TR EMERITUS

Written by Our Correspondent Caught off guard by the rapid sky-rocketing prices of HDB flats, a panicky HDB launches another two new projects in quick succession to allay widespread fear among Singaporeans of a public housing shortage. 1,534 BTO flats were launched yesterday, including 750 in Punggol and 784 in Woodlands followed by another 1,000 BTO flats in Sengkang and Sembawang next month. As the flats typically take 3 to 4 years to build, they are unlikely to meet present demand. Recent BTO launches are all grossly over-subscribed by more than 10 times, an indication of how severe the housing crisis has become, but in a letter published in the Straits Times Forum two days ago, HDB denied that the prices are caused by shortage of flats and blame Singaporeans for not selecting their units when given a chance. 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] Not surprisingly, there is a direct correlation between the increase in the number of foreigners in Singapore and the rise in prices of HDB resale flats: [Source: Kojakbt, 3in1kopitiam moderator] 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. HDB seems to be fire-fighting all over the place which will not be necessary in the first place if it had the foresight to plan ahead and tailor the supply of flats to the expected demand. The knee-jerk reaction off HDB will create another problem in the future - the sudden increase in the number of new flats completed in 2013 - 2015 will lead to a depreciation in prices should the demand decrease. The home buyers who purchase their flats at such ridiculously high prices will be heading for a financial disaster should the prices drop drastically or crash in the future. A more appropriate response will be to introduce measures to curb the rampant speculation in the market by putting a cap on the COVs, increasing the HDB levy for sale of flats, stipulate a minimum period of residency before PRs are permitted to purchase flats and impose a hefty property tax on PRs who sold their flats after returning home to prevent them from profiteering from the transaction. 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 →

Written by Our Correspondent After two months of complete silence, Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs suddenly wants Dr Silviu Ionescu, the Romanian diplomat involved in the double hit and run accident in Bukit Panjang to return to Singapore. In the aftermath of the accident, MFA did not apply to wave Dr Silviu Ionescu's diplomatic immunity when it was pretty obvious that he is a prime suspect in the case and he was allowed to return to Romania three days later. Unlike the Romanian MFA, it did not bother to issue any single public statement of condolence to the families of the victims who were Malaysians except a laughable remark by Foreign Minister George Yeo that "what happened was very bad." When the State Coroner revealed three weeks ago that Dr Silviu was the driver of the black Audi A6 behind the accident, MFA did not take any action either. Yesterday, MFA announced that it had summoned the Romanian Ambassador to Singapore and delivered a series of diplomatic notes to him including a request for Dr Silviu to attend the coroner's inquiry into the death of Mr Tong Kok Wai, one of the vicitims from March 3 to 10 after the latter had embarrassed the Singapore government publicly a few days earlier. In an interview with Romanian TV station Antena 3, Dr Silviu maintained his innocence and counter-accused the Singapore government for framing him in the case. He also alleged that he has been under tremendous "political pressure" from the Singapore government because he had been reporting on local politics. The interview was reported widely in the Romanian press which is subsequently circulated around the European Union of which Romania is a member. MFA said the claims were 'very serious allegations against the integrity of the Singapore Government', and rejected them outright as baseless. However, it did not elaborate more on what it will do to debunk them. Since Dr Silviu's allegations have no basis at all, the Singapore government should sue Dr Silviu for defamation as what it did to the Singapore Democratic Party in 2006 separately to clear its name. It will be foolhardy to expect Dr Silviu to return to Singapore willingly after the disparaging remarks he had made about the Singapore government which he should have been grateful to for letting him leave the country so easily. There are no extradition treaties between Singapore and Romania. Even if Dr Silviu's diplomatic immunity is waived, the onus still lies on the Romanian government to extradict him. Judging from Dr Silviu's "ya-ya" attitude, it appears that he may have tacit backing from some higher authorities in Romania. The PAP has once again demonstrated its utter ineptitude, hypocrisy and ignorance to the world. Dr Silviu Ionescu is obviously a rogue and nobody should expect rogues to adhere to any code of conduct.  Read More →

