Ex-GIC economist Yeoh Lam Keong disagrees with Lawrence Wong, says ‘the most important gap Gov’t needs to fill in is money to help the poor meet basic needs’

Mr Yeoh Lam Keong, a former chief economist for the sovereign wealth fund GIC, voiced his disagreement with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s statement that the most important and hardest social gap to narrow is defined in terms of respect and status, and not income or wealth.

In a much-shared Facebook post on Tuesday (Oct 11), Mr Yeoh wrote that he doesn’t doubt that DPM Wong “sincerely intends to help the poor” and “really hopes his new measures will actually significantly do so.”

He added that “However with all due respect to DPM Wong, I completely disagree that the most important gap to narrow in this regard is that of respect or status.”

The Deputy Prime Minister had said on Monday (Oct 10) that Singapore will be refreshing measures to support lower-income groups, seniors and young families even as there have been undulations of society becoming more stratified.

In the context of saying that the most significant gap that needs to be narrowed involves respect and status, DPM Wong was quoted in The Straits Times as saying, “How do we shift attitudes and mindsets, so that the contributions of every individual and every worker across all professions are valued and appreciated,” and added that he will explain this further another time.

In his post, the former GIC economist explained why he disagreed with Mr Wong.

“To put it bluntly, the most important gap the government needs to fill in helping the poor is the money to meet basic needs.”

He then offered the following suggestions: 

First the Workfare Income Supplement ( WIS ) needs to minimally give out an additional $600 a month in addition to the current paltry $300 a month to help the working poor make ends meet 

Second the Silver Support Scheme ( SSS ) similarly needs to give another $600 a month in addition to the current miserly $200-300 given to our elderly poor to enable them to keep body and soul together given recent sharp rise in food and energy prices 

Finally a basic unemployment insurance support for the poor is also badly needed. 

Mr Yeoh already made suggestions along these lines in another social media post last month.

This time, however, he added that the three measures he suggested would cost about $5 billion, or one per cent of the GDP.

“But it would permanently and systemically lift some 250, 000 citizens out of absolute poverty in an automatic dignified manner which current schemes only partially do,” he added, saying it should have been done “long, long ago.”

Mr Yeoh also touched on the need for respect, saying that the poor’s biggest need is in dignity in receiving assistance. 

“In this regards WIS and SSS are automatic payouts once means tested, rather than the indignity of having to constantly re-apply and justify eligibility for many of the other support schemes. 

Perhaps then, the biggest gap in attitudes and mindsets needed to help the poor that DPM Wong referred to is that of our policy makers themselves,” he added. /TISG

Ex-GIC chief economist calls for ‘stronger policy action’ that would ‘make huge difference to the working poor, elderly & unemployed by raising incomes towards decent living wage’