Jamus Lim Addresses Challenges Faced by Single Households, Advocates for Policy Changes in Singapore

SINGAPORE — During a house visit, a Sengkang resident spoke to Workers’ Party MP Jamus Lim about the difficulties of running a household as a single person in Singapore.

“Going through life’s travails and tribulations is certainly challenging without a partner; alas, some of this is exacerbated by policies that are designed to encourage family formation, but inadvertently end up making it tougher for those who have not found the right mate in life,” Assoc Prof Lim wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday (Feb 12).

He also wrote that these are some of the issues that The Workers’ Party has spoken up about on a number of occasions to make things easier for this group.

The Sengkang GRC MP brought up one specific area, which is related to a motion in Parliament discussed last week regarding accessible and affordable housing.

In September of last year, fellow Sengkang MP Louis Chua made the case for lowering BTO (Built To Order) eligibility age to 28 for singles.

Mr Chua said that by 28, most people in Singapore would have had opportunities to “lead independent lives and steady their financial footing”.

He reiterated in the same speech, however, that the most pressing issue is the supply and availability of homes.

“I would like to implore the Government to take urgent and decisive steps to increase the availability of public housing and address the current demand-supply imbalance, to ensure that the housing demand of all Singaporeans, not just singles, can be met,” Mr Chua, an equity research analyst in a financial institution that covers the real estate industry, said.

Assoc Prof Lim added in his Feb 12 post, “We’ve also called for an equalization of housing options for single parents, and state benefits available to such families, more generally. We will continue to explore ways where we can represent the needs of singles within our society, without inadvertently creating disincentives for family formation. #SengkangGRC“

/TISG

Read also: 

Jamus Lim: Resident shares concerns over migrant professionals crowding out locals – Singapore News 

Resident talks to Jamus Lim about challenges singles face in Singapore 

Resident tells Jamus Lim that higher prices are “too close, too many, can’t breathe” – Singapore News 

In Parliament: Jamus Lim says house prices are too high; ‘reboot’ that offers more choices needed