1. No money - this is by far the greatest fear of most Singaporeans as we don't have welfare benefits like the west. Financial issue is also the top three reasons why our marriages break up and could even be the cause of many suicides here. Many people fear for their employment here as without a job everything else will go down the drain.
2. No house - housing remains the top few concerns of most Singaporeans as a brand new BTO flat costs $250,000 upwards in a remote area. Many singles can only buy a resale flat from the open market which is at least 25% above the cost of a BTO flat in the prevailing area. Single mums face a greater challenge to own a home with their kids as they have to pay the mortgage entirely on their own. Many single mums bunk in with their parents and their dream is to own a flat of their own.
3. No degree - having a degree is like a must-have now and many parents sell their flats in order to fulfill the dream of their children and also their own in the quest for higher tertiary education. Currently, only 28% of our primary school cohort has a chance to enter our esteemed local universities. Being a foreigner probably has a higher chance nowadays to receive higher education in Singapore as our government receives them with open arms and dishes out close to $300 million in scholarship to entice them. However, Singaporean graduates face stiff competition from foreigners schooled abroad as they cost cheaper to hire making a mockery of our educatonal system here.
4. No wife/husband - many singles face the stress to get hitched from their parents when they reach a certain age. However, due to cultural complexity, many single women are unable to get the right local guys as most of our men are afraid to date our higher-educated women. Many end up marrying foreigners - our local men going for simpler Asian women from the neighbouring region and our local women settling for incoming well-educated expats.
5. No job - as our country does not have any unemployment benefit, a jobless PMET suffers from severe depression and many experience suicidal thoughts during joblessness. Some end up driving cabs or become insurance or property agents in order to survive. The population white paper is the greatest fear of our PMETs as it allows tens of thousands of foreigners to compete with us for jobs with no protection whasoever.
6. No CPF - many Singaporeans don't trust the government as the minimum sum keeps rising every year placing our CPF money seemingly out of reach. Many also could not withdraw any money at age 55 as they could not accumulate enough minimum sum in their retirement account. They could only withdraw $5000 as a result when they turn 55 and have to wait till retirement age to receive a monthly sum till they die.
7. No life - many people live their life in a vicious cycle from work to home and work again devoid of life meaning and satisfaction. After a while, especially after some travelling, they begin to look for greener pastures to move and currently 300,000 Singaporeans are living abroad with many desiring to emigrate out of Singapore Inc if given the opportunity.
8. No internet service - one of the greatest fear of Singaporeans is no internet service as many of us live and work via the internet. Computers will shut down and no one can check their Facebook messages anymore. We have the highest penetrated society in the world and a Singapore without wireless is unfathomable.
9. No hospital bed - when a friend's son was sick and need to check into the hospital, his greatest fear is that there is no hospital bed. His fear came true and he has to admit him into a private hospital whereby he needs to pay through the nose. As we admit more people into the country, basic services will be jeopardised and amazingly the shortage of hospital beds seem to be the latest fear of most Singaporeans especially when their loved one is in acute need of one.
10. No opposition - there is a real need for more opposition in Parliament to check our government and many people are hoping that more opposition voices can be heard especially when the government is turning increasingly oblivious to the feelings on the ground. So far, only WP is representing the opposition voice and there is growing need for a third voice to be heard. Will it be SDP or NSP? The answer is just round the corner in 2016...
Gilbert Goh