$1 grocery deals for over 10,000 households in Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC
Over 10,000 households in Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC will be able to buy cooking oil, eggs or rice for $1 under a new initiative to help residents cope with the rising cost of living.
The GRC’s initiative, called MY $1 Deals, will allow households with at least one Singaporean to buy up to three coupons for $1 each. These coupons can then be used to redeem a 2.5kg pack of rice, a litre of cooking oil or a tray of 30 eggs.
The coupons were sold at the community clubs in the GRC from Dec 30, 2024, to Jan 17, and can be exchanged for the groceries on Jan 18 and 19.
At the launch of the grocery exchange on Jan 18, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said the cost of living has gone up, with prices rising in the last two years.
PM Wong, who is in charge of the GRC’s Limbang ward, said the Government has been trying to help Singaporeans cope by rolling out initiatives such as the CDC vouchers.
In January, Singaporean households got $300 in CDC vouchers, which can be used in supermarkets, hawker stalls and heartland shops.
“Worldwide, everyone is feeling the pressure of higher prices,” said PM Wong at the event held at 888 Plaza in Woodlands.
“But in Singapore, we are doing everything we can to help residents cope with these higher prices.” He added that the Government will continue to provide help for Singaporeans with the Budget in February.
Also at the launch of the GRC initiative were the constituency’s other MPs – Mr Zaqy Mohamad, Mr Alex Yam and Ms Hany Soh.
PM Wong said additional $1 deals will be rolled out in 2025.
Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC is not the only constituency with such initiatives to help residents with cost of living concerns.
Bukit Panjang launched the Bukit Panjang Dollar Deal in 2024, which allowed residents there to buy set meals, vegetable packs or eggs each month for $1 for a whole year.
Speaking to the media at the Jan 18 event, Mr Zaqy said the grassroots leaders will review residents’ response to the initiative before deciding whether to extend it in the GRC. He added that the scheme is funded by grassroots funds and donations.
“This is meant to complement what the Government rolls out, whether it’s (from the) Budget that’s coming up, whether it’s CDC vouchers, GST vouchers, Assurance Package,” said Mr Zaqy.
“There are many things that the Government is rolling out today, and I think it’s useful for residents if we complement this along with other schemes.”
Residents said they were thankful for the initiative as they have been feeling the pinch recently.
Ms Esther Tay, 48, who works in sales, said: “Recently the price of everything has been going up quite a bit. While this initiative is quite generous, we hope that the Government can do more to help Singaporeans by maybe controlling the prices of basic items and goods.”
Another resident, who wanted to be known only as Madam Nadia, said she hopes more can be done to help Singaporeans over the medium to long term.
“We feel the pinch of (rising prices of) basic necessities, which have got quite expensive. Every time I buy groceries, it feels like there’s an increase of five to 10 cents, which adds up in the long run,” said the 35-year-old, who works in marketing.
“While this is a nice initiative, I hope that more can be done in other areas as well, such as wage increases and addressing inflation.”
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