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After speaking to a Bangladeshi man on the MRT, a netizen was surprised to learn that the former managed to build a 3-storey house.

In a post to Facebook group Singapore: Pitfalls and Reviews, a netizen who goes by the name of Victor Chan wrote that he had a small conversation with a Bangladeshi man on the MRT.

Mr Chan said that the Bangladeshi man worked here in Singapore, earning a salary of $3000 a month.

“He showed me a picture of his newly built 3-storey home+land all-in for S$60,000”, Mr Chan added.

While Mr Chan’s post itself was fairly short, it stirred up sentiments about the cost of living in Singapore as compared to that of other countries. Netizens who commented on the post also spoke about how expensive housing here is.

Here’s what they said:

At the beginning of the year, in his New Year’s Day Message, Workers’ Party Secretary-General Pritam Singh underlined that cost of living would be a “major pressure point” for many households in the coming year.

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Mr Singh, who is also the Leader of the Opposition, said in a message that was posted on The Workers’ Party’s Facebook page and on its Telegram channel on the last day of 2021 that increased cost of living rates would affect low to middle-income families, especially those with both elderly relatives and young children to take care of.

This, aside from the unpredictability of COVID-19,” will make “2022 will be a year of new challenges for Singapore and Singaporeans,” the WP head said.

He outlined basic needs which now have higher costs, including electricity, transport, A&E hospital charges, and medical insurance premiums, and added that these “cost pressures that are likely to become more acute going forward.”

Mr Singh also mentioned the housing problem, as “HDB BTO prices remain high for younger Singaporeans, with resale flats even further out of reach for many.” 

HOWEVER, HE UNDERLINED THE WP’S COMMITMENT TO MONITOR THE GOVERNMENT’S EFFORTS TO AID SINGAPOREANS IN NEED OF THE MOST HELP; “AND HOW IT UPGRADES ITS LEGACY SCHEMES FOR THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF TODAY AND TOMORROW, NOT YESTERDAY.”

He also said the party would continue in its mission “to provide a trusted alternative to voters and act as a balancing force in our political system” and highlighted some of the motions WP MPs have moved this year, including those related to HDB reform. /TISG

Pritam Singh highlights cost of living as ‘major pressure point’ for many households in 2022