Applications for and Enhancements to MUIS' Financial Assistance Schemes

Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap asked the Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs (a) for each year from 2011 to 2013, what is the average monthly number of feedback received by MUIS on their financial assistance scheme(s); (b) what are the most common areas of concern; and (c) what procedures and processes has MUIS put in place to enhance the services rendered to needy families.

Madam, the Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS) provides a range of assistance to needy Muslims, including monthly cash assistance and food vouchers as well as one-off assistance, to help pay off outstanding debts for basic necessities, such as utility bills and conservancy charges, academic support and burial expenses. MUIS also helps Muslim families through other support schemes, such as the Empowerment Partnership Scheme (EPS), to help our zakat families attain self-reliance; PROMAS, which is the Progress fund Madrasah Assistance Scheme, provides financial assistance for full-time madrasah students; and the Islamic Education Fund that provides an education fee subsidy for part-time madrasah studies at the mosques. These assistance schemes and programmes are available at the mosques and madrasahs, as well as partner-organisations, to allow greater accessibility for those in need.

MUIS will, typically, advise prospective applicants on their eligibility for zakat financial assistance. The number of applicants has risen slightly over recent years: in 2012, MUIS received 5,210 applications; in 2013, 5,306 applications; and in 2014, 5,454 applications. Within this period, MUIS approved an average of 99% of these applications each year. Unsuccessful applicants might have sought help on matters for which MUIS does not have

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an assistance scheme. In such instances, MUIS would refer the applicants to the appropriate public agency.

Madam, in deciding on the per capita income cap, firstly, MUIS takes into consideration the sustainability of the assistance scheme in the longer term. Secondly, MUIS' zakat financial assistance is meant to supplement the existing national assistance schemes, such as ComCare, and to help those who need it most. MUIS took into account these considerations last year, when it raised the monthly PCI cap from $300 to $350 to extend the support to more families and increased the amount of assistance to each eligible family.

Between 2011 and 2013, MUIS received, on average, about 125 enquiries or items of feedback about its financial assistance schemes every month. These were either received directly by MUIS or via the enhanced mosque clusters. Issues ranged from general queries about MUIS' financial assistance schemes, to specific queries by zakat recipients on the status of their assistance.

MUIS studies feedback received from the public as well as from Social Development Officers at our mosques. It regularly reviews the adequacy of its current financial assistance schemes and studies social trends and challenges faced by needy households so as to enhance its schemes and services. As part of this process, MUIS has trained over 520 Mosque Befrienders to conduct regular home visits to long-term zakat recipients so as to better understand and respond to their needs.

Thank you, Madam. I would like to thank the Minister for his response. I have three supplementary questions. I would like to know how often MUIS conducts reviews on its financial assistance scheme criteria. The Minister mentioned just now that the last review was conducted in July last year. I would also like to know when was the last review prior to the one in July 2014. My third question is: who are the personnel involved in the review process?

Madam, as mentioned by the Member, the last time we reviewed this was last year, in July 2014. I cannot remember specifically when we did the one before that, but we do this on an annual basis, looking at the trends at the national level. The personnel involved are the MUIS officers, together in consultation with our Board members who are in the zakat committee. We also used the feedback that we receive and from the general trends taking place at the national level.

Mdm Speaker, I have three supplementary questions for the Minister.

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One, where does MUIS get the majority of its funding for its financial assistance programme? Two, would a person be denied financial assistance from MUIS if he or she has been receiving financial assistance from other organisations? Three, recently, there were allegations that some families were denied financial assistance from MUIS but received financial assistance from other religious organisations. What was the outcome of MUIS' investigations into this issue?

Madam, all of our financial assistance schemes are being funded by the zakat fund. Everything else that we collect goes into the general fund which is meant for the purpose of running MUIS. No one will be denied financial assistance if they meet our criteria. They may have received assistance from ComCare or any other national agency, but if they come to MUIS, and if they meet our criteria, we will give them the assistance. As I had mentioned in my reply, the approach is really for us to take advantage of what is available at the national level before coming to MUIS; we will complement that.

On the allegations that the Member mentioned, I am not sure exactly which one the Member is referring to. We receive many of those. But the one that I think that the Member was referring to that was circulating online recently. We have investigated and found that there is no truth at all to those allegations. In fact, the family has been assisted by MUIS.