Could a ‘two Singapores’ scenario play out as middle-class residents feel the squeeze?
- Recent focus on the country’s wealth gap has put a ‘two Singapores’ scenario in the spotlight as citizens grapple with higher costs, competition
- Opposition party chief Pritam Singh has warned such a schism could ‘easily become a reality that causes friction in society’
Of late, Singaporeans have been seeing a lot about their country in international media headlines.
The city state’s emergence as the stand-out star of post-pandemic recovery in Asia has drawn global attention to the wave of super-rich families parking their millions in family offices, surging sales of Rolls-Royce, and skyrocketing golf membership fees.
Carmen Wee, a Singaporean in her mid-fifties, said the news about the global elite flocking to her home country – dubbed the “Switzerland of Asia” – contrasted sharply with her own concerns, such as how the watercress that she uses to make porridge had doubled in price.
Wee said she was especially concerned for her nieces and nephews, who would soon graduate and face steep costs of living, from day-to-day items like local hawker food to large purchases like public housing flats.
“It’s not just about work for them, but work, play, family and how they feel about the country. I think we must never lose that and make sure we protect that for them,” she said. “Otherwise, there’s always another country that can attract them with a better quality of life and less stress.”
This idea of “two Singapores” – one where high salaries, a cosmopolitan lifestyle and global work opportunities abound, and a second with prevailing perceptions of slowing social mobility and rising housing prices – was raised in parliament during the country’s recent budget debate.