Ministry of Social & Family Dev Challenge to raise a family
A permanent resident working in Singapore told me.

a) They have two children. It cost $2,500 a month to send a child to child care, without any subsidy for permanent resident. This is extremely expensive. They cannot afford the child care, so they have to look after the children at home.

b) He does not wish to register his son as a permanent resident as he will be required to serve national service.

c) He and is wife intend to go back to work in Malaysia in the near future. His wife is also a permanent resident in Singapore.

I am sure that many citizens will say - okay, we do not need these kind of permanent residents. Let them return to their own country.

Instead of taking this shallow minded approach, let us consider the changes that are needed to make life more manageable for citizens and permanent residents.

Some of the changes are:

a) Reduce the duration of full time and reservist national service, so that it does not impose a heavy burden for citizens and still allow our nation to have a credible defense force.

b) Reduce the cost of living, and in this case, the cost of child care.

We should reflect on the following fact. The financial stress that this family has to face also affect our citizens.

That is why we have such a low birth rate among citizens in Singapore. Many young people have decided that they cannot afford to raise a family here.

Tan Kin Lian
 

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