Speech at Farewell Dinner of the 22nd ASEAN Social Security Association (ASSA) Board Meeting

Mr Hawazi Daipi, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Manpower , Health, Holiday Inn Atrium Singapore

Dr Rey B. Aquino
Chairman
ASEAN Social Security Association (ASSA)

Mr Liew Heng San
Chief Executive Officer
Central Provident Fund Board (CPFB)

ASSA Delegates

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good evening. First, let me first congratulate ASSA on the celebration of your 10th Anniversary.

Introduction

2.   Since ASSA was established in February 1998, it has witnessed an increase in membership and has forged meaningful ties and cooperation among the regional social security organisations. As a non-government organisation, ASSA has promoted the development of social security in the region, in consonance with the aspirations, laws and regulations of the member countries.

Helping vulnerable groups

3.   Moving forward, ASSA will continue to play a useful role. One common challenge facing many ASEAN economies today is helping vulnerable workers - those who need assistance with employment, and to meet their retirement, housing and healthcare needs.

4.   The last 10 years has seen a number of significant events such as the Asian Financial Crisis and SARS. ASEAN has also felt the effects of globalisation and labour migration. Some countries like Singapore, have a rapidly ageing population. Each country has responded in its own way to meet these challenges. There is thus scope for ASSA members to share with one another their experiences in addressing these challenges.

5.   Let me give a Singapore example. To deal with the impact of globalisation on low wage workers, Singapore introduced the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) Scheme. This encourages low wage workers to work and to help them build up their retirement adequacy. It extends the social safety net to low wage workers, by getting them to be active contributors to the retirement system and in return receiving an income supplement. In this way, we preserve the values of self-reliance and the work ethic while gaining a way to reach out to this vulnerable group.

6.   Nevertheless, we are still learning how to make this scheme work better. We would be interested to understand your countries' experiences in improving the coverage of your social security system.

Conclusion

7.   Lastly, let me take this opportunity to wish ASSA many more years of success and may we all benefit from learning the best practices of social security systems from one another. And to all our foreign delegates, I wish you a pleasant stay in Singapore and a safe journey home. Thank you.