TR EMERITUS

Written by Our Correspondent A video clip showing two PRC ladies ganging up to scold a Singaporean old lady selling flowers at the famous Kwan Im Tong Temple at Albert Street has been making rounds in cyberspace sparking a massive outcry from netizens: [Credit: Ester009] The netizen who recorded the video clip said he was at the Kwan Im Temple taking photos when he came cross two young PRC ladies scolding an elderly lady selling flowers for a living. The audio recording in the clip wasn't very clear, but it appeared that a dispute had arisen earlier between the two PRC ladies and the elderly flower seller. It is not known if they are new citizens, PRs or tourists. One of the PRC ladies was seen pointing her finger at the old woman and gesticulating in front of her. She was very aggressive and was scolding her non-stop. Another middle-aged lady stepped forward to defend the elderly lady and was scolded as well. The clip ended when the PRC lady tried to stop the netizen from filming the ugly scene. Such aggressive behavior by China people are becoming ubiquitous in Singapore due their increasing numbers over the years. Two weeks ago, a PRC couple "hijacked" a SBS bus for 6 hours after being told that they were not allowed to bring their wheelchair up the bus as it did not have wheelchair friendly facilities. A few days ago, a PRC woman made a din on a MRT trip over a trivial misunderstanding and the police has to be called in to resolve the matter. Singapore has been welcoming Chinese immigrants from Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Taiwan in the 1980s and 1990s and they had encountered few problems assimilating into Singapore society. The last few years saw a spike in the number of newcomers from mainland China who made use of Singapore's lax immigration criteria to study, work and live in Singapore. Unfortunately, bright and talented young Chinese are not keen to emigrate to Singapore which ended up mass importing uncouth peasants from the poorer inland provinces. According to a Gallup poll done in July last year, the top emigration destination for college students in China is the United States, followed by France and South Korea. Singapore was not even featured among the top 5 destinations despite its numerours attempts to lure them over. The ruling party is so desperate for mainland Chinese immigrants that even construction workers, cleaners, masseurs and prostitutes are given PRs and citizenships though many do not even know simple English. Some parts of Singapore like Geylang and Chinatown now resemble more like provinces of China. In fact, one can find Chinese women from almost all the 23 provinces of China congregated along the narrow alleys of Geylang. Despite rising frustration, resentment and anger among Singaporeans at the relentless influx of foreigners from China, the ruling party is adamant that they are "essential" for Singapore. In a recent interview with National Geographic magazine, Singapore's octogenarian leader Lee Kuan Yew told the journalist Mark Jacobson why Singapore is accepting so many Chinese immigrants: “Over time, Singaporeans have become less hard-driving and hard-striving. This is why it is a good thing that the nation has welcomed so many Chinese immigrants.” Lee was quoted saying. Lee described the country’s new subjects as “hungry,” with parents who “pushed the children very hard.” “If native Singaporeans are falling behind because the spurs are not stuck into the hide, that is their problem,” he quipped. [Source: The Singapore Solution] Based on the video clip above, it is quite obvious that the newcomers from China are indeed more "hard-driving" and "hard-striving" than local Singaporeans who were described as "daft" by Lee if they dared to cast a protest vote against his party in the next election. Perhaps Lee should try calling the PRC new citizens "daft" and see their reaction.  Read More →

OPINION The exact breakdown cost of HDB flats is one of the biggest mysteries waiting to solved in Singapore. Despite the government's repeated claims that HDB flats are "heavily subsidized" for Singaporeans, many Singaporeans remain unconvinced. When HDB revealed in its annual report that it suffered a loss of $2 billion dollars last year as a result of subsidizing first-time home buyers, few buy its story. In November 2009, Member of Parliament Chiam See Tong asked how much HDB flats cost and the profit margin added to the cost when selling the flats to which National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan replied in Parliament: "The total cost of building flats varies based on when we build, where we build and what we build. It includes cost of land, as well as cost of construction of the flats and ancillary services. It varies from $230,000 for a 3-room flat in Punggol to $530,000 for a 5-room flat in Tiong Bahru." He added that HDB does not price its flats based on cost-plus-profit, but at a discounted market price. Together with the Additional Housing Grant, which varies from $5,000 to $40,000, the subsidies amount to about 20 