Singapore has for decades been the home of social engineering, designed in part to prevent the rise of ghettos dominated by the city-state’s Malay and South Asian minorities. A new concern is the growing clusters of foreigners renting apartments in public housing developments known as Housing Board estates.
Only Singaporean citizens and permanent residents are allowed to buy Housing Board apartments, but the demand for rental accommodation is such that subletting is a profitable business. However, member of parliament Foo Mee Har said recently, “we need to maintain the Singaporean character of our heartlands.” She advocates limiting the number of foreigners living in apartments to 10%.
