Poverty in Singapore

Poverty in its simplest form is the lack of the basics necessities required for quality of life. These basics begin with food, clothing, shelter, and clean drinking water. There are many causes of poverty, the main ones in Singapore being the high cost of living and high competition. The main groups of people who are most susceptible poverty are the lower income groups and the elderlies who are not supported by their children.

In Singapore, it is highly unlikely that you will find beggars lining the streets or see starving children walking the pavements, scrounging for food. The poor and needy in our society struggle with “relative poverty” —simply defined as that their financial resources fall substantially below what is needed to pay for the necessities of living in Singapore.

Due to various factors like health issues and family circumstances, they struggle to survive on a day-to-day basis. Moreover, they are caught in a vicious poverty cycle, with little or no means to make a better life for themselves. Their children are often not able to do better than their parents due to lack of access to knowledge and educational support. For example, the child would quit school to work and supplement the family’s income, simply trying to put food on the table.

Mr Ang and his wife, both in their 40s, live in a four-room HDB flat with five children. Their ages range from eight to 23 years old. Mr Ang works as a driver, earning $800 a month, while Mrs Ang is a homemaker.

Four of their children are visually-impaired.

Two of the oldest children attend daycare at the Singapore Association for the Visually Handicapped. While their fourth child is studying in polytechnic, the third and youngest children have behavioural issues, and are unable to pursue further education.

Some concerns Mr and Mrs Ang have are paying their bills, caregiving and long-term planning for their children’s future.

The above is a true story. And there are more families faced with similar (or worse) situations in Singapore. While most Singaporeans are able to benefit from Singapore’s success as a fast growing economy, there is a segment that gets left behind, living from hand to mouth, struggling to stay afloat.

Begging is illegal here, under the island-nation's Destitute Persons Act, carrying a fine of up to $3,000 or imprisonment for up to two years for repeat offenders.

But poor people can still be found, often selling packets of tissues outside food centers. Or spending the night on benches near their jobs to save the transport fare home(they are commonly called "sleepers").Or collecting empty soft drink cans out of trash bins.

Singapore does not have as high percentages of impoverished residents as those in the less developed world, and its poor tend to go unnoticed amid the country's steel-and-glass opulence.

In a studio apartment officially known as a “one-room flat” in public housing parlance along Circuit Road, 40-year-old Madam Tan Bee Hong takes care of seven children. Her husband, a welder, earns $1,600 a month. He is the sole breadwinner of the household.

Both Madam Tan and her husband did not complete their primary school education. With children ranging from two to 13 years old, she chooses to stay at home.

“If I go out to work, I would have to put the children in childcare, which is too expensive,” she says.

Behind a stellar economic performance and an impressive GDP per capita - highest in the world at $65,048 in 2012 - Singapore is still home to a small but persistent group of people who live from hand to mouth.

These are people left behind because of stagnating wages. Despite prolonged debates over various policies and effort needed to boost their incomes, economist Yeoh Lam Keong says that addressing this issue requires reforms at the institutional level in education, housing, healthcare and immigration policies as it is a long term structural problem.

While the factors impacting the poor’s plight are complicated and often involve systemic issues like housing and employment, and although it may take many generations to overcome, some things can be done. One way is to focus on the younger generation. Programs like money-management workshops allow children to understand the concept of money and how to use it wisely. Upgrading of work skills also allow adults to gain a more competitive edge in the job market, while better coping with economic challenges.

It is critical that the young remain in the education system, and that they receive the best support they can to gain the knowledge and skills for a better future.