BY KENNY CHEE

SINGAPORE'S Workfare scheme and efforts to diversify its trade were commended by a senior United Nations (UN) official yesterday.

In particular, other Asian nations could consider learning from the country's Workfare scheme, said UN Assistant Secretary-General Ajay Chhibber.

He added that Asia needs better social- protection policies for its people as one way for the region to grow in a more equitable and sustainable manner.

"In this regard, Singapore has a very interesting Workfare scheme. It's very different from welfare schemes of Europe," he said.

Singapore has a Workfare Income Supplement scheme that tops up the salaries of low-wage earners.

"(Singapore's scheme) offers a better way forward, or an interesting example at the least, for many countries in Asia, and may fit Asian realities better than traditional European-style welfare schemes," added Dr Chhibber.

He did not elaborate, but Singapore's scheme is more targeted than European welfare schemes generally are.

Dr Chhibber was speaking at the launch of a UN Development Programme report at Singapore's Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (Iseas).

The report urged Asian nations to eschew heavily export-dependent models of growth, which it said was unsustainable as developed Western economies were weighed down with much debt.

Instead, Asian countries should direct growth by spurring domestic demand and fostering intra-regional trade.

"Greater trade integration within developing Asia is becoming an important avenue for future economic expansion of the region," said Dr Chhibber, who is also director of the UN Development Programme's Asia and Pacific regional bureau.

"And here, I must say Singapore's own efforts to shift towards China and India, away from the United States and Europe, deserve special mention."

Ms Sanchita Basu Das, a visiting research fellow at Iseas, said that while the US is still a significant market for Singapore, she believes the Republic's trade diversification into Asia has helped the country "come out much faster (from the downturn) than earlier anticipated".

She added that in adapting Singapore's Workfare scheme, other Asian nations could start at a provincial level before extending it nationwide to tweak the scheme to their own unique settings.

kennyc@sph.com.sg

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