TR EMERITUS

Unfazed by the rising public criticisms against his performance as the National Development Minister, Mr Mah Bow Tan managed to take time off his busy schedule to attend a groundbreaking ceremony of the Integrated Pig Farm project jointly undertaken by Singapore Food Industries Pte Ltd (SFI), Jilin China-Singapore Food Zone Development Construction Investment Co Ltd, and Dachan Food (Asia) Co Ltd in Jilin province in northeast China. According to the Straits Times, Mah is accompanied by officials from the Ministry of National Development, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority and International Enterprise Singapore. It is not known how the pig farm project is related to his portfolio whose primary role is to provide cheap public housing for Singaporeans. Mr Mah has gone on a damage control mode lately by introducing a slew of short-term measures in a desperate attempt to stabilize the booming property market. When asked if there are any political motives behind the unusual moves, Mr Mah replied frankly: "If you ask me if it has got anything to do with the elections, the answer is 'yes'. Everything has got to do with the elections." His efforts to wriggle himself out of trouble appeared to be undermined by his fellow PAP colleague Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, who acknowledged (finally) that the National Development Ministry “did not provide for the sudden surge” in its housing plans. Though the PAP regime 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 leading to the absurd situation we have today where newly launched BTO flats are oversubscribed by more than ten times. 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 the millionaire minister Mah is enjoying his "tour" in China, young Singaporeans are slogging day in and out to afford a roof over their heads, no thanks to his lack of foresight in planning ahead by building more HDB flats between the years 2006 - 2008 to meet the anticipated increase in housing demand fueled by mass immigration.   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: >> SM Goh: MND is caught "off-guard" >> Errant buyers of resale flats may face jai lterm >> New property rules a ploy to get foreigners to settle in Singapore >> Mah Bow Tan: Property boom in 2007 was “unexpected” >> 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 →

OPINION In an interview with National Geographic Magazine in January 2010, PAP strongman Lee Kuan Yew raised eyebrows when he insinuated in a statement that Singapore Malays care more about their own brethen than fellow Singaporeans of a different race. “Well, we make them say the national pledge and sing the national anthem but suppose we have a famine, will your Malay neighbour give you the last few grains of rice or will she share it with her family or fellow Muslim or vice versa?” As an ethnic Chinese Singaporean, I have no doubts in my mind that my Malay friends will share their last grains of rice with me in this hypothetical situation. In contrast, I have reservations if the new citizens from China will even remain in Singapore or flee back to China to escape the crisis like what MediaCorp artiste Guo Liang did when he send his child back to China during the H1N1 epidemic in Singapore not too long ago. After fifty years of nation-building and bonding through National Service, Singaporeans have managed to forge a common identity with one another. We are Singaporean first, not our race. The Chinese Singaporean no longer think of China as their motherland nor do the Indians have any affinity for India. I believe our Malay brothers and sisters will stay put in Singapore and defend it in the event an armed conflict breaks out with our neighbors. Just look at the recent case of Mr Abdillah who was hauled up for questioning by his reservist unit for defending Lianhe Wanbao photo-journalist Mr Shafie Goh who was handcuffed by a police officer a month ago when taking photos of flooding at Upper Bukit Timah Road, sparking a massive outcry among Singaporeans. In his blog posting, Mr Abdillah wrote: "My take on this, sue the damn Singapore Police Force who will then put the officer on suspended patrolling duties, cut salary to half and hold the bonus till he is acquited from the case – THIS IS THE STANDARD PRACTICE." Mr Abdillah is speaking up for a fellow Singaporean as a Singaporean even though Mr Shafie Goh is a Chinese and he is willing to be charged by the police for that. Similarly when Mr Abdul Malik was arrested by the Singapore police for criticizing the sports minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan on his handling of the recently concluded Youth Olympic Games, many Singaporeans jump to his defence including Chinese and Indian Singaporeans. These incidents show that Singaporeans have already overcome the racial boundaries between them in a way and are standing together truly as "one united people" as reflected in the Pledge we recite every morning as students: - "We the citizens of Singapore, pledge ourselves as ONE UNITED PEOPLE, regardless of race, language or religion." Singaporeans should take pride in our achievement in forging a common national identity in such a short period of time as compared to Malaysia where divisive racial politics still dominate national politics. Unfortunately, our hard won identity and solidarity with one another is being fast diluted by the relentless influx of foreigners into Singapore which is fast weakening the social fabric of our nation. Unlike the Malaysians, the newcomers hail from a different world altogether, making it almost impossible for them to integrate into Singapore society despite the huge amount of public monies being poured into it in the form of a $10 million dollar Community Integration Fund. It takes more than a few HDB void parties to become a naturalized Singaporean and it will be foolhardy to expect the children of these new citizens to become Singaporeans overnight as well. I grew up with Malays and Indians as my neighbors. I study and play with them in schools and I serve my National Service together with them. I enjoy Nasi Lemak and Roti prata much more than jiaozi and congyubing. I feel closer to my Malay and Indian friends than the mainland Chinese which the government is forcing us to accept. To the native Malay, Chinese and Indian Singaporeans, Singapore is our home. We have nowhere to turn to unlike the newcomers who still retain tie with their extended families back in their homelands. If a famine really break out one day, chances are the new citizens and PRs will head straight back to where they come from. Can the true blue Singaporeans return to Malaysia, China or India? We have only one another to count on now. Please vote wisely in the coming general election. If we do not reclaim this country for ourselves, there may be no place here left for our children in the next decade or so.   Please join our Facebook page here and invite your friends to do so to create awareness of the current affairs affecting Singaporeans. Please use our online web form to contact us.  Read More →

