Jamus Lim pleased with childcare changes announced during National Day Rally, pushes for more
Associate Professor Jamus Lim took to Facebook on Monday (24 Aug) to share his views on this year’s National Day Rally.
Assoc Prof Lim, who was in attendance alongside fellow Member of Parliament (MP) Dennis Tan, welcomed measures aimed at easing childcare burdens.
He went on to mention that there is “always more to be done”.
Jamus Lim praises changes to childcare leave and preschool subsidies
Yesterday, Prime Minister (PM) Lawrence Wong held the annual National Day Rally, which Assoc Prof Lim called the most important policy speech of the year.
Source: Jamus Lim on Facebook
Amid all the announcements, the Workers’ Party (WP) MP focused on those relating to supporting families.
“In particular, the move to ease the burden on childcare—both in time and money—is especially welcome,” he wrote.
Assoc Prof Lim noted that he had previously asked why childcare leave was not matched on a per-child basis.
During the speech, PM Wong announced that the more children parents have, the more childcare leave they receive.
Source: Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore on YouTube
The MP had also previously brought up the high expenses of preschool childcare.
Currently, preschool subsidies are provided, but PM Wong noted that childcare costs can still be “substantial”.
He added: “We will bring our support for government-supported preschools closer to how we support primary education.”
Sengkang MPs argue in favour of care leave for unpaid caregivers
However, Assoc Prof Lim stated that more can be done for childcare.
He claimed that middle-income households were hit hard by changes to the Working Mother’s Child Relief (WMCR), which currently provides a fixed dollar tax relief.
Assoc Prof Lim stated that fellow Sengkang MP Louis Chua had repeatedly urged a reversion to percentage-of-income instead.
Furthermore, he stated that care leave should also provide relief for unpaid caregivers, which MPs He Ting Ru and Abdul Muhaimin Abdul Malik had argued for.
Source: Jamus Lim on Facebook
Hougang MP Dennis Tan gratified at relaxation of rules related to media in dialects
More generally, I believe that the changes to policy are a reflection of the best of a process of voice and accountability.
Assoc Prof Lim claimed that the Sengkang MPs had raised many such questions because they listened to the concerns of young families in Sengkang.
He thus stated that WP will continue playing the role of the rational and respectable opposition.
Source: Chua Kheng Wee on Facebook
As a final note, Hougang MP Dennis Tan was pleased with the relaxed position on screenings of films in dialects.
Mr Tan had voiced this stance earlier, especially when the Teochew movie ‘Dear You’ arrived in Singapore several months ago.
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Featured image adapted from Jamus Lim on Facebook and Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore on YouTube.
