On 14 February 2023, Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong delivered the 2023 Budget Statement in Parliament. Dubbing it a “Valentine’s Day present to all”1, it was likely that Singaporeans would have been most interested in cash payouts, which could be seen as ‘gifts’ from the government. The initiatives outlined in the Budget were meant to address pressing bread-and-butter issues faced by every Singaporean, such as the recent GST hike which started on 1 January 2023, as well as global inflation.
The Budget was also announced after Singapore reverted to DORSCON Green on 13 February 20232. The Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (DORSCON) system, which was launched in 2005, indicates the level of disruption that Singapore is facing due to an outbreak of disease. Shifting back to DORSCON Green after two years of DORSCON Orange and close to a year of DORSCON Yellow highlights how the government is interested in moving past disruptions brought about by COVID-19, as evident in efforts in working towards pre-pandemic levels of prosperity.
Beyond working towards economic recovery, Singapore remains steadfast in its commitment to the traditional notions of family. Multiple schemes related to housing and raising children were announced by DPM Wong, with first-time married couples and families getting seemingly more benefits than others. While these measures are beneficial to many in Singapore, it seems that more could have been done for some segments of society, such as singles, the older generation, and low-wage workers, who face the same problems of increasing costs of living and financial precarity. Budget 2023 hence presents a missed opportunity to redress inequality in Singapore.
The decreasing birth rate in Singapore remains a pertinent issue to be tackled by the government. It was reported that Singapore’s birthing rate has hit 1.05 in 2022, which is the lowest in the history of the nation-state3. Several measures were introduced in Budget 2023 to encourage young couples to have babies, such as an extension of voluntary paternity leave by two weeks from the start of 2024. Baby bonuses have also increased by $3,000 per child, and more monetary contributions from the government will be made to the Child Development Account.
Housing for younger families is also being addressed in the Budget. Some couples cite that their inability to own housing, due to either the difficulty of getting a ballot for Build-To-Order (BTO) flats or the unaffordability of resale housing, has affected their timeline in having children. As these couples may be staying at their parents’ homes for a few years, they believe that there is inadequate physical space to raise their own children. To address such concerns, it was announced that there will be increased balloting for BTO flats for young couples and married couples with children under the age of 40. Grants for resale housing, amounting to $10,000 or $30,000 depending on the size of the flat, would also be given to couples who fall into the same category.
Despite these measures for increased accessibility to housing, the Ethnic Integration Policy still poses a challenge for minority couples. Even with increased balloting, couples may not get their desired flat should the balloting number be high due to the number of flats accorded to the different races. Similarly, resale flats would be harder to attain depending on the number of other minority families that are willing to sell their houses. While this policy is lauded to ensure mixing in a multi-racial country, minority families are still the ones bearing such costs.
Lower-income Malay-Muslims in Singapore are also concerned over support for living in rental flats. During the Committee of Supply 2023 Debate, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Dr Maliki Osman shared that Project DIAN@M3 will be expanded to Choa Chu Kang, Jurong and Tampines, after achieving early successes in reaching out to over 70% Malay-Muslim families with children aged three to six. The project, first launched in December 2021, aims to provide holistic support and links to services for applicable families4. Through this expansion, the project hopes to impact 500 more Malay-Muslim families living in these rental flats5. While ensuring good education for the children living in these flats can encourage social mobility, these families may remain in these rental flats for longer. Due to increasing prices of housing, inflation, and stagnant wages, it would be harder for some families to leave cycles of poverty. Even with cooling measures, resale housing prices have increased by 10.4% in 2022 and 12.7% in 20216. Limited numbers of increasingly expensive BTO flats makes it even harder for families to shift from living in rental flats to owning a home.
Are Gig Workers Adequately Addressed in Budget 2023?
A vulnerable sector of Singaporean society includes gig workers, who are often in a state of financial precarity. In Budget 2023, the government announced that it would introduce the Platform Worker CPF Transition Support Scheme, which would offset the workers’ share on the year-on-year increase in contributions to their Ordinary and Special Accounts. This is especially pertinent after the announcement of mandatory Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions by younger gig workers aged 30 and below, which is scheduled to start in 20247. These CPF contributions would be applied to 40% of the workers’ earnings and will start at a low percentage that would increase over a period of five years8. However, this scheme would only be applicable to those who are earning below $2,500 per month.
Both younger and older gig workers, with the latter having the choice of opting out of the scheme, have raised concerns over how these contributions would affect their take-home pay. The Ministry of Manpower’s advisory committee on platform workers found that opinions on CPF have been divided, with those who oppose the scheme fearing a lowered take-home pay. A paper published by the Centre for Research on Islamic and Malay Affairs (RIMA) in 2021 entitled Food Delivery Workers: Riding the Waves of Uncertainty, have highlighted similar sentiments9.
Although the intent of mandating CPF contributions is an important way to ensure that platform workers would be able to have funds for buying homes and retirement, not much is done in addressing their already low wages. While the Budget addresses other low-wage workers by adding $2.4 billion to the Progressive Wage Credit Scheme, gig workers are excluded from measures that would increase their wages. The Progressive Wage Model has allowed for workers such as cleaners and security guards to upgrade their skills and increase their wages, but gig workers remain excluded from these measures. This is especially worrisome as indicated in the study cited above, incentives for wage workers appear to have already been decreasing over the past few years10. As such, the government can take future opportunities to include upskilling programmes for gig workers in future budgets. Seeing that gig workers are not included in existing governmental schemes, more can be done to ensure that they are still able to live well with their take-home pay after CPF contributions.
