An uproar has occurred online following Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam's comments in Parliament on Thursday.
He had said that it's possible for Singaporeans to buy a small HDB flat with a monthly income of $1,000.
DPM Tharman had said this in response to a speech that Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Gerald Giam made on Wednesday, 29 Feb, when he said that economic growth should go hand-in-hand with fairer distribution of wealth. He also added that younger Singaporeans from low-income households continue to find it hard to afford a HDB flat.
In response, DPM Tharman told Mr Giam to "catch up" with the "major moves" the government had already made in the past five years.
He said, "A family with a $1,000 income can now, through our housing subsidies, purchase a small flat."
He continued, "Of course, if you have $1,200 or $1,500, you can purchase a medium size flat."
The government currently has schemes to help low income families, including a Additional Housing grant of up to $40,000 and a Special Housing Grant of up to $20,000.
A netizen, 'Chiong', agreed with DPM Tharman, pointing out that a two-room flat could be bought for about $100 a month on a 30-year loan, according to the HDB website.
But other netizens point out that even if one can afford a small flat with a $1,000-a-month salary, the person will still have a hard time with "electric bills, gas, water and furniture installments".
One netizen 'Marill' worked out the math.
In a scenario where a person earning $1,300 a month buys a "medium size" three-room flat, he would have to pay about $474 a month (according to the HDB website), for 30 years.
The person would be left with about $800 a month to survive , and have no money in his CPF account at the end of 30 years.
ORIGINAL SOURCE
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