Recent house visits have served to underline to Workers’ Party Member of Parliament Louis Chua (Sengkang GRC) that inflation is a concern for many Singaporeans, not just for low-income households.
Mr Chua wrote in a July 1 (Friday) Facebook post that he had visited mostly five-room and EA (Executive Apartment) units at Rivervale, the ward he represents, the night before.
An EA is a “plus-sized” flat with five rooms, which have additional space for a study or a maid’s room, and often include a balcony.
The MP wrote that one of the residents from these units was happy to have a chance to meet with him and his team directly, adding that they “were doing ok in general and didn’t see a need to look for us at our MPS (Meet the People Sessions).”
Mr Chua added, however, that even if they are better off than others, “nonetheless they still have some concerns, one of which is that they seem to belong to a ‘forgotten’ group of people, who don’t get much direct financial support.”
He then proceeded to share some stories of the residents from the units.
One woman, a former employee of the travel industry, lost her job but continued to upskill. She still appeared to count herself fortunate, since she was re-hired by a former boss, at much lower pay, while many of her former classmates are still unemployed.
They also met an older man, a hawker centre stall holder. He told the MP and his team that in spite of the rising price of food, especially cooking oil, “he’s trying his best to minimize price increases and chooses to earn less instead.”
“Above all, inflation and the rising cost of living remains a rising concern not just for the low income, but for many Singaporeans, even though not everyone may be particularly vocal about it,” the MP noted.
A report from Nomura Holdings last month said that food prices in Asia, especially in Singapore, South Korea and the Philippines, are expected to increase even more in the second half of 2022.
Food inflation in Singapore is expected to double to 8.2 percent in the year’s second half.
In May, in a sober note in a Nikkei Asia interview, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong warned that inflation could become problematic worldwide unless certain measures are taken.
Noting the present high rate of inflation as well as the risk of recession, he told Nikkei Editor-in-Chief Tetsuya Iguchi that it was a necessary risk “because if you do not act against inflation that will become a very serious problem for the world.”
/TISG