TR EMERITUS

Written by Our Correspondent After pussy-footing for the last few months and finding scapegoats to deflect blame from HDB, finally one person from the establishment dares to step forward and say the truth about the real reason behind the sky-rocketing HDB flat prices - former ISD officer and now Senior Writer of the Straits Times Chua Mui Hoong. In an editorial published in the Straits Times today, Ms Chua wrote: "The way I see it, rising resale flat prices reflect genuine pent-up demand spurred by high levels of immigration. They do not seem to be driven by speculative frenzy. Those priced out of the market may find it emotionally satisfying to finger PRs or speculators as scapegoats than to acknowledge that the market is moving faster than one's income and savings can keep up with." She cannot be more right: though PRs are partly responsible for the spike in prices, they should not bear blame because they need a roofs over their heads as well. The blame should like entirely on the government for allowing too many foreigners into Singapore within too short a period of time without building adequate number of new flats to house them thereby leading to the situation we are in today. Young Singaporean couples are being priced out of the HDB market and either have to rent their own places or stay with their parents for the time-being, hardly ideal conditions for them to start a family of their own. Common sense tells us that an increased population will definitely increase the demand of housing and prices will only go up if the demand is not met. Since the new flats need a few years to construct, the onus is on HDB to plan way ahead and build adequate number of flats to meet future needs and not to be "caught offguard" by building more flats only now which does not relieve the shortage in the housing market at all. According to figures from the Ministry of Home Affairs, there are nearly 100,000 immigrants including both new citizens and PRs in the year 2008 alone, but only 3,183 new flats were built in 2008: [Source: HDB Financial Report 2008/2009] It doesn’t take a statistician to come to the conclusion that the number of flats built were grossly inadequate to meet the demand of a rapidly increasing population. The decrease in the number of new flats built by HDB coincides with the sky-rocketing prices of resale flats as Singaporeans needing a roof over their heads are forced to purchase a more expensive flat in the resale market thereby contributing to the overall price inflation: Though HDB is now “ramping up the supply of new flats”, it is too late to meet present demand and Singaporeans will have to pay a hefty price for its lack of foresight in building more flats earlier to cater to the needs of a growing population. The ruling party has been finding all kinds of excuses to cover their most glaring mistake from pinning the blame to fussy Singapore buyers, speculative frenzy and some people are buying HDB flats for rental income which all do not explain the astronomical prices: 1. If Singaporeans and PRs are indeed "flip-flopping" HDB flats for profits, why is HDB not taking any measures now to prevent the situation from spiralling out of control? 2. Unlike private properties, there are strict rules governing renting HDB flats with a minimum occupancy period of 5 years for new flats and 1 year for resale flats. It doesn't make sense for an investor to fork out so much cash to buy a resale flat for rental purposes due to the time lag when he can well invest in private properties with higher rental yield. The prices of HDB flats have doubled in the last five years or so: this is not "asset appreciation", but a property bubble - the HDB flats are valued much more than they are actually worth because of a gross lack of supply in a market monopolized by one single provider. The laws of economics dictate that the prices will not go up indefinitely, they will have to come down at one point or another because it is impossible for wages to catch up with it and when it comes crashing down, Singaporeans who have paid ridiculously high prices for the flats now will be plunged into financial distress as banks come calling in for them to top up their mortgage loans. Singaporeans should start demanding answers from HDB: give us the exact breakdown costs of each unit of HDB and explain why so few flats were built when the population has been expected to grow in the next few years. EDITORS' NOTE: If you encounter the "duplicate post" error when posting comments on our site, post again by clicking on the "submit" button and hold it for at least 5 seconds. We are still working to resolve the problem and we appeal for your kind understanding and patience. Related articles: >> Why HDB is unable to reveal break down costs of new flats now >> 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 →

