A father of two young children lost his job and reached out to Seah Kian Peng, Member of Parliament for Marine Parade GRC for help. With Mr Seah’s assistance, the man secured a new job and restored his financial stability to support his family.
Mr Seah, 63, Speaker of Parliament, has been overseeing Braddell Heights constituency since joining politics in 2006. In an interview with Petir, he shared an early encounter with a man in his late forties seeking help at his Meet-the-People session (MPS). The man was unemployed and needed to support his family.
“We initially provided him with social assistance to tide him over,” Mr Seah said. “I continued to meet him regularly. We were able to secure a more permanent job for him. In fact, he took on two jobs, one of which was as a pump attendant during the evenings.”
Mr Seah and his team continued to support the man. In recent years, although the man stopped coming to MPS, Mr Seah bumped into him occasionally. During a recent house visit, Mr Seah met the the man, who proudly shared that one son had begun working, while the other was in university.
“He looks and is doing much better now,” Mr Seah remarked. “He told me, ‘As you can see, I’m doing okay now.’ These little things truly make everything worthwhile.”
“If I can make a difference to someone’s life, be it an individual or a family, it is very, very gratifying. This motivates not just me, but also my team, many of whom volunteered well before 2006. Being able to make lives better for others is a privilege and a blessing.”
Having received help many years ago, Mr Seah encourages others to lend a hand when possible.
“We shouldn’t be shy about receiving help because our life journey is not a straight line. We do need help from time to time. But at the same time, when we can help, we should step forward and lend a helping hand.”
Residents benefit from community’s ground-up initiatives
Over the years, the Braddell Heights community has started ground-up initiatives, like the weekly lunch pack programme. Since 2014, residents and volunteers gather at a local coffee shop to distribute 50 to 100 meals to identified families every Saturday. The meals are sponsored by the coffee shop operator. “I’m very appreciative of this and other ground-up efforts,”Mr Seah said.
Mr Seah’s team has also introduced a localised financial assistance scheme similar to the government’s ComCare scheme. It is backed by local sponsors.
“ComCare has certain criteria, which means there will always be some who fall outside [these criteria], and SSO (Social Service Office) cannot justify [its] support. But there could be other circumstances which need to be considered. We need to help this group, and the extra funds allow us to do that,” he explained.
The scheme allows Mr Seah’s team to provide immediate assistance to individuals who may not meet the ComCare criteria, or require extra support while awaiting ComCare disbursements.”
The team also runs a monthly food ration programme supported by private donors, including Mr Seah’s acquaintances. This long standing programme has been in place since he became an MP.
Reflecting on the challenges he faced, Mr Seah stressed the importance of giving his utmost to help residents resolve their issues, no matter how intricate they may be.
“Every person or family has unique circumstances and challenges,” he noted. “Many Singaporeans generally prefer to solve their own issues. But when they do seek help, we should listen attentively and understand. After we understand the issues they face, we do our best to help them.”
Mr Seah added, “In some cases, we can solve the problem; in others, we can’t. Regardless, we should and must always give our best effort. If we didn’t get a positive outcome, it should not be due to a lack of trying.”
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