Commenting on the Ministry of Social and Family Development’s (MSF) report on social mobility, SMU Associate Professor of Law Eugene Tan explained that this move is rare, and shows how the government acknowledges that the state of affairs in Singapore is still imperfect, and that it is an issue that requires not just actions from the government. He believed that the issue of inequality has now become a sensitive topic, and may play an important role to decide votes in the next election.
SMU Dean of Students and Professor of Sociology (Practice) Paulin Straughan also noted how the social compact between our government and its people has evolved, leading to a change in their direction and focus. She explained how the report consolidated the efforts from our government to address this, but the key question to ask is whether they are effective. She further elaborated that income gap is only one aspect of this inequality, and that we need to look into how different upbringing impacts one's success in life. Prof Straughan remarked that the issue of inequality now needs to be addressed by the government together with its people.