Friday 27 February 2015

[Straits Times] Provide separate income data on citizens, PRs

IT WAS a delight to read Ms Radha Basu's commentary ("Make foreigners, PRs count in income data"; yesterday).

I had written a similar letter in The Straits Times Forum ("Employment rate: More data, please"; Dec 3, 2013) , calling on the Government to distinguish between citizens and permanent residents when publishing income data, including those for households.

However, I did not see a reply to my letter, and this year's statistics continue to lump such data under the umbrella of "Singapore residents".

It would be timely for the Government to explain why the data has not been made more transparent, given the difference in income levels highlighted by Ms Basu.

If there are concerns that such transparency would cause further divisions in society, it would seem more effective for the authorities to introduce measures to close any gaps, rather than keep the picture vague.

Chong Yi Ming