Speaking without basis or facts again, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong wrote on his Facebook page claiming that elderly Singaporeans in the pioneer generation know the need for a 30% price hike and why it is a must:
“The Pioneer Generation knew this. So do the generations of servicemen and women who have defended Singapore.”
The PM is resorting to the nationalist approach after failing to convince Singaporeans who expressed outrage at his hefty tax increase for a 6.9 million population.
The dictator also pointed out that Singaporeans are resistant to the price hike and that no PAP MP actually raised an opposition in the Parliament he controlled:
“The water price increase has triggered sharp reactions from Singaporeans. Two ministers – Chan Chun Sing and Masagos Zulkifli – spoke about this in Parliament yesterday.”
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong wrote that the only reason to justify the 30% increase is because the last water price review was done twenty years ago in 1997, and that Singaporeans must look at the figure “in perspective”. There is however no fact or financial figures to prove why 30% or that the amount is “properly priced”:
“In this situation, we have to price water properly. Then every time we turn on the tap, we are conscious of how precious each drop is. We last revised water prices in 1997 – a long time ago.”
In 2016, PUB posted a S$166 million profits and the state media even reported that Singapore is supplying more treated water by up to 19 million gallons a day, to Malaysian state Johor.
You may read Lee Hsien Loong’s post here.