Parliamentary Speech: Extending Support to Vulnerable Singaporeans
Introduction
Mr. Speaker, I am here today with deep appreciation to the voters of Sengkang. I am honoured to have served in Sengkang as a volunteer since 2020, and now as their elected representative.
I acknowledge the President's call in his address: "Singapore must also remain a home where the vulnerable amongst us are not only cared for with compassion, but also empowered to pursue their hopes and dreams." These words remind us of our fundamental duty to ensure that every Singaporean has the opportunity to thrive.
This year, Singapore celebrates our 60th year of independence. This milestone presents us with a crucial opportunity for reflection and stocktaking. It is a time to assess not only our achievements but also to honestly examine what we can do better. Most importantly, it compels us to address the emerging cracks in our foundation that threaten to leave some of our fellow Singaporeans behind.
Today, I will focus on three areas where we must extend our support: first, extending support in housing through reassessing barriers to entry; second, extending support in rehabilitation beyond punishment and enforcement; and third, extending support in education through more data sharing.
While I will confine my comments to these areas for now, I look forward to raising other important issues over the course of this term — in particular, the struggles of the sandwiched generation: young parents juggling work, childcare, and rising costs of living.
Housing: Securing Stable Foundations
Mr. Speaker, stable housing offers a safe harbour where individuals and families can rest and recharge. During Singapore's nation-building period in the 1960s, home ownership was prioritised as a tool for nation-building, allowing Singaporeans to have a stake in our country's development. This vision continues today.
However, we should be concerned that home ownership has become out of reach especially for lower-income individuals and families who are unable to afford a place of their own. Many such individuals and families live precariously, in fear of slipping into a situation where they are forced to sell their homes and resort to government rental flats.
The Growing Challenge
But in recent years, even securing Government rental flats can be a challenge. While we recognize that HDB has broadened their criteria for rental flats and do not rely solely on income as the main yardstick, demand often still outstrips supply. Even successful applicants endure an average waiting period of five months.
Renting from the open market also poses its own challenges. Parliamentary records from 2024 show that the average rent for HDB 3-room, 4-room, and
5-room flats in the open market has increased significantly by about 10% year-on-year in 2023, for example, the median rent of 3-room flats in Sengkang increased by 11% in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022.
As a result, such individuals and families find themselves torn between increasing rental prices in the open market and long waiting times for public rental flats—additional stressors on top of the absence of stable housing.
Vulnerable Groups Falling Through the Cracks
I acknowledge that the Government has continuously worked to improve housing access for Singaporeans, including recent pilot projects such as Single Room Shared Facilities (SRSF) and Joint Singles Scheme Operator- Run (JSS-OR). However, more needs to be done to address particular groups disproportionately affected by insufficient housing supply. I will briefly
touch on two groups in my speech today.
First, single unwed parents and their children. Parliamentary records from March 2024 reveal that on average, only 46% of requests from single unwed parents to rent a public rental flat have been successful each year. This means that every other single parent - usually young, stressed, and limited in options - is denied by the public system, while at their most vulnerable.
Second, individuals who are unable to stay with their family members. HDB has cited availability of housing from family members as grounds for rejecting public rental requests, with a lack of clarity on whether other factors are considered such as, the nature of the relationship with family, particularly where it may be strained or abusive.
A System That Recognizes Human Complexity
Mr. Speaker, there are multitudes of reasons why someone might find themselves in desperate situations—relationship breakdowns, overcrowding, divorces, and other circumstances often beyond their control. These should not be treated by our public housing system as personal insufficiency. Instead, we must build a system that empowers individuals and families with equal opportunities for safety, stability, and self-sufficiency through basic stable housing.
Proposed Solutions
Increasing supply of rental flats and reassessing barriers to entry will be key
tasks I aim to speak up about in this term. My proposals include:
First, exercising flexibility by always taking applicants' current relationship dynamics with family into consideration before rejecting applications
based on availability of housing options with family, and publicly commit to upholding this approach.
Second, expanding the public rental housing market to cater to changing aspirations of Singaporeans. This may include exploring flexible and experimental models such as introducing a universal buy-back scheme for aging HDB flats, which can then be rented to Singaporeans at rates between commercial and HDB public rentals, offering larger homes and flexible options for those not ready for long-term leases.
Drug Rehabilitation: Beyond Punishment to Recovery
Mr. Speaker, I shall now move on to my next point on extending support in rehabilitation for drug abusers.
First, I would like to indicate my support for the overall tough anti-drug stance, coupled with strong education and rigorous enforcement in keeping drug prevalence low. According to the 2024 Singapore Health and Lifestyle Survey, the lifetime prevalence of illicit drug use in Singapore was
2.3%, while 12-month prevalence was 0.7%. The prevalence of illicit drug consumption in Singapore was much lower than rates reported in studies from the US, Europe, and Australia.
