TR EMERITUS

Author: Goh Meng Seng (Secretary General) We are glad to hear the Prime Minister addressing the various key problems that we have been raising for the past one year in his National Day Rally speech. However, at closer examination, we have the following key points to make: $60 billion for MRT infrastructure over 10 years 1. Where would the government get the funding of $60B from? 2. Will the PAP government increase the GST to 10% or raise other taxes to get additional funding? Will the public transport fares increase to finance this expenditure? 3. Will the PAP government keep to the promised time frame of 10 years? The PAP government has delayed various important infrastructure projects, like the building of hospitals as well as the Downtown line, which have resulted in the increased cost of construction. Will the PAP government promise to keep to the budget of $60B instead of allowing it to balloon out of control, just like what happened to the YOG budget? Measures to keep Housing Affordable 1. We are very confused by the various contradictory signals that the PAP ministers have sent within these few months: 1a. Late last year, Minister Mah Bow Tan claimed that housing was still affordable, and that the influx of immigrants was not a main factor causing the rise in resale prices. But now the Prime Minister has acknowledged that the influx of new immigrants has contributed to the rise in resale prices. 1b. When Minister Mah put up the first few measures in March 2010 to curb rising resale prices, some Singaporeans questioned the inadequacy of such measures. Minister Mah defended his ministry’s decision and said no other measures would be necessary. But just 5 months down the road, Minister Mah has introduced more drastic measures to curb property prices. 1c. In March 2010, Minister Mah claimed that the supply of flats was more than sufficient to meet any surge in demand. However it seems that his ministry must now go into overdrive to ramp up the supply of BTO flats. 1d. In March 2010, Minister Mah raised the minimum occupation period for resale flat owners who take bank loans from 1 year to 3 years. Barely a few months later, the ministry is now further pushing it up to 5 years. It seems that HDB is unable to provide any policy stability at all. 1e. On 26 June 2010, MM Lee said there probably isn’t any property bubble. But now, Minister Mah admits that a property bubble is in the making. 2. In December 2009, after admitting to being “caught off guard”, Minister Mah reassured us of the ministry’s ability to keep this problem of “unexpected” rise in property prices in check. Yet the contradictions as noted above clearly signal that his ministry continues to lose sight of the severity of the problem. 3. The latest drastic measures have caused unwarranted shocks to the whole system. Those who have based their purchases of HDB flats or private properties on the past policies will face great financial losses. The frequent policy changes will erode investor’s confidence in the government’s competency in dealing with such problems. 4. As long as there isn’t any fundamental change in the pricing mechanism of new HDB flats and the increasing demand of new migrants (Permanent Residents) is not effectively met by other means, we do not see how prices for both new and resale HDB flats can become affordable. NSP reiterates our stand that new HDB flats should be sold at cost price to citizens. HDB should also consider selling new flats to PR at market price so to ease the demand due to unusual increase in PR population. Immigration Policy 1. We do not think that the Prime Minister understands the real problems caused by the huge influx of foreign labour on the ground. 2. PM Lee has raised the example of coffeeshop owners unable to find Singaporeans who are willing to work until 12a.m. and thus they need to employ foreign workers. But the truth is, to ask workers to work 14 hours or more in a day is an act of exploitation. The labour law should be applied equally on both local and foreign workers. We cannot allow employers to exploit foreign workers just because Singapore workers are unwilling to be exploited. 3. We also notice that there are firms putting up recruitment advertisement which discriminate against either Singapore citizens or races. The liberal FT policy that the PAP government has adopted is partly to be blamed for this discrimination of local Singapore citizens by businesses. This practice has to be stopped and NSP urges the government to set up Commission of Equal Opportunity and setting laws to outlaw discriminatory employment practices. 4. PM Lee has ignored the severity of the depression of wages of both middle and lower income earners due to the influx of foreign labour. There is no mention of any concrete plans to deal with this problem. 