Leong Sze Hian asks “Have we lost our way” on National Day

Singapore – While others were celebrating Singapore’s 54th birthday, Leong Sze Hian provided quite a few statistics concerning the country’s current state and asked if Singapore has lost her way.

On August 9 (Friday), prominent blogger and activist Leong Sze Hian aired some concerns on the status of Singapore in line with National Day.

“Have we lost our way?” asked Mr Leong.

He proceeded by noting some statistics such as the rate of unemployment, foreign worker ratio, and the percentage of household income compared to expenditure, to name a few.

Below are the points Mr Leong included in the post:

46 per cent of workers are non-Singaporean (excluding new citizen workers)

An increase in the unemployment rate for Singaporeans while that of permanent residents  and foreigners has decreased in the first quarter.

One in 10 Singaporeans earns below S$1,000, two in 10 earns S$1,500, three in 10 earns S$2,000 and four in 10 earns S$2,500.

Of those earning below S$1,000. 54.2 per cent have expenditure higher than income while 31.2 below the S$2,000 bracket were spending more than they were earning.

Afterward, Mr Leong looked at the other side of the pendulum – the disclosed numbers of the CPF, HDB, and other institutions.

According to the post, the Central Provident Fund (CPF) makes S$6 billion a year (Returns – Interest to members)

The Housing and Development Board (HDB), on the other hand, “makes money as land costs are charged at market rates,” said Mr Leong.

With regards to healthcare, he noted that Medisave contributions plus interest exceed government operating healthcare expenditure plus withdrawals (expenses and premiums).

Another statistic mentioned was related to education, wherein 30 percent of university students are non-Singaporeans.

Mr Leong added that S$238 million (a decrease of 50% from the last 10 years) worth of scholarships and tuition grants are provided to foreigners and permanent residents.

“Stop making money on CPF, HDB and Healthcare,” urged Mr Leong.

“Jobs for Singaporeans first,” he added.

Read news related to Leong Sze Hian and his case against Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong: Leong Sze Hian makes submission to apex court to appeal striking out of counter-claim against PM Lee

Read news related to the Singapore Democratic Party’s (SDP) proposal in addressing the Singaporean to foreign worker employment ratio: SDP pushes for reform of immigration policy: Hire S’poreans first, retrench S’poreans last

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