Ms Sylvia Lim (Aljunied): Sir, last July, the House debated a Motion on sporting success filed by the Workers’ Party. I would like to follow up on the issue of how we could show our recognition and gratitude to our retired national athletes.
How can we show that we have not forgotten the contributions and personal sacrifices of those who have brought us such exhilaration and joy, as well as shared anguish, competing against the best in the region and, indeed, the world? Today, I will touch on two points: (a) helping retired athletes to transit to a work career; and (b) providing healthcare support.
On helping athletes to transit to viable careers after competition, there was a Parliamentary answer given in November 2017 on how the Ministry supported the career plans of athletes who had given up their jobs to focus on certain regional competitions. I note that Sport Singapore has had its spexBusiness programme for the last 10 years. Under spexBusiness, partner corporations commit to empower athletes to take charge of their future through a dual career opportunity and prepare them for a successful transition into life after sports. What is MCCY’s assessment of the scheme thus far? Are there other similar schemes?
Secondly, at last year’s debate, I had suggested that the Government consider providing an additional layer of healthcare subsidies to these athletes after they have stopped representing Singapore. I had highlighted that much more is now known about the health conditions associated with sports, not just the usual knee and strain injuries we are familiar with, but also brain injuries caused by certain contact sports. As these conditions will remain with our retired athletes for the duration of their lives, I had called for some additional help for them to foot such healthcare bills. I had suggested that a task force be formed to look into the feasibility of this. Is the Government looking into this possibility?
The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (Mr Eric Chua): To Ms Sylvia Lim’s suggestion regarding former national athletes, our consistent approach is to support our athletes’ transition into retirement from the competitive sporting careers by helping them find good employment. Active and retired athletes can also tap on various programmes, including spexEducation and spexBusiness, as elaborated by the Minister in his speech earlier. But we will explore how we can support them better.
The Chairman: Ms Sylvia Lim.
Ms Sylvia Lim (Aljunied): Thank you, Chair. I have a clarification for Senior Parliamentary Secretary Chua on supporting retired athletes. Earlier on, he ended off that response with this open-ended statement to say that the Ministry would explore how we could support former athletes better. I would like him to clarify whether this includes possibly looking at how we can support the healthcare needs of our retired athletes, especially for conditions which were associated with their sporting careers, because I think it is a very meaningful gesture that society can make.
Mr Eric Chua: Sir, I thank the Member for her clarification. The short answer is yes, because we are looking at how we can support our retired athletes more holistically.
Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth
6 March 2024 & 7 March 2024
https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/#/sprs3topic?reportid=budget-2391
https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/#/sprs3topic?reportid=budget-2406
Office of the Leader of the Opposition 