By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani from The Malaysian Insider Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has described a regional political risk consultancy report which said Malaysia was veering towards instability as “nonsensical”. Muhyiddin said that the Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) must be “talking through their nose”. “I don’t think we need to react to all these nonsensical reports coming from those who know nothing about the country. “Maybe those guys are sitting at a table somewhere in a remote corner of Hong Kong. “They have to come here and we will be happy to bring them down here and see what is stability, what is security, what is war, what is trouble,” he told reporters today after a function at Felda headquarters. PERC reported that the impression that Malaysia has given since New Year’s Day was that the situation in the country is becoming increasingly unstable. In a blistering report on Malaysia released at the end of January, PERC also asserted that a group of elite minorities were dominating the national agenda to the extent that it was hurting Malaysia’s attractiveness to investors. The consultancy, which also publishes reports on the risk ratings of other Asian countries, said it is “probable” that no other Asian country is suffering from as much bad press as Malaysia. Among the developments that caught its attention were the theft of military jet engines, detention of terror suspects from a number of African and Middle East countries following warnings that Islamic militants were planning attacks on foreigners at resorts in Sabah, renewed ethnic and religious “violence” that included arson at some churches and desecration of mosques, and controversy over the integrity of key institutions like the judicial system in the sodomy trial of opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. The report noted that the government is blaming the international media for exaggerated reporting and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had argued that the focus should not be on the fringe groups that are causing problems but on the majority of Malaysians who are coming together to condemn the recent acts of violence following the ‘Allah’ controversy. But PERC maintained that the root of the problem was a vocal minority that is dominating the national agenda. Muhyiddin claimed that the report appeared to be part of a hidden agenda to destabilise the country. “All these reports have obvious ulterior motives with intention of not helping. We are not asking them to help us anyway. We are helping ourselves and we don’t need their comments because I think a lot of other people know and evaluate ourselves very objectively. We are not basing it on emotions but facts and reality. The fact is that Malaysians are happy and are not facing any major disaster and there is no racial trouble in the country or war among us. So what are they talking about? “I think they must be talking through their nose,” he said. - The Malaysian Insider  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent The Facebook of Lighthouse Evangelism Senior Pastor Rony Tan has been closed after being flooded with comments from angry netizens over the last few days. It was maintained by a self-proclaimed fan of Rony Tan, a Mr Matthew Ho. Though the frontpage of the Facebook remains, users can no longer post comments on its wall: Since the controversy erupted two days ago when Rony Tan was called up by the ISD for questioning over his disparaging remarks about Buddhism and Taoism made during a church session, netizens have been bombarding him on the Facebook. Mr Matthew Ho has been busy deleting the comments as and when they are posted. In his last post on the facebook, Matthew wrote: “WARNING: No negative comment on any religion even the Christian or I will remove you from this group. This group is to encourage people to believe in Jesus as the savior and it’s also the fan of Pastor Rony Tan, so no negative comment.” Even with its closure, fuming netizens continue to lampoon Rony Tan on a Facebook "dedicated" to him. While most agree to uphold religious harmony in Singapore, they are angry with the authorities letting Rony Tan off with only a slap on the wrist which is incongruous with the amount of damage done by his words. Claudia Lynn wrote: "If by apologising means we could get away with making such crass remarks, then a murderer could apologise to the victim/victim's family and say, "Opps, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it." What is then the lessons we are teaching our young Singaporeans? It's okay to bitch about anything insensitive in Singapore, just apologise ...and you'll be okay? This is pompous." Fortune Tella agreed: "Pastor Rony Tan running down on Buddhism & Taoism deliberately and an apology is definitely too light. Buddhists & Taoist communities can forgive him. But the law need to be used to maintain religion harmony." Kam Suet Cheng wanted the law to be applied fairly: "Of course we forgive him. but the law should be applied FAIRLY. Not punish one, don't punished another. The earlier Christian couple was jailed for distributing materials which insults Islamic. So, why different treatment now?" DPM Wong Kan Seng disputed the notion that Rony Tan was let off lightly on the vague argument that being hauled up for investigation by ISD is no less "serious" than being charged in a court of law. EDITORS' NOTE: If you encounter the "duplicate post" error when posting comments on our site, post again by clicking on the "submit" button and hold it for at least 5 seconds. We are still working to resolve the problem and we appeal for your kind understanding and patience. Related articles: 1. Rony Tan's views on homosexuality 2. Perceived double standards in the application of Sedition Act 3. Facebook group set up to demand punishment for Rony Tan 4. VIDEO: Pastor Rony Tan’s comments on Buddhism 5. Hardwarezone forumers up in arms over Pastor Rony Tan’s remarks 6. Pastor Rony Tan issues public apology on his remarks about Buddhism  Read More →