News

After a two-year hiatus, it was good to be back at the annual Purple Parade on Oct 29 supporting inclusion and celebrating the abilities of persons with disabilities (PWDs). The Purple Parade is special to me because the first time I attended it, five years ago, was also the year I began connecting with the disability community. While the Purple Parade has a good motive, what matters more is how society treats PWDs in everyday life. In this regard, huge gaps remain, partly due to some employers and service providers going against the general direction towards inclusion. For example, people with autism still face difficulties purchasing insurance even though this issue was brought up two years ago and was addressed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Ministry of Social and Family Development. It is good that MAS has said that insurers should not outright reject people with autism, but insurers do not always comply. Recently, an insurer, through its financial representative, told me “no policy is available” for me, after I disclosed my autism. I was not even given a chance to submit an application until MAS intervened. Thanks to MAS’ intervention, the outcome for my application was favourable this time. For two years, the insurer administering the Dependants’ Protection Scheme (DPS) has retained the blanket exclusions on all mental health conditions for my DPS coverage, despite appeals I made through MAS and my MP. PWDs should not be denied full access to this basic protection which gives them a sense of dignity and independence. Apparently, insurers impose similar exclusions on corporate insurance benefits too. In the same vein, many employers are not hiring and retaining PWDs despite being educated on the good business reasons to do so. To uphold the spirit of the Purple Parade, and to progress as a nation in the Forward Singapore exercise, it is imperative to correct the non-inclusive behaviour of various parties. We need government intervention to deal with such parties who are pushing Singapore backwards in our journey towards greater inclusion. Don’t let these black sheep weaken our social compact.