Economic downturn Abuse of Temporary Relief Fund
The government implemented the Temporary Relief Fund to give a payment of $500 to lower to middle income citizens and permanent residents who face financial difficulty due to income loss caused by the covid-19 crisis. Details here. 

Two problems arose from this scheme:

a) There were reports that some people were abusing the scheme by sending fake pay slips about their income to meet the qualifications

b) Some workers reported that they were working day and night in entering the data of the tens of thousand applications that have been received.

I find this type of scheme to be ridiculous. We have adopted this approach from similar schemes in the past and have to handle similar abuses. Many applicants do not quality but they submitted their application to try their luck.

What is a better approach?

I prefer the relief to be in the form of a loan. There is no need for any income criteria. Any applicant can submit a request for a relief loan of $500, which is actually a small sum. The amount will be paid immediately and it will be a loan that needs to be repaid in the future. As it is a loan, the abuse is likely to be small, while giving the relief to the applicant.

There is no need to verify income and to view documents. The only check is that the applicant has a NRIC card and has appeared in person to apply for the loan. A photo can be taken for verification.

A better approach is to implement the income relief loan that I describe here. It can be done as soon as possible. Click here. 

Heng SK - for your attention.

Tan Kin Lian

Vote - do you agree with my approach to offer a loan that is not tied to income?

 

Add Comment

---