Water price hike sparks rare public protest in Singapore

SINGAPORE: More than 100 people gathered in Singapore’s Speakers’ Corner yesterday for a rare protest against a government plan to hike water prices that has stirred discontent over sluggish economic growth and rising unemployment in the city-state.

Singapore’s government enjoys strong popular support but is also known for having little tolerance for dissent.

Residents are only allowed to air their grievances in a small downtown park if they comply with defamation laws and avoid fanning ethnic and religious tensions. Although laying out a much more generous budget than expected, the government last month announced a two-step, 30 per cent increase in water prices, sweetening it with tax rebates to help lower-income households pay their bills.

It will be the first increase in water prices for nearly two decades, but some Singaporeans say rebates proposed by the government will not be enough.

“If they give us more rebate but increase the prices, it’s still the same. For a big family, you need to use a lot of water,” said Afad, 28, a delivery worker with three children.

He said he earned less than S$2,000 per month and was expecting another child.

The resource-scarce city-state gets up to 60 per cent of its water supplies from Malaysia as part of an agreement that expires in 2061. — Reuters