sector by announcing that a statutory board would be set up to oversee childcare centres and kindergartens.

Ms Fu and her host for the visit, Yew Tee MP Alex Yam, also lamented the mindsets that prevent Singaporeans from having work-life balance. Mr Yam noted that at his National Trades Union Congress workplace, he often sees colleagues who do not dare leave the office before their superiors do.

Before the dialogue, Ms Fu went on a walk-a-jog in the estate, visited a local job fair and participated in a diaper-changing competition with fathers in Yew Tee.

Speaking to reporters after the visit, she said hawkers she met voiced concern over rising rents. She said the Government must keep up the supply of hawker stalls and wet markets to prevent spiralling rents.

Hawker centres also cropped up in the dialogue. A resident wanted to know why Yew Tee does not yet have a hawker centre when a town like Tampines already has several and is getting another one.

In deciding where new hawker centres are placed, said Ms Fu, factors such as the availability of other food sources, and if there are enough hawkers who will take up the stalls, are considered. As for one in Yew Tee, she said: "Never say never."

On nursing homes and care for the elderly
"I think that if my children put me in an old folks' home without consulting me, I would be disappointed.

But having said that, we do have to recognise that there are different needs in different families...

For people who are working and have other obligations, sometimes it's very hard to provide the appropriate care at home. As much as possible, many of our elderly prefer to stay at home, but sometimes they need professional care and better care in the day that requires them to be in daycare or nursing centres.

What the Government is really trying to do is look at the needs going forward... but it doesn't signal the fact that we should, as a first option, put our elderly parents in a nursing home."
- Ms Grace Fu, when asked if the Government's move to build 10 more nursing homes by 2016 would encourage people to dump their elderly parents in such homes

Govt incentives not a'prize' for having children

Marriage and parenthood packages intended to ease burden of couples: Grace Fu

by Ng Jing Yng, TODAY, 5 Nov 2012

The Government can offer couples help to mitigate the costs of having children, but these incentives should not be seen as a "prize" for doing so.

This was a point made by Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Grace Fu during an hour-long dialogue in Yew Tee constituency yesterday, which was dominated by questions on measures to promote marriage and parenthood among Singaporeans.

An undergraduate had raised a concern that offering monetary incentives could create a wrong motivation for having children. Mr Huang Jie Hao, 24, further noted the high cost of living here, which he felt could deter young people from getting married.

Ms Fu, who oversees population matters in the Prime Minister's Office, said the schemes within the Government's marriage and parenthood package are intended to mitigate financial burdens couples may face and not to act as a cash reward for having children.

"If any of the young couples come to me and say that, 'Oh, I am doing this because you are giving me the money', I'll be very concerned because that is really not the motivation to have children," she said. 

"Family values must be the starting point, and I hope the young people here will agree with me - that they want to have their own families, because they enjoy growing up in a loving environment, that they also want to carry on and bring the love to their own children and the future generations."

The Government is expected to announce an enhanced package of marriage and parenthood policies - which will help address the housing, medical and childcare needs of families - early next year. 

The package was last enhanced in 2008, and a household with two children and an income of S$8,000 receives the equivalent of about S$142,000 - through Baby Bonus cash and co-savings, infant care subsidies and other measures - until both children turn seven.

To facilitate family bonding, Pioneer Junior College student R Venkat suggested during yesterday's dialogue that the Government could step in to regulate working hours.

In response, Ms Fu noted that various industries have different needs - the retail sector, for example, has to stay open for shoppers - and it will be difficult for the Government to stipulate common working hours for all companies.

And even though the Government can signal the need for family life such as setting aside a day for family meals, "it is important for us to find our own balance in life", said Ms Fu.

"Having gone through 20 years of working life and 20 years of being a parent, I can tell you that there are certain times when you just have to put everything aside and focus on your family, and sometimes you can perhaps put the family aside and focus on your work," she said. "You need to prioritise and decide for yourself what is important."

Speaking to reporters later, she added that the Government will be looking how Singaporeans value job output, rather than by simply measuring the number of working hours and creating a mindset shift among employers as well.

Member of Parliament Alex Yam, who is grassroots advisor to the constituency, pointed out that it is very much in the Asian culture for staff to stay behind before the boss leaves, even if they might have already finished their work. Mr Yam, a unionist, agreed that such a work ethic ought to be changed over time and there is a need to draw a line between family time and work.