As a form of support for Singaporeans to power through the COVID-19 pandemic that led closures of businesses, the Government had set up a Temporary Relief Fund to aid people who need urgent financial assistance.
To increase the accessibility of the application for Temporary Relief Fund, the Government accepts a variety of supporting documents which include letters, e-mails, screenshots of a mobile app, WhatsApp messages, appointment booklets, handwritten notes as well as payment slips. However, certain people had been discovered to have “cheated the system” in order to receive the funds even when they clearly do not need the money as much as the people in need.
Minister of Social & Family Development, Desmond Lee shared about this incident onto his Facebook, condemning the people who took advantage of the Government’s aid while many more Singaporeans urgently need the aid to stay alive.
Mr Lee stated that more than 100,000 Singaporeans who have been severely affected by COVID-19 had applied for the Temporary Relief Fund, and the volunteers for SSO and People’s Association had been working hard to process and disburse the funds as quickly as possible.
Despite their efforts in helping other Singaporeans, Mr Lee said that he had received certain screenshots of how a small number of Singaporeans lied just to receive the funds. Mr Lee explained that these people did not really “cheat the Government”, but what they were really doing was taking advantage at the expense of many Singaporeans who are experiencing a genuine crisis.

Expressing how disheartened he and his colleagues felt upon such despicable actions, Mr Lee stated that he had sent these reports of abuse to Minister Shanmugam.

“Yet, many people have sent me screenshots such as this, which suggest that a very small number of people are taking advantage of the schemes, or encouraging others who do not need help to try to “cheat” the system. No, you are not cheating just the government. You are doing this at the expense of many Singaporeans who are in genuine crisis, and need this help. Those who’ve written to me about such abuse are rightly indignant. And my colleagues and I are also disheartened.”

He had also made it clear that the Government’s priority at the moment would be to disburse the funds as well as to improve the way they provide assistance to help the affected people and vulnerable communities.

“But our priority now is to disburse the TRF, the COVID-19 Support Grant and provide other help schemes. We need to focus on improving the way we provide assistance, to help affected people and vulnerable communities.”

Having that said, people left comments under the post saying that they still had not gotten any response for their applications.
MuhdEEE Shalihin commented that he had applied for the Temporary Relief Fund since last Thursday (2 April) and he still had not received anything. Working as a GrabFood rider and being the sole earner in his family, he expressed that during this difficult situation he could only pray for better days to come.
Mechelle ZJ Luo-Sng pleaded Mr Lee for help by stating that her father and brother were severely impacted at work due to COVID-19 and she mentioned that Tampines Hub Community Centre rejected them. She felt the irony when people in need could not receive the aid while others who didn’t need the money managed to get the fund.
NZ Remy commented that the people who really need the aid could not receive the money urgently and that she is still waiting for hers. Mr Desmond Lee replied under her comment to ask her to send him a personal message. It turns out that Ms Remy had already requested help on Saturday (4 April) and it seems like Mr Lee did not respond to her.
In light of the impact COVID-19 had caused unto businesses, employers were found to be unkind towards their employees and many people lost their jobs during such a difficult period of time.
Jess Chua said that her mother had been retrenched at a food court as a drinks assistant, and thus Ms Chua wanted to help her mother to apply for the Fund. However, after getting in touch with her mother’s supervisor to request a retrenchment letter, the supervisor responded that the letter is not needed to apply for the Fund. Ms Chua stated that abuse of the Fund will persist if no official document is required for the application.

Here are a few more people who expressed difficulties in the process of application for Fund:
Candice Lau stated that she and her husband had applied for the Fund at the Serangoon Community Club on 2 April but they have still yet to receive a response. She also mentioned that some of her family and friends who applied after she did had already gotten their aid.
Since the Temporary Relief Fund is to support the people who had lost their job or a 30 per cent drop in their income, Zulkifli Adawiyah commented that he provided documented proof for his 40 per cent salary drop. However, his application still got rejected.
Mohamed Faizal stated that his company had to shut down and leave him unemployed. Mr Faizal applied for the Fund at Pasir Ris East Community Club on the first day and he still hasn’t gotten any response so far.
Nadya Salyriana expressed that she had encountered so much problem just to justify her application, and she felt the unfairness when someone without documented proof could apply for the Fund easily. Ms Nadya also questioned if different officers have different ways of screening.
Ms קרולין הודית described that she queued for one hour at Yishun Social Service Office and was then directed to Community Club instead. She submitted her application with documented proof after queuing for another three hours at the Community Club, yet her application is still under consideration. Expressing her confusion upon seeing how others could apply so easily without documents, she wondered if they applied for the same Fund.

