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SINGAPORE: The Singapore government plans to spend an additional S$700 million a year on measures to boost its flagging birth rate. Currently, it spends about S$900 million a year.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in his National Day Rally speech on Sunday night that a baby brings much joy, but can also be a logistic and financial challenge, so a slew of measures will be implemented by the government to create more time and more funds to help parents cope with their children.
Paid maternity leave will be extended from 12 weeks to 16 weeks, and the extra four weeks can be taken anytime during the baby's first year. It was previously extended from eight to 12 weeks in 2004.
There will also be a larger baby bonus for first-time parents, more tax incentives to encourage mothers to work, more incentives for the fifth and subsequent children, and more financial support for couples who go for In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) treatment.
On top of that, Mr Lee said parenting is not just the mother's responsibility.
"I used to change nappies, in the days before Pampers. So you've actually got to fold the cloth, you've got to put it on, you've got to put the safety pin, I haven't pricked any baby yet. If I can do it, that means anybody can do it," he quipped.
Emphasising that parenting is a job for both parents has influenced some policy changes which he hopes will help to shift attitudes. Childcare leave, which can be claimed by either parent, will be extended from two to six days per year.
There will also be one week of unpaid infant-care leave per year, and mums or dads can claim it until their child turns two years old.
Mr Lee acknowledged that professional women find the cost of not working the highest, and he cited his own mother's work-life choices.
A successful lawyer, Mrs Lee Kuan Yew chose to put her children first, took on fewer cases, avoided evening work functions and ate lunch at home every day with her children.
He said having children is a personal choice, and parents have to decide their own priorities.
The government will help by catering to demand and creating 20,000 places at 200 new childcare centres over the next five years. There will also be more financial support to help kindergartens upgrade their staff and curricula, as well as more financial help for parents.
Mr Lee said: "These measures all add up to a very significant package. We are talking of about maybe S$700 million a year. If more babies are born, it will be more than S$700 million a year. But even that is about double of what we are spending today on child incentives and all together we will have about S$1.6 billion spent a year or 0.6 per cent of GDP."
For many people in Singapore, getting married is the first priority. Mr Lee said the government would do what it could to help, but urged young Singaporeans not to leave it till it is too late and to make time to go out, meet new friends and if necessary, join a dating agency.
Mr Lee also spent some time sharing humorous stories from the feedback he received from dating agencies, including unrealistic expectations and poor social graces.
He announced that the government will merge the Social Development Unit (SDU) which caters to graduates, and the Social Development Service (SDS) for non-graduates to increase matchmaking flexibility and activities.
SDU will also come up with an SDU Trust Mark to ensure that those who prefer using private dating agencies will get quality service.
- CNA/so
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