Murali Pillai on Maintenance of Parents (Amendment) Bill

The law on the maintenance of parents deals with difficult questions and the proposed amendments provide practical answers, said MP Murali Pillai. Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday (Jul 4), he said the proposed changes are Singapore’s response to questions which rest on its collective values. Firstly, there remains a tie between the child and the parent, and this allows a basis to consider cases as falling under the law while underlining the importance of family in the Singapore context. Secondly, the law is quite clear on the moral basis for the duties of the parent and rests on whether he or she has fulfilled a minimum level of care to the child. Thirdly, the law does not circumscribe the Government’s commitment to a citizen, with a fairly neutral lens into his or her parenting profile. “This law underwrites a fact of public life - one which obliges us to use our tax dollars to maintain a man who has abused his children. And so, in this instance, it can be said that our obligations to each other, at least in dollar terms, exceed that of even a child to his father. I see this as a strength - that this law both limits the obligations of a child towards his abusive parent and spells out our obligations to each other as fellow citizens,” he said.