Although Singapore is one the richest countries in Asia, there are many poor people in its midst who cannot afford the soaring food price and the high cost of living. Many of the needy are the silent workforce - foreign workers. Their salary are so low that Singaporeans would not take these jobs. Most of their salaries are sent home to their families or pay off up to a year's worth of debts Help is available for the needy. Yes, there is such a thing as free lunch in Singapore. Some religious associations and welfare groups provide free meals. The bills are sponsored by members of these groups and business people. Here are some of the places that provide free meals: Singapore Buddhist Lodge. The Kim Yan Road temple serves free vegetarian breakfast, lunch and dinner from 7am to 7pm. All are welcome regardless of their race or religion. In the queue one can find all sorts of people, from the homeless, unemployed, foreign students, foreign construction workers and of course some freeloaders who work nearby. The Central Sikh Temple. The temple in Jalan Bukit Merah provides free vegetarian Indian lunches every day. Nativity Church. This Catholic church at the end of Upper Serangoon Road provides free breakfast and lunch every day. The Lutheran King of Glory Church in Norris Road, serves free meals every Sunday to ndian workers dring its Taml service. Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. This Buddhist temple at South Bridge Road provides free meal from 12.30pm to 6.30pm every day. Tian Tao Temple at Sengkang invites foreign workes to its Sunday breakfast buffet. Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society. They have meal centres in Toa Payoh (Blk 31 #01-663 Lor 5), Telok Blangah (Blk 3, #01-504, Telok Blangah Crescent) and MacPherson (Blk 90, #01-103, Pipit Road). Sri Krisna Mandir. The Hindu religious group at No 9, Lor 29, Geylang. serves free vegetarian food from 11am to 10 pm daily. All are welcome. Care Corner Seniors Activities Centre. The Centre at Toa Payoh, Lor 7 Blk 5 #01-131 serves free breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea for senior citizens. (http://www.carecorner.org.sg) Free Hawker Meal Program. If you are a needy resident living in Tanglin-Cairnhill area, you can apply for help at the Tanjong Pagar GRC. The GRC, under the free Hawker meal Program provides $36 worth of meal vouchers every month to needy recipients for a year. You can exchange the $3 voucher for a free meal at selected food staff at some of the coffee shops in Bukit Merah View and Henderson Road. Sutha Restaurant. This restaurant at Cuff Road provides free breakfast (from 7am to 9am) and dinner on weekdays only and lunch on Sundays. This is for stranded Indian workers in Singapore whose beds are the concrete walkways along Cuff Road. These distressed migrants are abandoned by their employees after their work injury or they are duped by the agents. To qualify for the free food, participants are asked to show a Special Pass (a govt-issued document, which means they do not have a work permit) or evidence that they are injured / have a case pending (a letter from a doctor/lawyer plus a work permit). It is funded by the Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) together with One Singapore. Lamea Restaurant. The TWC2 provides free dinner for Bangladeshi at Lamea restaurant at Desker Road. (http://www.twc2.org.sg) ACMI. A Catholic humanitarian group called the Archdiocesan Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People or ACMI, feeds migrant workers three times a week at its premise in No 2, Highland Road. The site is beside the Church of the Immaculate heart of Mary (http://www.catholic.org.sg/acmi/soupkitchen.htm). The Migrant Workers Centre in Rangoon road provides free lunches once a month in parntership wth neigbouring restaurants. The center is a joint effort betweeen the NUTC and the Singapore national Employers Federation. YWCA. Their meals-on-wheels for Elderly distributes free lunches to needy, frail and homebound senior citizens in Banda Street, Bukit Merah View, Cantonment Road, Holland Road, Lengkok Bahru, and Mei Ling Street. Their Meals-on-wheels for Children program provides free dinner for children from Low-income families who are schooling in Zhangde Primary School, New Town Primary School, Queenstown Primary School, Gan Eng Seng Primary School and Beyong Social Services. For more information on the meals-on-wheels program, please contact Ms Celest Ling at 6223 1227. The Willing Hearts, a secular group, distributes free food in 10 areas, among them Ang o Kio, Bukit merah and Hougang. Call 9690-2086 for more information. In these times of needs, there is no shortage of compassion from the people of Singapore. Nobody in Singapore needs to go to bed hungry. Thankfully, nobody starves to death in Singapore.   Sam Choo * Sam Choo is a freelance writer at www.articles-writer.com  Read More →