Yet even with these low overall rates, troubling patterns are emerging - particularly among our youth. In 2024, 54% of new drug abusers were under 30, and the number of those under 20 rose by 38%. This rise should not be treated as merely a law enforcement issue; it is a complex social challenge affecting individuals, families, and entire communities. These trends are undeniably driven by curiosity and peer pressure, but there are also deeper structural and psychological factors that contribute to its increase. Behind every statistic is a person grappling with trauma and a family striving to rebuild.
Enforcement alone cannot break the cycle of addiction. Building on existing efforts, we should continue to foster a sustained and rehabilitative approach, one that centres on a community-anchored ecosystem supporting recovery beyond surveillance. This includes better access to counselling, community-fostered mentorship, and employment support.
Addressing Recidivism
Youths who struggle with drug abuse often face significant barriers to successfully reintegrate into society. These include social stigma, employment challenges, and weak social support.
It is thus concerning that Singapore's two-year recidivism rate for inmates
released from Drug Rehabilitation Centres has climbed to 30.8% for the
2022 cohort, significantly above the 21.3% rate for all offenders. Rehabilitation efforts must focus on better reintegration and breaking the revolving door between prison and society.
The SPS's Reintegration Hub and CNB's Supervision 2.0 pilot are promising developments. Hair testing, community supervision sessions, and referrals for housing and employment support are steps in the right direction. As then MOS Faishal noted in 2024, hair testing has a longer detection window, allowing reporting frequency to be reduced to once every three months instead of twice weekly under the urine testing regime.
However, more must be done to ensure that recovery is not just monitored but meaningfully supported by ensuring that individuals have a strong support network that helps them rebuild their lives, not just to avoid relapse.
Data-Driven Solutions
To better tailor interventions, CNB's publicly available data on drug abusers should go beyond race and age to include other data such as education level, socio-economic status, mental health history, employment status, and housing type. This allows us to grasp the complex patterns driving drug use or design appropriate interventions that truly address individuals' needs.
As regards, integration of ex-offender, we recognise that Yellow Ribbon Singapore has made significant strides in supporting them, but more can be done to help ex-offenders reintegrate into society.
In 2025, The Straits Times reported that while there seems to be more employment opportunities for former offenders after release, other issues such as social stigma and personal challenges can affect their retention in those jobs. The career retention rate among former offenders who got jobs with Yellow Ribbon Singapore's help has dropped over the years.
Therefore, we should examine the outcomes of initiatives like the Digital Literacy Masterplan and the Uplifting Employment Credit, including job retention rates and career progression. These metrics will help us understand the effectiveness of our rehabilitation efforts and identify areas for improvement.
As we move forward, Yellow Ribbon Singapore should be empowered to play a coordinating role across agencies, ensuring that rehabilitation and reintegration of ex-offenders is holistic, sustained, and inclusive.
Education: Unlocking Potential Through Data
Mr. Speaker, I now turn to extending support in education, particularly calling for a data-driven approach to better identify needs.
In 2021, the Centre for Research on Islamic and Malay Affairs (RIMA) published "Dreams Realised, Dreams Deferred: Understanding and Addressing the Racial Gap in Educational Achievement in Singapore."
Key Findings and Gaps
A key point raised was that the Malay students persistently face an education gap. Then Minister for Education, Mr Chan Chun Sing, cited two data points that illustrate this disparity. First, in 2021, he noted that 94% of Malay students who entered Primary 1 in 2009 progressed to post- secondary education — lower than the national average of 97%. More recently, in April this year, he referred to Census 2020 data showing that only about 11% of Malay residents aged 25 and above held university degrees, compared to 35% of Chinese and 41% of Indians. MENDAKI's analysis of the same census data further highlighted that Malays accounted for just 4% of all university graduates in 2020.
Mr Speaker, if we look at the historical context, then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong shared in 1999 that in 1998, 1.3% of Malay students dropped out before completing primary or secondary school, with the secondary-level dropout rate at 5.9%. Since then, there has been clear progress. According to recent CNA reporting, fewer than one in 100 students have left
secondary school without completing it in the past five years.
While there has clearly been progress in reducing dropout rates, the broader educational attainment gap remains stark. There is therefore a pressing need for more comprehensive research and greater access to disaggregated data. Only then can we understand the full picture - where the Malay community stands, how their challenges compare with other groups, and what targeted policies are needed to close the gap meaningfully.
Proposed Actions
Mr. Speaker, I call for several data-driven improvements:
First, MOE should track university graduation rates annually by ethnicity to better understand educational outcomes across communities.
