A comment about needing “a very small space to have sex” has stirred up social media.
The remark, made by Senior Minister of State Josephine Teo in an interview with The Straits Times that was published on Wednesday (Oct 12), was meant to encourage young couples to have babies even if they have not settled into their own flat yet. But in a Facebook post on Wednesday night (Oct 12), Mrs Teo said that the newspaper’s coverage “might not have captured everything in the way I intended”.
She added: “But in all seriousness, we need an honest conversation on how, as a society, we can get ready for Millennial families.”
“Every way I turn, I see more of our Millennials boldly stepping up to overturn long-held assumptions about what #Singaporeans can and cannot achieve… when I look at our Millennials, I am brimming with hope that a new generation of pioneers is emerging, specifically, in terms of how they will meet both family and career aspirations in new, imaginative ways,” she wrote.
Mrs Teo also let on that more plans to better support Millennials in marriage and parenthood may be in the works, with “more to come in the next few weeks”.
Mrs Teo’s Facebook post came after some blogs had came up with lists of the smallest places in Singapore that could fit the bill.
“Singaporeans are like birds, don’t expect to have eggs when there is no nest to lay them,” Facebook user Shawn Yang said.
Another Facebook user Derrick Poh commented: “Not everyone has the luxury of depending on their parents to host them and a baby while the government takes 3 to 4 years to build a flat.”
According to World Bank data, Singapore has the fifth lowest fertility rate in the world, at 1.3 births per woman.
Source: TODAY Online
