Annual report on the Malayan Union.

Date:
[1948]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report on the Malayan Union. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    136/234 (page 108)
    The murder of Mr. A. M. Blake of the Serendah Boys’ Home at the hands of bandits is recorded with regret. The Serendah Boys’ Home, a Grant-aided Institution, was set up by the Government, is managed by the Save the Children Fund and receiving a Govern¬ ment grant. Social Welfare Officers meet any requirement for welfare work anyAvhere in Malaya which cannot be done by other Departments or Voluntary Organisations. General Welfare. The main objective of General Welfare is rehabilitation not cash payment to relieve distress which may do nothing more than subsidise idleness and act as a brake on initiative. Therefore in the place of cash relief the policy has been to introduce : Working Centres ; Encouragement of local industries ; Arrangements for training persons of all ages to earn a living ; Food parcels in lieu of cash relief; Community feeding; Kampong welfare; Security for the aged, infirm, widows, orphans, blind, disabled and destitute. These schemes provide the only form of Public Assistance in Malaya. Decentralisation and Co-operation. As soon as it is possible to provide fully qualified officers decentra¬ lisation under General Welfare will become possible. In practice General Welfare Schemes should be State Schemes put forward by the State for the State. Research. The Department of Social Welfare now has at its disposal much data on social conditions which it intends to collate and publish. The information is provided largely by Social Welfare Officers who are being trained in research methods. Public Assistance. The Department of Social Welfare has improved the efficiency of its Public Assistance work. The scale of assistance remains at the same level as for 1947; $10 per mensem for adults and $5 for children. In 1947 and since the liberation the Central Welfare Council gave valuable help—amounting to nearly a quarter of a million dollars in 1947—to relieve distress. Public Assistance is provided for out of the General Welfare Vote. A break-down of the figures for assistance is given as an appendix to the full report. Much valuable work has been done by all grades of Social Welfare Officers to ensure the success of the Public Assistance Scheme. In 1948 it was possible to pay more attention than previously to rural conditions and to formulate plans for development in 1949.