Second, we need detailed breakdown of data to ascertain the percentage of lower-income Malays reaching university, including release of data on Malay undergraduates applying for MENDAKI Tertiary Tuition Fee Subsidy over the past decade.
Third, MOE should release data on school dropout rates by income background and ethnicity to identify vulnerable groups requiring additional support.
Memperkukuh Sokongan Untuk Semua Lapisan Masyarakat
Mr. Speaker, allow me to continue my speech in Malay.
Tuan Speaker, hari ini saya telah membincangkan tiga bidang yang mana kita perlu melanjutkan sokongan kepada golongan masyarakat yang tersisih. Pertama, dalam bidang perumahan, kita perlu menilai semula halangan kemasukan yang sedia ada. Ini demi memastikan setiap keluarga, termasuk ibu tunggal yang belum berkahwin dan individu yang
tidak dapat tinggal bersama ahli keluarga mereka, mendapat akses kepada tempat tinggal yang stabil.
Oleh itu, kami menyeru agar hubungan pemohon dengan keluarga juga perlu diambil kira sebelum permohonan mereka ditolak dan memperluaskan pasaran perumahan sewa awam untuk memenuhi aspirasi rakyat Singapura yang semakin berubah.
Kedua, dalam bidang pemulihan dadah, kita perlu suatu pendekatan yang bukan hanya sekadar hukuman dan penguatkuasaan semata-mata. Kadar berulang bagi banduan yang dibebaskan daripada Pusat Pemulihan Dadah telah meningkat kepada 30.8% untuk kohort 2022. Lebih membimbangkan lagi, pada tahun 2024, pesalah Melayu merangkumi 50% daripada kesemua penyalahguna dadah yang ditangkap.
Kita memerlukan data yang lebih terperinci untuk merangkumi tahap pendidikan, status sosio-ekonomi, sejarah kesihatan mental, status pekerjaan, dan jenis perumahan. Tanpa butiran ini, kita tidak mampu memahami sepenuhnya isu-isu kompleks yang mendorong penggunaan dadah, lantas akan menghadapi cabaran dalam melakarkan bentuk intervensi yang sesuai.
Ketiga, dalam bidang pendidikan, kita memerlukan perkongsian data yang lebih meluas untuk mengenal pasti keperluan masyarakat dengan lebih tepat. Menurut Banci Penduduk 2020, hanya sekitar 11% penduduk Melayu berumur 25 tahun ke atas memiliki ijazah universiti, berbanding dengan
35% penduduk Cina dan 41% penduduk India.
Untuk lebih memahami cara meningkatkan peratusan ini, kami menyeru supaya Kementerian Pendidikan menjejak dan mengeluarkan data bagi kadar kelulusan universiti mengikut kaum dan juga mengeluarkan data bagi kadar mereka yang tercicir dari sekolah mengikut latar belakang pendapatan dan kaum mereka.
Di sini, saya ingin menekankan bahawa walaupun saya menumpukan perhatian kepada cabaran-cabaran yang dihadapi oleh masyarakat Melayu, bantuan dan sokongan harus diberikan kepada semua yang memerlukannya, tanpa mengira latar belakang mereka. Kita tidak boleh membiarkan sesiapa pun terus ketinggalan dalam perjalanan pembangunan negara. Pendekatan kami adalah berdasarkan prinsip keadilan sosial dan data yang kukuh. Kami mahukan sistem yang memberikan peluang yang sama rata kepada semua individu.
Wakil-wakil rakyat daripada Parti Pekerja akan berusaha dan terus bekerja untuk menjadi suara untuk semua rakyat Singapura, termasuk masyarakat Melayu/Islam. Kami percaya bahawa masyarakat yang disokong kuat akan memanfaatkan Singapura secara keseluruhannya. Apabila kita membantu mereka yang tersisih di kalangan kita, kita akan sama-sama memajukan kesemua rakyat Singapura, tidak kira apa jua bangsa atau latar belakang mereka.
Conclusion
Mr. Speaker, I return to the President's Address, a Singapore that is home to all of us cannot merely be an aspiration, but an imperative for us to achieve together. The challenges I have outlined today in housing, rehabilitation, and education require not just government action but a whole-of-society response. They demand not just policy changes but a fundamental commitment to seeing the dignity and potential in every Singaporean.
I assure this House that the problems of those at risk of falling through the cracks, especially but not limited to Malay lower-income households, will be consistently highlighted in Parliament. The Workers' Party elected representatives will work tirelessly to be the people’s voice and to continue working for all Singaporeans, regardless of race or background.
I believe strongly that when we lift the most vulnerable among us, we lift all of Singapore. When we ensure that every family has stable housing, every person struggling with addiction has a meaningful path to recovery, and every student has access to quality education regardless of their background, we strengthen the very fabric of our society.
Mr Speaker, I support the Motion.
