Dr Hamid Razak, Member of Parliament for the West Coast-Jurong West GRC, shared that the new policies announced by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in his National Day Rally (NDR) speech on Aug 23 will be of greatly help in Singapore’s development.
He appreciated the discussion on Medisave flexibility in PM’s Malay speech, mentioning that it has been a major pain point among most of the elder residents in his constituency.
“Many seniors come up to me and appeal for more flexible use of MediSave, as they tend to have large out-of-pocket expenses due to chronic illnesses. I think this is something really welcome, and I hope to see further details being furnished in due time,” he added.
On MediSave top-ups announced for young families and children, Dr Hamid shared that parents may feel anxious about increasing medical costs when they have more kids, since children tend to fall sick as they grow. He hopes that these top-ups alleviate parents' fears.
He is looking forward to hearing more about the possibility of flexible Medisave usage for fertility treatments. These treatments will help to boost our fertility rate through younger families who are trying to have children but are medically unable to do so,” he said.
Dr Hamid also appreciates the efforts to tap on the M3 Plus (MCubePlus) system to bring senior care to the grassroots.
On the new Western Island, Dr Hamid believes it is a great opportunity for Singapore to explore how it can attract new industries and chart frontier industries in the western region, especially with Nanyang Technological University (NTU) located in the West.
“I hope that we’ll look at where the excellence is within the faculties in NTU, and hopefully, the industries that are to come in the Western Island will be able to support our students living and studying in the West,” he said.
He added that the M3 Economy Task Force will form great opportunities for Malay-speaking youth to venture into different sectors in Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
Looking at the family-focused policies, he echoed the PM’s statement that the government bearing the losses of employers, consequent to increased childcare leave, is an investment rather than an expense. “Many young parents share with me that raising children isn’t the main issue, but finding quality time to spend with them is truly challenging. In that sense, expanded parental leave is very welcome,” he remarked.
He emphasised that employers should support family-centric practices, accommodate parents, and provide opportunities for them to utilise their leave benefits as their cooperation is vital to the success of these new efforts.
