SINGAPORE — Needy families here are being taught “how to fish” for themselves under the enhanced Community Link (ComLink) programme named ComLink+, which aims to build self-reliance to escape poverty. 

At first glance, the scheme’s financial top-ups and payouts might be construed as welfarist, but political analysts, sociologists and social workers told TODAY that it does not signify Singapore’s move towards welfarism. 

Instead, the concept of ComLink+ revolves around tutelage, as families under the scheme are given guidance to fulfil specific goals to be eligible for financial top-ups. 

Ultimately, the goal is to empower families to build resilience, sustain stability and self-reliance, and climb the social ladder. 

WELFARE STATE VS 'WELFARIST APPROACH'

Associate Professor Eugene Tan from Singapore Management University, a law professor and former Nominated Member of Parliament, said that although the country’s left-of-centre shift is clear, it does not use welfarism to deal with social challenges. 

He said that the distinction between the Government’s welfarist shift and welfarism may not be apparent to most people. 

“While we are not a welfare state, we are certainly more welfare-oriented than we were even a mere decade-and-a-half ago when the left-of-centre shift commenced.”

Welfarism, or a welfare state, is one where there are income transfers to individuals, social assistance and social insurance. It also requires high taxation of individuals and the downside is a growing national budget deficit.

In comparison, a welfarist approach is one where social policies and spending fundamentally support economic policies. They are also seen as long-term investments rather than recurrent spending.

There are some potential moral hazards in choosing a welfarist approach, such as an increased dependency on welfare and a reduced individual responsibility.

However, Assoc Prof Tan said that choosing to do nothing would, in turn, lead to more significant challenges down the road. 

He sees the four distinctive packages as a viable safeguard. This is because they point to areas where families should focus and they incentivise families to “pull themselves up by their bootstraps”, he added. 

On Monday (Nov 20), Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Minister for Social and Family Development, announced that there will be four “progress packages” under ComLink+ that will support families in four areas:

• Preschool education
• Stable employment
• Debt clearance
• Homeownership

They are set to be rolled out in the second half of next year. 

This is an enhancement to the ComLink programme, which supports families with young children who live in public rental flats.

To fulfil the specified actions and goals under these four packages would require substantial behavioural changes on the part of the recipients, such as ensuring that their children stay in school, they are no longer incurring debts and they are drawing a salary from a job where the employer contributes to their Central Provident Fund, the national social insurance scheme. 

WHAT ARE THE POSSIBLE CHALLENGES? 

Addressing concerns over the sustainability of the Government’s social spending, Mr Christopher Gee, senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, noted that the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) works with donors to provide these financial top-ups to the packages.  

In particular, for the preschool education, debt clearance and homeownership packages. 

Some aspects of the scheme will still be paid for by state funds, but the rest of it will come from corporate donors and philanthropists and through charitable giving, Mr Gee said. 

“I would almost argue that the big challenge is to get enough families in the target group to get on board with this programme because it does require behavioural changes and the necessary support. 

“It is less the money, more the help that they will need to sustain this,” he added, referring to the family coaches assigned to work with eligible families on the customised action plans. 

Even though money concerns are unavoidable, Mr Gee maintained that the willingness to help people must always prevail. 

“Because that will mean we have a flourishing society where people in Singapore are not left behind, trapped in a vicious circle of poverty, which would then lead to other social costs like increased crime. 

“Doing this well is a stitch in time that saves nine down the road,” he said. 

HOW COMLINK+ CAN HELP 

Likewise, Associate Professor Walter Theseira, an economics lecturer from the Singapore University of Social Sciences, said that the social expenditure for ComLink+ is justified because money spent as early as possible in the life cycle — families with young children — is likely to generate "better returns" in terms of having more educated children and adults who make better contributions to society.

Asked about the risk of developing a dependency on the Government, Assoc Prof Theseira said it is important to know that low-income families do not generate debt the same way as middle- and high-income families. 

“Most low-income families' debts come from daily living expenses because the amount they need and the amount they earn are almost the same, so they will incur debt from moneylenders to make ends meet. 

“To get out of this, they need to be placed on a better trajectory with additional help like ComLink+," he added. 

Dr Tan Ern Ser, an associate professor of sociology from the National University of Singapore, likened the newly announced incentives to an enhanced version of the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) scheme. 

Launched in 2008, WIS offers wage subsidies to Singaporean workers above 35 earning less than S$2,000 a month.

“(ComLink+) still incentivises work, but it also helps to clear debts and promote savings. While it involves dispensing money, it aims to give them a leg-up to break out of poverty,” Dr Tan said.

He also said that ComLink+ can be seen as investing in the poor to help them advance towards self-reliance and social mobility. 

Similarly, sociology professor Paulin Tay Straughan said that ComLink+ is a significant move to weed out the intergenerational transfer of poverty by striking a partnership between the state and families. 

With questions surrounding the possibilities of a moral hazard, Prof Straughan noted that ComLink+ financial top-ups come with either a one-off caveat or a capped limit.

For example, the top-ups under the stable employment and building savings for home ownership packages are capped at S$30,000 in total payouts, while the debt clearance package can be used only once. 

The bottom line is that Singapore has to try, Prof Straughan said.

“If we continue to have a group of Singaporeans stuck at the bottom of the hierarchy with no hope for upward mobility, it threatens social stability,” she added. 

She referred to french sociologist Jacques Donzelot who wrote that in helping families, philanthropy is very important. "And by philanthropy, he means that essentially, we teach them to fish for themselves, rather than, you know, to put (fish into their hands) directly," Prof Straughan said.

"So his argument is that if we are able to work in partnership with families who may need help, it's a more sustainable kind of involvement. Most of Singapore's help tools fall in this category."

To ensure ComLink+ families stay committed to the action plan, Prof Straughan suggested that complementary social empowerment schemes could be useful. 

“Have buddy families who will encourage and support them. Don’t let them (needy families) stay in silos or be isolated. They should be given chances to mingle with the community more, so both children and parents can dream middle-class dreams,” she said. 

OUTCOMES WILL TAKE TIME

Ms Evelyn Lai, executive director at the Down Syndrome Association (Singapore), said that the inclusion of family coaches in the Comlink+ programme is a sufficient safeguard. Still, more can be done to address personal or situational factors that could destabilise the families. 

Some of these factors may pertain to employer support, such as flexible work arrangements, as well as family-friendly practices to help those with young children stay employed. 

“It is not just MSF that should do this. We need a whole-of-society approach.

"MSF can engage more with the other ministries to strengthen the support to help families stay on the path," she said.

As for whether the three-year trial period for the rollout of Comlink+ will be long enough to see significant changes, the analysts told TODAY that three years would not be enough, but it would be a good step towards the right direction to generate long-term impact. 

Based on his experience on the ground, Mr Benny Thiam, an assistant senior social worker at an MSF-run Family Service Centre, said that the duration needed to measure favourable outcomes also depends on the families’ gaps and needs, since every family is different. 

“Low-income families often face multiple stressors such as financial difficulties, unemployment, health problems and mental health conditions. It’s not a linear issue,” he added. 

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article said that Ms Evelyn Lai was the executive director of Singapore Association of Social Workers. She has since left the organisation and is now the executive director at Down Syndrome Association (Singapore). We are sorry for the error.