Speaking in Parliament on Thursday, Minister for Manpower Tan Chuan-Jin explained that the government doesn't know how many ex-PRs withdrew all their CPF money before leaving Singapore.
He said that they only know that in total, $426 million was withdrawn between 2003 and 2013 by people leaving Singapore. They did not have a breakdown of how many of these were PRs foreigners and ex-citizens.
According to Channel News Asia, Mr Tan also said that there is nothing stopping PRs from holding onto their HDB flats when they leave.
How many ex PRs have taken advantage of this system to buy a HDB flat in Singapore and then withdraw their CPF to spend when they go back overseas? They can get a nice income from renting out their flat and are allowed to access their CPF funds whenever they want by giving up PR.
These are luxuries that Singaporeans can never enjoy.
On top of this, giving up their PR doesn't mean they can't come back either. Mr Tan explained that their applications will be evaluated on merits and history to determine if they are suitable to work in Singapore again.
It seems that Singapore continues to be a stepping stone for foreigners and the government is not too concerned about it.
Editor's Note: We have noticed that Channel News Asia has quietly edited their original article to take out the part where Mr Tan says that PRs can hold onto their HDB flats when they leave Singapore. Why are they trying to cover this up?