Debated in Parliament on 2 Sep 2019.
Mr Sitoh Yih Pin asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) what is the number of Singaporeans who are born between 1950 and 1959 but are not eligible for the Merdeka Generation Package (MGP); (b) what is the number of such Singaporeans who have appealed to be included in the MGP; and (c) what is the number of such appeals that have been successful to date.
In terms of the age criteria, the Merdeka Generation Package (MGP) applies to Singaporeans born from 1950 to 1959, as well as those born in 1949 or earlier and who did not receive the Pioneer Generation Package. Among them, there are about 16,000 who did not meet the citizenship criteria because they became citizens after 1996.
As of end-July 2019, there were close to 400 citizenship-related appeals, and the Appeals Panel has reviewed about half of them. We are working with the remaining appellants to obtain more information in order to better understand their circumstances. Close to 120 appeals (or about 60% of the cases reviewed) have been successful. These are Singaporeans who have just missed the citizenship cut-off, but have good grounds to be counted among the Merdeka Generation.
PAPERCUTS