Minister for the Ministry of National Development (MND) Khaw Boon Wan is paying special attention to families facing financial difficulties because of misfortune. This includes the sudden death of a breadwinner or a major illness of a family member.
He said in Parliament on Friday: “For victims of misfortune, I have impressed on my MND colleagues that our default position is to try to say “yes”, to help give such victims a leg-up at a time of need. Meanwhile 670 public rental flats were allocated to divorcees with children last year, reflecting more than 20 per cent of the rental flats allocated to this group.
MP for Nee Soon GRC Lee Bee Wah said: “Last week, I saw a resident and she’s a divorcee who has the custody of three children and wanted to buy a flat from HDB. She received a letter from HDB asking her to get a letter from her ex-husband to confirm that he won’t buy a flat in the next five years with any of his children. And my first response was ….really? Why make her life so difficult in order to buy a flat from HDB?
Mr Khaw said: “Governance with compassion requires a good heart. But it requires a strong head too. Much of the problem in the western welfare model is that there are too many good hearts and too few strong heads. solutions become unsustainable. Greece is now a classic case. Let us always be aware of this hazard.”
MP Lee Bee Wah said: “A comfortable and safe home lays the groundwork for a healthy and stable family. Through the provision of affordable homes and humane housing policies, MND can play a significant role in helping people to achieve this.”
Source : Channel NewsAsia – 3 Mar 2012