How Singapore’s NGOs are alleviating the inequality caused by government policies and its demographic structure

菁英小記者 汪奕彤 劉薇禛平 張禹

Abstract：

This paper was conducted to investigate the significance of non governmentalorganisations （NGOs） in Singapore and address the hypothesis on how “NGOs can help to alleviate the existing social inequality in Singapore”.

From previous research papers， the difference between the role of government and the society was not explicitly addressed. To achieve these objectives and improve from previous work， data on NGOs was collected using these 3 methods： government documents， web search， and survey responses. The findings demonstrated the key characteristics of NGOs that set them apart from government initiatives， proving that NGOs can help to fill up the gaps in current government policies and alleviate social inequality.

Choice of topic

Singapore is currently facing a rapidly aging population. In response， the government has implemented various policies.

These policies also have their setbacks as not all Singapore citizens will be covered. Many foreign workers do not get to enjoy social security schemes such as the Central Provident Fund. Indeed， government policies alone are insufficient to alleviate the inequality gap. A combined effort will be more effective in the long term. To tackle these limitations， local non governmentalorganisations （NGOs） are increasing.

Data Collection

In this paper， I utilized the following three major sources for data collection.

Government documents：

This includes government regulations and laws for the NGOs in Singapore. Information about the Central Provident Fund can also be found from the government websites. This source provides an unbiased perspective on NGOs as information is collected from Singapore authorities .

Web search of NGOs：

When conducting the research through NGOs websites， many NGOs have been analysed by looking at their missions， target group and their aims. By going to each organizations website， I can provide a more comprehensive overview of the organisation and its objective.

Survey：

The survey was conducted as an online survey so that respondents can easily access the questions from the websites link. I have selected the respondents based on their exposure to NGOs in Singapore. The majority of the respondents are students who will definitely have some experience with NGOs or similar organisations due to compulsory service hours under the Ministry Of Education that they need to fulfill every year. This allows them to have sufficient personal experience and adequate awareness about the Singapore society to provide more insightful responses.

Survey summary

Based on this survey， it is obvious that most of the participants do acknowledge NGOs efforts and contributions. Most respondents are optimistic towards Singapores NGOs and believe that they do act as an equaliser in the society that helps to fill up the gaps in the current society. While such NGOs are welcomed in the society， it is crucial to acknowledge its potential pitfalls. NGOs do experience more difficulties in terms of publicising their initiatives， attracting volunteers and raising funds from the general public as raised by survey respondents. These factors can affect the overall effectiveness of their initiatives and hence restricting NGOs from maximising their impacts. Strict regulations will remain necessary to supervise the various NGOs to ensure they meet the guidelines in place and prevent corruption from occurring. Government policies remain the more popular option for Singaporeans as they are highly effective and trustworthy. But when minority groups are not included in government policies， NGOs provide essential support to these groups and fill up the gaps in existing government policies.

Singapore NGOs

All NGOs in Singapore have altruistic objectives and are dedicated to the welfare of others. The main objectives of these organisations primarily revolve around the less affluent individuals or the minority groups in Singapore.

Most of the NGOs have more specific beneficiaries. These organisations demonstrated how they aim to improve the lives of particular groups. These initiatives can provide more support for the minority groups compared to government policies. Indeed， it is impossible for the Singapore government to reach out to every single individual in the society. The NGOs serve as an equaliser to ensure every individual in the society is protected and supported.

The Singapore government adopts strict regulations and laws to ensure the quality of NGOs. To set up an NGO， the organizations main purpose should not have any commercial or monetary profit.

Conclusion：

Based on the survey result and available data， the hypothesis that “NGOs can help to alleviate the existing social inequality in Singapore” is proved. From the list of active NGOs， it shows that NGOs do help to alleviate social inequality. By targeting the specific minority groups in the Singapore society， NGOs ensure that every Singaporen is taken care of regardless of their backgrounds and nationality. It allows individuals who are unaware or not qualified for government initiatives to receive proper social and community assistance to improve the standard of living of every Singapore citizen. By ensuring that nobody is left behind， NGOs are the levellers that provide an equal playing field for every citizen. The unique demographic and economic structure also made these organisations crucial for the society. Society needs to recognise that NGOs do have their limitations such as lack of funds， volunteers and publicity. These setbacks will reduce the effectiveness of NGOs initiatives. However， it is still necessary for the society to acknowledge the contribution made by the NGOs that have contributed positively to Singapore. The NGOs also demonstrated the unique Singapore identity where many Singaporean is willing to help others in the society.

汪奕彤

年齡：19

城市：新加坡

就讀學(xué)校：新加坡萊福士初級學(xué)院

年級：二年級

目標(biāo)專業(yè)：商業(yè)

在完成這篇論文的過程中，我學(xué)到了許多專業(yè)性的知識，以及搜索數(shù)據(jù)的技巧，還有如何運用論文資源去完善自己的論文。我通過這項研究對新加坡的社會及社會問題也有了更深入的了解。在這個過程中，我不但對新加坡產(chǎn)生了興趣，也了解了當(dāng)?shù)氐脑S多機構(gòu)和政府部門。最重要的是，我逐漸找到了自己對商業(yè)和人類學(xué)的熱愛。枯燥的研究報告也逐漸變得更加有趣。 通過不斷的潤色和打磨，我也學(xué)會了如何去呈現(xiàn)一篇優(yōu)秀的論文。無論是在以后的學(xué)業(yè)上還是工作上，我相信這個獨特的經(jīng)歷會對我?guī)韱?發(fā)。