5. PM Lee may think that foreign labour will help to create jobs for Singaporeans but the reverse is also true. Many Singaporeans’ jobs have been displaced by foreign labour. The problem is so severe that engineers and managers are now becoming taxi drivers. We have invested lots of money in the education of our citizens but such displacement of jobs of foreign labour has effectively made our investment wasted. Here again, there is no mention of any concrete plans to deal with this problem by PM Lee. 6. Raising workers’ levy alone will not help much in preventing engineers and professionals being displaced by foreign labour. Raising workers’ levy will not prevent exploitation of foreign workers nor save jobs for citizens. 7. Last but not least, this liberal immigration policy has caused a serious problem of income disparity within our society. Wages of both middle and lower income earners have been depressed while some have basically lost their jobs and face underemployment or even unemployment. The widening of income gap and the diminishing of middle class are great concerns to social stability but the Prime Minister has not addressed it either. Conclusion Although we feel that the Prime Minister has put up a very good pre-election National Day Rally speech but we still find that the solutions that his government has provided are generally inadequate. We must bear in mind that all the problems and issues addressed by the Prime Minister are mostly the result of oversight by the various ministries under the charge of the respective ministers. All these problems are not new and have been raised by many people including NSP over the year. These problems could be long anticipated as it is the direct result of PAP government’s deliberate policy of opening the floodgates for foreign workers and migrants to come to Singapore. These “caught off guard” ministers should be responsible and made accountable for their deficiencies. We also note that the Prime Minister did not resort to giving out goodies or red packets to citizens as a populist tactic to win support. We would be impressed if PAP decides to abandon its past undesirable election tactic and choose to contest the elections based on its policy views, ideas and plans instead. We would be even more impressed if PAP could put up the boundary report way before the impending general elections. It will open up a new era of healthy political competition and engagement for Singapore.  Read More →

By Elaine Ee-Meyers from CNNgo.com Based in New York and Shanghai -- and now extending his reach to Singapore -- 45-year-old director and filmmaker Alec Tok surprised everyone when he was announced as a candidate for the opposition’s Reform Party earlier this year. Essentially his first foray into politics, Tok was inspired by by the Reform Party's ambition to go beyond just being the opposition. Here, he discusses how politics impacts his artistic work and the difference between a home and a country.  CNNGo: What brought you to politics and why? Alec Tok: I joined the Reform Party at the end of 2009. I’ve always been interested in Singapore politics -- it’s such an extreme situation that you have to deal with it, relate to it -- and the way I’m relating to it right now is to partake in the changing of it, as simple as that. I was really happy when the late J.B. Jeyaretnam decided to make a last bid for parliament because it cemented the need to have someone who could pursue the constitutional struggle in Singapore. Then when he passed away he left a vacuum and that was a big worry for me because it set us back quite a few years. But the vacuum is being filled, rightfully, by his heir, Kenneth [Jeyaretnam]. And I thought, you know what, if you want me, I’m prepared to stand with you.  Read more here  Read More →

Beleaguered National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan continued to deny his role in contributing to the sky-rocketing property prices today by failing to build sufficient new flats to meet rising demands fueled by the relentless influx of foreigners between the years 2006 and 2008. During a dialogue session with some 100 grassroots leaders a few days ago, Mr Mah claimed that HDB had over 35,000 unsold flats ten years ago which it was unable to clear till 2006. "Unexpectedly in 2007, the property market boomed leading to HDB prices to climb which resulted in the BTO scheme adapted by HDB today to build flats according to housing needs," he was quoted as saying in Lianhe Zaobao. However, Mr Mah failed to explain why so few flats were built between 2006 - 2008. Though the PAP announced its ambitious plan to increase Singapore’s population to 6.5 million people via immigration way back in 2005, the number of flats built between 2006 – 2008 is the lowest over the years. Only 3,183 flats were built in 2008 when Singapore accepted 20,000 new citizens and 90,000 PRs who were allowed to purchase resale flats in the