Social Welfare Department short-handed

The Gelang Patah member of Parliment Tan Ah Eng’s service centre received some 1,648 applications seeking for financial assistance from the Social Welfare Department for the whole of last year.

The applicants comprised of senior citizens, the disabled and also single parents.

Tan’s special officer, Goh Teck Kuan, said that out of the 1,648 applications, about 150 are yet to be processed.

He said, some of the applications date as far back as 2009.

The department, according to him, is now short of officers who can verify and approve all the applications.

Goh said four registration exercises were held last year with the Social Welfare Department, and the response was good.

He was speaking to reporters during the ongoing Social Welfare financial assistance registration exercise here yesterday.

They received about 200 applications and he urged those eligible for financial assistance to register at the service centre.

Goh also advised applicants to always check with the Social Welfare Department on their application status from time to time.