AGC: SDP's statement on local PMET unemployment 'clearly false'

The SDP has asked to file written submissions, which the High Court accepted.

Sulaiman Daud | January 19, 2020, 07:20 PM

The Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) said on Jan. 17 that the SDP's statement on rising local PMET unemployment is "clearly false", as evidenced by publicly available information.

In a press release, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) outlined the arguments made by the AGC to the High Court.

MOM: No rising trend of local PMET unemployment

MOM said that the SDP's Facebook posts, which linked to its website article indicating a rising trend of local PMET unemployment, is untrue.

Said MOM:

"Data has been published in 2017 and 2018, which shows that there is no rising trend of PMETS getting retrenched.

The truth in fact is that there is an increase in the number of PMETs who are getting employed, and the number of retrenchments are on a downward trend."

MOM provided links to Factually's post on the case, as well as the 2018 Labour Force in Singapore report and the 2018 Labour Market Report to support their points.

The SDP previously argued about the starting point of the data, namely that things looked different if data was taken from 2010 as opposed to 2015, and showed graphs to support this.

However, AGC said that their graphs were "misleading".

MOM said: "AGC has argued that the statements mean what they plainly say: that local PMET retrenchments have been rising."

The High Court allowed the SDP to file written submissions, which they will do so before Jan. 22, before making its decision.

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Top image from CNA's YouTube channel.