open market by the PAP regime. [Source: HDB Financial Report 2008/2009] As there are insufficient new flats being built to meet the demands of both Singaporeans and the new citizens, many have to purchase flats in the resale market, thereby jacking up prices in the process. Below is a graph illustrating how the rise in the prices of resale flats coincides with the rise in the number of foreigners in Singapore between the years 2000 and 2008, courtesy of Kojakbt, the moderator of 3in1kopitiam: While Mr Mah has admitted he had been “caught off-guard” by the astronomical prices of HDB flats, he is adamant that they are affordable to Singaporeans and chided home-buyers for being “fussy” and having “unrealistic” expectations. When asked by a grassroots leader to build more HDB flats to increase Singapore's birth rate as many young Singaporeans are delaying starting a family of their own due to the present high flat prices. Mr Mah retorted that if young couples are indeed committed to start a family, the government would have announced the construction of more HDB flats. However, starting a family involves more than just availability of HDB flats. It also involves personal choice and career development. Building more HDB flats will not spur the birth rate. It appeared that Mr Mah is still living in denial and unable to appreciate the housing problems faced by Singaporeans on the ground. Perhaps Singaporeans should listen to the "threat" made by PAP strongman Lee Kuan Yew who claimed that the prices of HDB flats will "drop" if Mr Mah is voted out of office. He also added that Singaporeans will be "DAFT" to do so.   Debunking official myths of HDB flats series: 1 Myth 1: Singaporeans are “owners” of their HDB flats 2. Myth 2: HDB flats are “affordable” to most Singaporeans 3. Myth 3: Rising prices of HDB flats “generate” wealth for Singaporeans   Related articles: >> Singaporeans complain about new housing rules to curb speculation >> HDB releases 3,000 flats in a single day >> Mah admits there is a property “bubble” evolving >> New rules to prevent private property owners from speculating in resale flats >> Mah blames Singaporeans for strong demand in public housing >> Mah: 16,000 BTO flats next year >> Median COVs hit a record high >> $300,000 for four-room BTO flats in Punggol >> Mah Bow Tan: HDB flats are still affordable to first time flat buyers >> Why Mah Bow Tan’s policy of high HDB flats is wrong >> Letter to Mah Bow Tan on HDB policies >> Singaporean want govt to allay anxiety over HDB leasehold >> Mah Bow Tan embarrassed by Reform Party’s Hazel Poa >> Mah Bow Tan: “Unrealistic” expectations to blame for unhappiness about flats >> Taiwanese PR paid record $ 650,000 for 4-room resale flat >> Grace Fu: PRs are helpful to HDB flat owners selling their flats >> HDB launches “traveling exhibition” to trumpet its achievements in the heartlands >> PAP to upgrade 12,000 HDB households ahead of next election >> Mah Bow Tan: We do not want flat prices to go down >> Prices of resale flats to rise further as PR quota reached >> Taiwanese PR offers $50k COV for resale flat >> Mah Bow Tan: PRs have minimal impact on resale flat prices >> No empirical evidence to suggest that public housing is affordable in Singapore >> When will Singapore’s property bubble burst? >> Why HDB is unable to reveal break down costs of new flats now >> HDB to consider introducing rules to curb property speculation >> HDB blames Singaporeans for not selecting flats when given the chance >> Singaporeans worried about retirement after depleting CPF to pay for over-priced HDB flats >> Mah Bow Tan acknowledged that rising HDB flat prices has sparked “fresh concerns” >> PM Lee: Govt does not have control over prices of resale flats” >> COVs of resale flats shooting through the roof >> HDB resale price index hit record high in 2009 >> Singaporean wants PRs to live in rented flats instead of buying resale flats >> Singaporeans wants PRs to be banned from selling HDB flats at a profit >> Shanmugam: Singaporeans likely culprits for driving up HDB flat prices >> Mah Bow Tan: HDB flats remain affordable >> Means testing for PRs to buy resale flats >> Immigration and public housing: should the govt or people plan ahead? >> Grace Fu: hard to predict demand for housing >> Indonesian PR bought 4-room flat at $653,000 >> Mah Bow Tan asks home buyers to be realistic >> PAP MP blames young couples who cannot get a flat for not planning ahead >> Home affordability: HDB versus the public >> Demand vs supply: so many applicants, so few flats >> Number of applicants exceed number of flats >> HDB to increase supply of flats >> Mah: don’t compare with prices in the past >> ERA: 40 per cent of HDB flat buyers are PRs     Please join our Facebook discussion on this article here and invite your friends to do so as well to raise awareness among fellow Singaporeans.  Read More →