Others Deserving of Our Attention
While Budget 2023 is partially focused on encouraging Singaporeans to have more children, the sandwiched generation, which will be growing at a steady rate, are left without much aid. Older couples who have older children are also usually responsible for their ageing parents. With added costs of healthcare for the seniors in our society, the pressure on the sandwiched generation to provide for multi-generational families will be increasingly steadily as well. Attempts to alleviate this issue with added monetary aid such as Senior Bonuses are likely to still be inadequate as these small cash sums can only offset a portion of elderly care costs.
Support for singles in Singapore also appear to be lacking in the Budget. Initiatives that cater to those starting families may alienate those without such plans in the future. Although first-time singles will be given grants worth $15,000 for resale housing, public housing remains elusive to those under the age of 35. Single unwed parents are also excluded from benefits such as the Baby Bonus, the Parenthood Tax Rebate, and the Working Mother’s Child Relief. Social and Family Development Minister Masagos Zulkifli reiterated during the Committee of Supply 2023 debate that subsidies would only be given to the children, including “subsidies to education, healthcare, childcare, and infant care”11. Although the number of single mothers has been decreasing over the past few years, with the number of mothers with non-marital births decreasing from 777 in 2019 to 670 in 2021, they remain important members of society. By prioritising “prevailing societal norms and parenthood”, singles, including these mothers, remain inadequately supported by the government.
More can also be done for seniors beyond monetary bonuses and efforts in keeping them employed. With Budget 2023, seniors are slated to receive an Assurance Package Senior Bonus, a Cost-Of-Living Seniors’ Bonus, while businesses that hire senior workers will receive aid and support through Senior Employment Credit and Part-Time Re-employment Credit. Although such schemes may allow seniors to earn money to offset certain costs, there are other ways to ensure that seniors remain living dignified lives and not be seen as a burden to the economy. In the January 2023 issue of The Karyawan, Dr Ameen Talib wrote about how seniors often have a younger view of themselves, and could hence be engaged in a different and meaningful way. Programmes that could encourage seniors to remain active both physically and mentally can perhaps be addressed in future Budgets, especially since they would present a significant bulk of Singaporean society.
‘Active Citizenry' Within The Muslim Community
To tackle some of the issues raised above, perhaps we should not solely rely on the government and look for opportunities to uplift others within the community. Minister Maliki Osman shared how there have been efforts by the government to “nurture a strong eco-system of giving back in the Muslim community”[12]. During his speech, he shared about the collaborative efforts between various Malay Muslim organisations and Indian Muslim organisations in providing for the community, including the launch of new scholarships and increase in volunteering efforts. Much emphasis is also given to the efforts of M3, which is a collaboration between MUIS, MENDAKI and MESRA. While efforts are mostly targeted towards the lower-income Muslim community, there could be other avenues for Muslims to collaborate and contribute back to society.
Moreover, the emphasis of working with M3 can be limiting for community advocates. During the AMP 4th National Convention held in 2022, there was a panel study conducted on barriers hindering community advocates from further participation in the civic space. After conducting studies and focused group discussions, it was proposed that more resources could be given to create space for politically neutral groups to do advocacy work without fear of reprisal. By allowing avenues for advocacy beyond M3, there could be a greater diversity of ideas and opportunities to work with different communities in need of help.
Minister Maliki also called for the improved coordination between public agencies and community organisations. Similar ideas were brought up during the AMP Convention, mainly on improving the sharing of resources to encourage further community advocacy. While Minister Maliki has mentioned increasing numbers of volunteers, it was not specified whether these volunteers were mostly men or women. It was discovered during a pre-Convention panel discussion by AMP that women often have more barriers hindering them from doing advocacy work. Proposed solutions on tackling this issue includes more targeted engagements with women, such as homemakers. Provision of training programmes and female role models can also empower more to be active citizens and uplift those in the Muslim community.
Conclusion
Many of the proposed schemes in Budget 2023 appear to be tackling some form of inequality, with an emphasis on uplifting those of lower incomes. Nonetheless, the increase in GST inadvertently causes all Singaporeans to face the brunt of increasing prices without comparable growth in their salaries. The monetary ‘gifts’ from the government can only offset a small amount of everyday spending, and many will still face financial difficulties in their everyday lives.
A small respite from looming concerns of greater inequality was presented during the Budget, when DPM Wong introduced increased taxes for luxury homes, cars, and higher earners. However, a more concerted effort on redistributing wealth in Singapore should be further emphasised in future Budgets. This would benefit all Singaporeans, including those who may have been neglected in previous schemes. Perhaps a shift from relentless wealth acquisition would be the best thing for Singaporeans today, to ensure that all, young or old, single or married, live dignified lives in their homes.
About the Author
Wan Nur Syafiqa is a Research Analyst at the Centre for Research on Islamic and Malay Affairs (RIMA). She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in History from the National University of Singapore. Her research interests include Heritage and Islam in Southeast Asia.
