TR EMERITUS

作者:冀居·谢 黄永宏欢迎反对党到碧山—大巴窑集选区， 他受访时说，竞争将有利于新加坡整体的政治进程，因为国人能够从中了解各政党的理念以及他们想推行的政策。这段新闻读来也有点啼笑皆非，因为他应该是很尴尬讲出这番话的人，如果是在台湾，他会被记者接下来的发问搞得狼狈不堪。 黄永宏部长本身是个不经选战，直接在集选区卵翼下进入国会的执政党精英，据说是放弃千万元收入，屈就百万元年薪的一个，现在一人就当了两个部的部长：教育部长和国防部第二部长，此外还有一个国会副议长的闲职。作为一个这样的人物，如果他认为他的贡献完全是对新加坡有利的话，那么他应该支持更大的集选区制度，让执政党把所有的英才都以这样的方式揽进国会里面。如果他认为政党竞争能够有利于新加坡整体的政治进程，当初他又为什么接受从后门进入的安排呢？所以顾炎武会说：士大夫之无耻是为国耻。 来源：大马论坛  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent It appears that Straits Times journalists and editors are under a lot of stress later. After making an embarrassing boo-boo two days ago by mixing up the capitals of Romanian and Hungary, they are now confused over the identities of Singapore's Foreign Minister George Yeo and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as well. In a rare instance, Foreign Minister George Yeo found it necessary to write in the Straits Times Forum in person to rectify the error:   "IN HIS commentary last Saturday, 'Keep grouping central to regional balance', political correspondent Kor Kian Beng had me saying: 'We have zero enemies and a thousand friends and this should be at the heart of Asean diplomacy.' I wish the words were mine. In fact, 'zero enemies and a thousand friends' were the words used by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in describing Indonesia's foreign policy," Mr Yeo wrote in a brief letter. [Source: Straits Times, 12 April 2010] Did Mr Kor hear the wrong words or did he mistake Mr Yeo for Mr Susilo? Either way, the editor on duty should have picked up the error which made it two glaring mistakes in a single day. Such is the "standard" that the Straits Times has fallen these days in the absence of a competitor. PAP Minister Lui Tuck Yew once praised the mainstream media as being a "trustworthy" source of news in Singapore. How can we believe him when the English National Daily cannot even get its basic facts right?  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent In a rare instance of defiance to its political master, Straits Times journalist Sue-Ann Chia wrote an editorial titled "Tweak fundamentals of housing policy" today criticizing PAP leaders for disregarding genuine feedback from the ground in a subtle way to prevent hurting their egos. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had earlier criticized netizens for launching "astroturfing" campaigns to exert pressure on his administration to make some policy changes to serve their own vested interests. Ms Chia felt that the "astroturfers" cannot be used to dismiss the rising unhappiness on the ground over sky-rocketing HDB flat prices:   "Mr Lee's comments have led some to wonder if the Government is concluding that, because some writers are fake, the concern on the ground over property prices is likewise not as strong as made out to be in the e-mail messages. I hope not. Whether the e-mail messages were sent by real or fake people, there is real unhappiness on the ground over soaring housing prices. That unhappiness should not be discounted. Add the recent surge in the number of foreigners in Singapore, and the result is even greater resentment as foreigners are blamed for driving up demand and prices," she wrote in the Straits Times. [Source: Straits Times, 12 April 2010]   The prices of HDB flats has almost doubled over the last few years due to rising demand fueled by mass immigration in the face of a limited supply of new flats. The ruling party had made known its ambitious plan to increase Singapore’s population to 6.5 million via immigration as early as 2003. However, only slightly more than 11,000 new flats were built between the years 2006 – 2008 when there were over 90,000 PRs and 20,000 new citizens alone in 2008:   [Source: HDB Financial Report 2008/2009] 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: Due to the ruling party’s liberal immigration policy, foreigners now made up 36 per cent of Singapore’s population, up from 14 per cent in 1990. The influx of PRs also contribute to a spike in the prices of resale flats as they have higher spending prowess and are willing to spend more. The Straits Times reported a Taiwanese couple paying a record $650,000 for a four room flat in Bras Basah lately. Another Indonesian PR forked out $653,000 for a 4 room flat in Queenstown. National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan who has become the butt of criticisms from Singaporeans remains unfazed and blamed home buyers for being "fussy" and having "unrealistic expectations" during a recent interview with the Straits Times. Using official statistics from HDB and Singsta, he showed that the prices of resale flats have not outpaced household incomes in the 10 years from 1999 to last year. However, it turned out that the statistics gave only a half-truth as changing the base year to any year after 2000 will yield a radically different result which was highlighted by Reform Party member Hazel Poa. Her short, sweet and succinct explanation demolished Mr Mah's argument completely and spread throughout blogosphere which Ms Chia included in her article:   "Reform Party member Hazel Poa, a former government scholarship holder, has an interesting blog post in which she points out that such statistics may not show the full picture. Change the base year, and the results could be different. Using 2000, 2001 or 2006 as alternative base years, she calculated that resale flat prices have grown faster than household incomes. If her calculations are correct, some policy recalibration is required to ensure that housing does not become a bigger financial burden on Singaporeans, as that will lead to Singaporeans having insufficient funds for their retirement." [Source: Straits Times, 12 April 2010]   There were no immediate responses from Mr Mah who must be greatly embarrassed by his lack of understanding of basic statistics. Despite evidence showing otherwise, Mr Mah continues to insist that HDB flats remain "affordable" to ordinary Singaporeans. Mr Mah is the most expensive National Development Minister in the world, earning nearly $2 million dollars per annum or 4 times that of U.S. President Barack Obama. He is expected to get another hefty 8.8 percent pay hike this year.   EDITORS’ NOTE: Please join the discussion about this article on our Facebook page here and invite your friends to do so to help us raise awareness among fellow Singaporeans.   Debunking official myths of HDB flats series: 1 Part 1: Singaporeans are “owners” of their HDB flats 2. Part 2: HDB flats are affordable to most Singaporeans 3. Part 3: Rising prices of HDB flats generate wealth for Singaporeans   Related articles: >> 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  Read More →