Only a sizable minority disagreed with the Government’s decision to increase water prices, the government feedback unit REACH said in a statement on 22 March. REACH said that its poll showed that 43% of respondents disagreed, 32% agreed, and 24% were neutral.

The Government explained that the increase in water prices was to fund the higher costs of water production and to encourage water conservation. REACH said in its statement:

“Many Singaporeans had initially shared their unhappiness on the increased water prices. But after various agencies and political office holders had explained the increase, more people at our (Learning Points) at the end of February and March said that they supported the increase. They understood the rationale behind the move and accepted that water is vital to our country’s survival and that it should be priced properly.”

REACH polled 1,111 Singapore citizens aged 20 and above, who were selected at random and weighted to be demographically representative of the national population in terms of gender, age and race. The estimated margin of error is 2.9 percent at a 95 percent confidence level.