Abstract:
Wing-Cheong Chan is an Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore, Singapore; LL.M. 1993,
Cornell University; B.A. (Hons.) 1990, University of Oxford. Abstract: When the legislation to impose a financial obligation on adult children
to provide for their aged parents was introduced in Singapore in 1994, it generated heated
public debate which polarized the population. Several criticisms of this proposal
emerged: it subsumed the Asian value of filial piety in a legalistic, Western framework; it
was unnecessary given the small number of parents being neglected by their children; and
it was an undesirable intrusion into family life.
Nonetheless, the proposal managed to gain enough Parliamentary support to be
referred to a Select Committee. Several adjustments to the proposed legislation were
made to take into account these criticisms. The Maintenance of Parents Act ("MPA")
was eventually passed by the Singapore Parliament on November 2, 1995. It came into
effect on June 1, 1996.
This article will examine the MPA in terms of the scope of this duty, the conditions
under which the duty would arise, and the extent to which state interference in an area as
private as the family may be acceptable to the public. It concludes by advancing some
tentative suggestions as to why a substantial number of elderly Singaporeans have
resorted to the MPA, contrary to the belief of some at the time of its passage and the
experience of other countries with similar legislation.
