Everything About the Support Measures Mentioned by DPM Heng That Help Individuals

By
Boon Hun
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In case you’ve been sleeping under a rock, DPM Heng took to the podium to speak to Singapore this afternoon at 3.30pm.

Now, if you’re hoping the Singapore Cai Shen Ye (God of Prosperity) is going to announce more financial help for struggling individuals and businesses, you’ll be glad to know that yes, the government is spending more money to help people like you and me.

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It will cost an additional S$8 billion, but according to Minister Heng, the money won’t be coming from our reserves; it’ll merely be diverted from other projects that are delayed by Covid-19.

Like, say, the JB-KL railway? Maybe. He didn’t exactly state what projects are left hanging in the air, and I doubt people are interested in it anyway.

Image: memegenerator.net

Giving You Pocket Money To Explore

Now, this isn’t exactly for individuals since it’s businesses in the tourism industry that will benefit but hey, you get to go out and enjoy for free. That’s beneficial.

You’ve probably heard of Singapoliday, the campaign that hopes Singaporeans will spend on our own businesses in the tourism industry.

Well, let’s just say it’s not going well.

To rectify that particular issue, DPM Heng announced that he will set aside $320 million to be used for what he calls SingapoRediscovers Vouchers.

Sounds cheem but basically, it’s tourism normal everyday Singaporeans like you and me can use to “revisit” Singapore.

So imagine you want to go to RWS and drink expensive coke. Instead of paying from your own pocket, you can use the vouchers.

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Of course, that’s just an example and nobody knows the details yet because the Ministry of Trade and Industry will do the big reveal next month.

4,000 More Roles To Be Created In Healthcare Sector

The aerospace, aviation and tourism sectors are the hardest hit in this pandemic, given that global travel has crashed to a complete stop.

This is why the government is promising an additional S$187 million to provide cost relief for businesses in these industries.

In fact, they are also creating 4,000 more roles, some permanent and some not, for people in these sectors to re-deploy.

Like air stewardess becoming safe distancing ambassadors.

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Other Financial Help

Previously, low-wage workers who are on the Workfare Income Supplement scheme for 2019 are given $3,000 income relief.

The scheme will be extended to people who were not on the scheme last year, but are on it this year.

Which is great because, for a long time, people have been complaining about the cracks in the help schemes.

Another piece of good news: for those who were unemployed or had a pay cut due to Covid-19, the Covid-19 Support Grant will be extended to the end of the year (Dec 2020).

Basically, those who lost their jobs can get $800 a month while those who had a pay cut can have some amount of income relief too.

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Here, you can check out this article to find out more about how the scheme works.

You can apply for the support grant from 1 Oct 2020.

Just a fair word of warning, though: if you’re applying as an unemployed individual, you need to show that you’ve been trying hard to get employed for the past few months.

No free lunch in the world mah, right.

The government will also try to find out how else it can support freelancers and those who are currently employed, DPM Heng promised.

More money will also be put in to help firms expand and employ more people, which ultimately creates jobs for people who are willing to work.

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To find out more about the measures that help support businesses, you can read this article.

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Boon Hun
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