Veteran diplomat Tommy Koh took to Facebook on Monday (13 April) to make an appeal to Singaporeans who do not need the financial help of S$600 given by the Government, to donate it to any charity or non-governmental organisation (NGO) in the country.
He made the request through a video which was uploaded in the post.
In the video, Prof Koh, who is also a professor of law and chairman of the Centre for International Law at the National University of Singapore, said that the Government handed out a cheque worth S$600 to all Singaporeans in order to help them go through this great crisis due to COVID-19 pandemic.
However, those who don’t need the financial help, Prof Koh urged them to give the money to any charity or NGO of their choice.
“Fellow Singaporeans, on the 14th of April, the Government will be sending us a cheque for the sum of S$600. Many people in Singapore need this to help them go through this great crisis, but for those of us who don’t need the money, I want to make and appeal to donate this money to charity or non-governmental organisation that’s close to your heart,” he said.
Prof Koh also revealed that he will be donating his S$600 to an NGO that deals with migrant workers.
“I know what I’m going to do with the money. I will donate my S$600 to one of the NGOs helping our foreign workers. Thank you very much,” he told.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat announced on 6 April that all Singaporeans aged 21 and above will receive a one-off payout of S$600 to help households manage the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is an enhancement to the earlier payout announced in February of between S$100 and S$300 for every adult citizen in the country. In March, the amount was increased to between S$300 and S$900. The payouts were due to be distributed between August to September.
However, the announcement by Mr Heng explained that the S$300 payout announced last month has been brought forward to April and topped up with another S$300 for a total of S$600 per adult. This has been termed the “Solidarity Payment”. The remaining payouts will also be pulled forward to June.
These additional payouts will cost the government an additional S$1.1 billion, said Mr Heng.
Basically, every adult in Singapore will receive S$600 in April. Beyond that, anyone who qualified for the highest tier can expect another S$300 or S$600 in June.
On Tuesday (14 April), Channel News Asia reported that nine in 10 Singaporeans got the S$600 one-off cash payout to help ease their financial burden during this difficult times.
