Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) Hazel Poa delivered her first speech in Parliament on Sep. 2, on the topic of social safety nets.

Social safety nets of greater importance during difficult times

"Progress Singapore Party (PSP) believes that progress should always be accompanied by compassion", Poa said, and called attention to the importance of social safety nets, which she said were "of even greater importance" during difficult times.

Poa highlighted the economic effects of Covid-19, citing figures such as employment decreasing by 131,500 in the second quarter of 2020, and MTI's projected 5 to 7 per cent contraction in the economy.

She also made reference to an OCBC survey that said that 70 per cent of respondents did not have more than six months of savings.

Contrasting this with government reserves, which were "widely believed to be sufficient for at least 8 to 10 years of government expenditure", Poa said:

"There is therefore a lot of room for adjustments in the balance between government reserves and household reserves."

Suggestions to improve relief measures

She then put forward the following suggestions regarding relief measures for companies and individuals:

• Explore "clawing back" support provided under the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) for profitable companies, impose conditions for additional JSS, and channel the resources to areas such as unemployment support.
• Differentiate JSS for citizens and PRs, as "the first duty of any government is always to its own citizens", Poa said.
• Extend the Covid Support Grant beyond the current three-month time period, as most would take longer than three months to find new employment, Poa said.
• Allow those who have lost their jobs to borrow from their own CPF, so that CPF savings can be "a source of financial security at all times, not just in the distant future".
• Top up CPF Life payments to counter inflation, given that they are expected to last for approximately 20 years, and that during this time, "retirees are at the mercy of economic forces over which they have no control," Poa said. Acknowledging that this would involve a transfer of wealth from the younger generation to the older, Poa pointed out that the asset enhancement approach taken by the government also involved such a transfer.
• Defer mortgage payments till December 2021 for households with members who have lost their jobs or suffered loss in income, so that people do not have to worry about losing their homes.

On echo chambers

Poa also spoke about the dangers of echo chambers, which were not restricted to the online space.

She shared her own experience with an echo chamber, and recalled experiencing "a marked change in [her] environment" when she was first joining politics.

Those with anti-establishment views sought to share their perspectives with her, as she had joined "an alternative political party".

At the same time, people she knew became more forthcoming in criticising government policies.

She said:

"My environment became decidedly more critical of government all of a sudden. It took great effort to maintain my perspective, to remember that the world has not really changed all that much all of a sudden, but simply that people are telling me what they think I am interested in hearing."

"If I experienced such being just an opposition candidate, how much more must it have been for someone who wields power," she added.

She called for her fellow parliamentarians to "recognise the bias of one's echo chamber" and mitigate its effects.

"We need to keep an open mind and be prepared to tackle sacred cows," she said.

We deliver more stories to you on LinkedIn

Top image via Hazel Poa on Facebook