Jamus Lim on NDR2026 family support measures: Many are commonsense policies WP championed for a long time

SINGAPORE: In a social media post, Workers’ Party Member of Parliament Jamus Lim (Sengkang) weighed in on this year’s National Day Rally speech from Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Sunday (Aug 23), noting that it is likely to be Singapore’s “most important policy speech of every year.”

“In my view, some of the most consequential announcements involved support for families, especially with regard to raising children. Many are commonsense policies that the #workersparty has championed for a long time,” he wrote.

Assoc Prof Lim zeroed in on the measures aimed at lessening parents’ childcare burdens, which are coming at a time of Singapore’s historic low birth rate of 0.87. PM Wong announced generous direct financial support for each Singaporean child from birth to the age of 17, decreased fees for infant and early childhood care, as well as substantial additional leave days for working parents.

The MP called these measures “especially welcome,” and added that he had “previously asked about why childcare leave was not matched on a per-child basis,” and raised a question on the difference in costs between preschool and primary school care.

Assoc Prof Lim then noted with approval the announcement that even children of single parents would benefit from the support measures, but added that more can be done apart from financial bonuses.

He wrote about an unsuccessful appeal to the Housing & Development Board on behalf of a resident, explaining that it had been a case of a single father who had never been married to the mother of his children.

The MP also highlighted the issues his fellow Sengkang parliamentarians, all of whom are similarly young parents, have raised.

Louis Chua, for example, has drawn attention to how middle-income households were hit hard by the changes to tax credits for working mothers, arguing that lower-income working mothers should also receive a $1,000 tax credit.

Meanwhile, both He Ting Ru and Abdul Muhaimin have also raised the issue of support for adults providing care for their elderly parents.

“More generally, I believe that the changes to policy are a reflection of the best of a process of voice and accountability. Many such questions were raised by the #Sengkang4 (and others within the Party), in no small part because we were listening to, and speaking out about, the concerns of young families in #SengkangGRC. This, in turn, informed our interventions in Parliament. 

Constructive critique is the role of a rational, responsible, and respectable opposition in a democratic society, and is one that the #workersparty will continue to perform to the best of our ability. Regardless of one’s political leanings, Singaporeans win when we arrive at better policies together. #workingforsingapore,” he added. /TISG

Read also: Jamus Lim: Singapore should fully take care of seniors who’ve contributed their lot in life