Although the Government intended to make the application process easier for Singaporeans, employers were found to be unhelpful by refusing to provide help for their employees. During tough times like this, not only that employers’ abuse was being magnified, but also the selfish people who encourage taking advantage of the Temporary Relief Fund.

Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
You May Also Like

URA releases plan to build underground infrastructure ready for 10 million population

On Wednesday (3 Apr), the Nikkei Asian Review reported that Singapore has…

打造亲孩子环境需从社会下手 民众:降低生活成本、保障就业更实际

为鼓励国人生育,我国政府认为必须从“整体社会”下手,打造“亲孩子”的环境,惟网民认为降低生活成本、保障就业机会来的更为实际。 人力部长兼内政部第二部长杨莉明指出,政府将继续通过住房政策、便利且优质的学前教育来鼓励人民生育,而在支持国人组织家庭方面,也会推动“亲家庭”的工作文化。 协助管理国家人口及人才署的杨莉明表示,政府制定政策,但是人们受到文化影响也可能会不善用有关措施,因此在重塑社会观念方面,单单只是政府努力,并不能取得多大成效。 她在接受《联合早报》和《海峡时报》访问时,针对困扰政府多时的生育课题,发表看法。 根据国家人口及人才署最新公布的调查显示,几乎全部国民在觅职时,招聘公司是否支持工作与生活和谐的文化,都是他们的考量因素。 惟在调查中,虽然有将近八成的人士认为灵活工作安排很重要,一半以上的受访者表示即使能够灵活安排工作,但是会顾及他人眼光;有多达65巴仙的人士认为办公地点工作是必要的,因为这些“见面时间”(FaceTime)在工作表现评估上占了很大的比重。 当局为了了解国人对结婚和育儿的看法,于今年4月起,每个月透过Heybaby.sg网站展开不同主体的调查。最吸引人参与的主题为工作生活和谐,可见人们普遍上都非常关注这件事情。 针对如何通过社区力量打造亲家庭环境和育儿责任看法的调查中,共取得了将近七百个参与者回馈。 杨莉明表示,这调查结果显示了工作场所文化,上司和同事的支持,都左右了人们的生子决定。 强调我国育儿假为有薪假 她表示,灵活工作安排除了有利于年轻家长,对于需要照顾年长者的单身人士来说,都是非常需要的。因此不仅为人父母者欢迎灵活工作安排,也有年轻人去进修并且照顾家人。许多雇主也意识到,灵活工作安排能吸引到更多人才。 她指出,发现更多父亲愿意积极参与育儿工作,因此政府也会通过改进政策,以鼓励他们。其中政府自2016年起就宣布将父母共用陪产假增加到四周,而2017年起,父亲的陪产假也自一周延长至两周。…

独乐乐不如众乐乐 女子与耄耋共庆生

施比受更有福,一名女子办生日庆祝会,与会者不只有朋友,更邀请了众多年长者参与。 一名女子安琪拉(Angela)欢庆36岁生日,但也为耄耋们带来欢笑声,刚在周日(11月10日)下午5时,在循环路(Circuit Road)第42座组屋楼下举办的生日会,也在Instagram上分享生日会的欢乐照片和视频。 据了解,寿星安琪拉曾在该区居住,反映该区有不少独居年长者。她一年会组织约四次类似聚会,让有兴趣的年长者们参与他发起组织的活动,“让老人们能到这里相聚后互相交流”。 善良的安琪拉,还曾分配家庭必需品给年长者们,让这些长辈到该集合地领取后回家。“那是六、七年前的事情了,过后我就一直这样做了。” 她感慨这些年长者们独居,也担心万一发生了什么事情,也没有人知道他们的处境。 安琪拉自费办聚餐,虽然只是简单的自由餐,“但看到他们能够开心、快乐地享受,我就感到非常满足了。”   View this post on…