NEW price benchmarks are such a regular feature in these inflationary times that they rarely make a ripple when they come along. However, there is a peculiarity with certain goods that raise the hackles among Singaporeans once an invisible line is crossed.

The first million-dollar HDB resale flat is one example. More recently, it was the S$100,000-mark for a Certificate of Entitlement (COE) in Category A, the one used to register bread-and-butter cars.

The outcry or disquiet – depending on one’s point of view – culminated in a spirited debate in Parliament over rising COE prices and a robust defence of the bidding system by Transport Minister S Iswaran.