In his maiden National Day Rally address
on August 18, Wong introduced the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme, designed to provide temporary financial assistance to lower- and middle-income workers who have lost their jobs.
The initiative offers up to S$6,000 (US$4,580) over six months for training and career coaching, marking a notable shift in Singapore’s traditionally cautious approach to welfare policies.
But Chong Ja Ian, a political scientist from the National University of Singapore, said he doesn’t think “the public really feels the PAP’s efforts quite as fully as the PAP may prefer as yet”.