OPINION The recent involvement of the Internal Security Department (ISD) in the Rony Tan fiasco appears to generate the public impression that there is still a role for it in maintaining social harmony in Singapore. Lighthouse Evangelism Pastor Rony Tan sparked an outcry in cyberspace lately with his disparaging remarks made about Buddhism and Taoism during a church session which were videorecorded and uploaded to Youtube. On Monday, he was called up by the ISD for questioning over the remarks after which he posted an apology on his personal website and made a visit to Phor Kark See Temple a day later to apologize to Buddhist and Taoist leaders in person. The state media was tasked to give extensive publicity to the entire fracas and the case was closed with no further action taken against Pastor Rony Tan as if nothing has happened which begets the question whether it is really necessary for ISD to be involved in the first place. In all likelihood, the entire operation is no more than a "PR exercise" to demonstrate to Singaporeans the continued "relevance" of both ISD and the ISA to rein in "internal threats" like Pastor Rony Tan. The ISA is a repressive law which is a relic from the British colonial days (then known as the Public Security Ordinance or PSO) when it was used to arrest and detain suspected communists for lengthy periods without trial. Recent declassified archives from the British government suggest that the massive "Operation Coldstore by ISC (Internal Security Council) in 1962 was conducted at the behest of then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew to eliminate his political opponents from the Barisan Sosialis which was poised to win the elections in 1963. After Singapore was separated from Malaysia in 1965, the ISA was retained and was used to detain troublemakers, critics and opponents of the PAP regime in the 1970s and 1980s culminating in the "Operation Spectrum" in 1988 which drew widespread international condemnation. Today, the ISA is used only sparingly against terrorism and religious extremists, however its lingering presence continues to deter Singaporeans from joining politics. With more and more young Singaporeans questioning the relevance of the ISD and ISA in Singapore, Pastor Rony Tan provides the PAP an excellent opportunity to demonstrate their "importance" to the nation. As a matter of fact, current laws are more than adequate to deal with Pastor Tan without involving the ISD at all. Police reports have been lodged against Pastor Tan and the police could have arrested him like what they did to the three teenagers accused of posting racist remarks on Facebook. The Attorney-General Chambers can then decide whether to charge him under the Sedition Act later on. Despite DPM Wong Kan Seng's assertions that being investigated by the ISD is no less "serious" than being charged in a court of law, there is a pervasive perception among Singaporeans that Pastor Rony Tan has been let off too lightly given his position and influence in society. What if nobody lodges a police report and the police is unable to act? Surely there is a role for the ISD then? Again, a separate department can be set up under the Home Affairs Ministry tasked solely to deal with potential racial and religious conflicts without involving the ISD. The government should consider forming a "social harmony committee" to receive feedback and complaints from the public over incidents like these including aggressive proselytizing, running down of other races and religions and misuse of one's professional position to convert others. The committee can be vested with the powers to call up the alleged offenders for questioning before it decides whether further action is warranted by referring the case to the Attorney-General Chambers or if a warning will suffice. In other words, such racial and religious disputes can be settled easily by another agency together with the police and Attorney-Chambers completely outside the purview of the ISD. Then should the ISD focus on tackling terrorism now? No, its tasks should be taken over by an anti-terrorist unit which will retain the same powers to detain suspected terrorists (only) without trial. This will ensure that there will be an agency dedicated to countering potential terrorist threat while preventing the ISD for being used for political ends. The ISA should be repealed and the ISD be dissolved and broken up into specialized subunits for various specific roles. There is no place for such an archaic and repressive law like the ISA in a modern society like Singapore. EDITORS’ NOTE: If you encounter the “duplicate post” error when posting comments on our site, post again by clicking on the “Submit Comment” 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. Public anger against Rony Tan fast turning to PAP 2. Rony Tan’s Facebook closed after being flooded with comments from netizens 3. Rony Tan’s views on homosexuality 4. Perceived double standards in the application of Sedition Act 5. Facebook group set up to demand punishment for Rony Tan 6. VIDEO: Pastor Rony Tan’s comments on Buddhism 7. Hardwarezone forumers up in arms over Pastor Rony Tan’s remarks 8. Pastor Rony Tan issues public apology on his remarks about Buddhism  Read More →