Ang Mo Kio GRC Member of Parliament Darryl David recently shared in a radio show by MONEY FM 89.3 that he hasn’t encountered any couple citing high cost as a deterrent to starting a family and having children. This was part of REACH and the Ministry of Finance’s Pre-Budget Feedback Exercise on Budget themes such as caring for the vulnerable, young families and support for businesses.
However, it appears that MP David seems oblivious to the results of the Marriage and Parenthood (M&P) Survey commissioned by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) which stated that 61% of the respondents have cited financial cost as the top reason they do not want to have any or more children.
We recently ran a story regarding this and many netizens feel that MP David is not aware of the real situation of Singaporeans as he only surrounds himself with the wealthy crowd.
Some netizens even mocked his ignorance and said that he lives inside a rock.
To help MP David, Facebook user Cynthia Chan gave him an overview of how expensive it is to pay for quality education for children in Singapore. She said, “Parents have to pay premium and put their child in a better school and have a better early start. The cost of private pre school for a toddler is comparable to the salary of a general worker.” Therefore, she feels cost is definitely a considerable factor to staring a family.
On the other hand, Teh Garett said that his colleague, both husband and wife earns more than S$10, 000, and they are still not having a second child due to cost. In fact, the couple don’t even own a car.
We also ran a poll on our Facebook page asking users if they think MP David lives in his ivory tower for assuming high cost is not deterring Singaporeans from starting a family.
At the time of writing, we have received 550 votes, and 96% of netizens agree that he lives in his ivory with only 4% think otherwise. If you’ve not voted, click on the link below and let us know what you think.
