Outreach Efforts for Government Assistance Schemes

Mr Tay Kian Tong (“The needy need to know”, ST 18 March 2009) asked
whether there was sufficient outreach to explain various Government assistance
schemes to the population and made useful observations.

2. The Government uses many channels to reach different segments of the

population, including personalized letters as Mr Tay suggested.

3 For major assistance schemes, wide and sustained publicity is done

through the mass media (including radio) and government websites. Posters and
banners on various schemes are also put up periodically at prominent places
such as void decks and community centres to inform citizens of assistance
schemes available or remind them to sign up. In addition, mailers and
personalized letters are also sent to individual households. Citizens would have
received their GST Credits notification letters in February, which also showed the
various household benefits that they stand to receive in 2009. Households will
also soon receive an informational flyer on the various benefits that they can
receive from the Resilience Package.

4. In addition, targeted approaches are made to reach out to more vulnerable

Singaporeans. Roadshows and briefings are organized for grassroots leaders
and resident groups who will in turn help the needy in their neighbourhood by
making house visits, for example to help low-income and elderly Singaporeans
sign up for their GST Credits/Senior Citizens’ Bonus.

5. To promote schemes like the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS),

roadshows have been organised at community centres and heartland locations to
better reach out to residents and help them sign up. Updated flyers which
contain general information on WIS and WIS Special Payments in 2009 are also
available now and community centres will make them readily accessible to those
who request for them.

6. Any Singaporean who needs more information or assistance can also

contact the Community Development Councils (CDCs), Family Service Centres
(FSCs) and the various grassroots organizations for help. They can call the toll-
free 24-hour ComCare Call hotline at 1800-222-0000 where our staff will help
refer them to the appropriate social assistance agencies. To make sure that more
vulnerable Singaporeans are aware of such avenues to seek help, we are
planning to put up permanent signages on ComCare Call by mid-2009.
7. We thank Mr. Tay for his comments and would like to assure him that the
Government is committed to enhancing our outreach efforts and will continue to
work with the grassroots in making information on Government schemes easily
accessible, especially for those in greatest need.

MR CHIN SAU HO
DIRECTOR (CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS & SERVICES)
MINISTRY OF FINANCE

MS FARAH ABDUL RAHIM

DIRECTOR (CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS)
MINISTRY OF MANPOWER

MRS CHOO LEE SEE

DIRECTOR (COMCARE AND SOCIAL SUPPORT DIVISION)
MINISTRY OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT YOUTH & SPORTS
HELP SCHEMES

THERE are many assistance schemes for needy Singaporeans, especially

during the current recession. Such programmes are reported and advertised
widely. My worry is whether the intended targets understand these messages, or
can even access them conveniently.

We often see footnotes to assistance messages citing the URL or Web address
where one can get more details. But few among the underprivileged have access
to personal computers or are even savvy enough to navigate websites like those
of the Central Provident Fund Board, Workforce Development Agency and
Ministry of Manpower for the information.

I checked residents' committees' (RC) notice boards and visited a community

centre, as well as RC notice boards at lift lobbies and did not find a single poster
or flier advertising such help schemes. Shouldn't such areas be prime spots as
they would offer the needy the information virtually on their doorstep?

When I asked for information about the Workfare Income Supplement scheme at
a community centre, the staff had to rummage in a cabinet before retrieving a
glossy pamphlet titled "Workfare Income Supplement Scheme" in the four official
languages.

When I asked why such information on pertinent government aid schemes were
not displayed, the reply was that the publications were given only upon request.
To top that, the pamphlet given to me was outdated – meant for the year 2007.

Government agencies should be more practical and efficient in conveying

information on aid schemes. Glossy publications are unnecessary. Black and
white A4-size fliers in plain English as well as the other official languages are
good enough. Use the savings to ensure that those who need the information get
them.

Even more effective would be mailing personalised letters to each Singaporean

who qualifies for aid, listing the programmes to which they can apply.
Personalised outreach is not impossible, given the comprehensive data the
Government has of Singaporeans.

Tay Kian Tong