MS JEN Goh's five suggestions on legal aid, immigration rules,
housing, matchmaking agencies and embassies suggest that foreign
spouses are disadvantaged even though married to Singaporeans
('Five areas to improve protection of foreign brides'; March
23).
A reported 41 per cent of Singaporeans married foreigners in
2009, with a hefty 78 per cent of them male. The statistics suggest
the trend is significant.
Is there any action the Government can take, either
retrospectively or as a preventive measure, that could help to
prevent social problems arising from such marriages?
It appears that marriages between foreign women and Singaporean
men suffer from different expectations.
The Saturday Special feature ('Bride and gloom', March 19) also
suggests the brides do not know enough about their prospective
husbands.
Is it possible for the Government to enforce a regulation that
would require the man and the woman to undergo counselling before
marriage to manage their expectations? This might go a long way to
reduce some of the problems we see.
Is there any regulation on how the matchmaking industry is run?
I find it disturbing that some of the girls are married to men who
could be as old as their fathers.
Could industry practice be better regulated?
Puar Si Liang