per cent of the market price for 4-room flats, on average. [TODAY, 24 November 2009] The picture will become clearer if Mr Mah provides us with the exact breakdown of the construction and land cost of the flats which he has declined to do so. Neither did HDB provide the figures in its annual financial reports nor on its online portal HDB Infoweb which contains other detailed information such as the resale price indices from 1990 till now. One may attribute Mr Mah and HDB's reticence to do so to the possibility that the information is covered under the Official Secrets Act, but it is not. In 1981, HDB published the construction cost, land cost, selling price and subsidy of old and new 3 room and 5 room flats in The Straits Times: 3 room flats: 5 room flats: [Credit: Forumer "Zack" from SPUG forum] As we can see easily from the above figures, HDB did provide a substantial subsidy for its flats back then. For example, the cost price (construction + land cost) of a 3 room flat in a new town is $61,500 per unit. The selling price is $32,800 as HDB provided a housing subsidy of $28,700 to the home buyers. The prices of new HDB flats have sky-rocketed in recent years. 4 and 5-room flats in a recent BTO project at Queenstown fetch more than $400,000 and $500,000 respectively. What is the construction cost, land cost and total cost per unit built? Is HDB selling them to Singaporeans at below cost price or is it making a profit? While the land cost is not revealed by the government, we are able to estimate the construction cost of new flats based on figures provided by the deveopers. According to business weekly, the Edge, Sim Lian Construction Co. has been awarded a contract worth $99.8 million by the Housing & Development Board for the building works at Queenstown Redevelopment Contract 30 with a total of 774 dwelling units which amounts to a construction cost of $129,180 per unit. As we do not know the size of the flats, let us assume that they will be sold at $300,000 for a three-room flat which will amount to a land cost of between $170,820 per unit if they are indeed sold at cost price: Construction cost ($129,180) + Land Cost ($170,820) - HDB subsidy ($40,000) = Selling price ($260,000) Since Singapore is a small island with limited land, it is hardly surprising that land prices are going up, but who owns the land to build the HDB flats in the first place? It turns out that most, if not all are owned by the Singapore Land Authority, a statutory board under the Ministry of Law formed on 1 June 2001 by the merger of the Land Office, Singapore Land Registry, Survey Department and Land Systems Support Unit. (Source: SLA) In short, the land belongs to none other than the state - the Singapore government! How did the Singapore government manage to own so much land? Did they acquire them at market rates? Apparently not. In 1966, the PAP government introduced a draconian law known as the Land Acquisition Act which "basically compelled all private landowners to give up whatever land or property they owned when the government required them for public purposes." This law gives the government the power to acquire land at a price which is "not higher than what the land would be worth had the government not carried out development in the area" or in other words, way below the market value. By 1976, 10 years after the act came into affect, the percentage of state-owned land went up to 67 per cent, from less than 50 per cent in 1959. By 2004, about 90 per cent of the land was owned by the government and its statutory boards, according to the Singapore Land Authority. [Source: Men in White, page 621] In summary, the Singapore government acquired the land in Singapore from private landowners at a low price. It then "sells" it to HDB via Singapore Land Authority and other statutory boards at "market price" to build HDB flats. HDB then sells these flats to Singaporeans at "cost price" while providing housing subsidies of between $5,000 to $40,000 to first-time home buyers. Technically speaking, HDB is making a "loss" as on top of paying for the construction and land costs, it still has to "subsidize" Singaporeans by selling them at below cost price. However, since the land is not sold to HDB at the price which is paid for when the state acquired the land, the ultimate beneficiary is the Singapore government - a situation akin to "money going from one's left to right pocket." HDB should come clean with Singaporeans on the exact construction and land costs of its recently launched BTO projects in Punggol, Sembawang, Choa Chu Kang and Queenstown like what it did in 1981. The owners of these land, be it SLA or other statutory boards should reveal the prices they pay for the lands under the Land Acquisition Act. Some of them may already belong to the state while others are acquired at very low prices in the early 1970s and 1980s. The next important question to ask is: if the Singapore government has been making a "profit" from these land sales to HDB, where are the profits going to? At the end of the day, it is Singaporeans who are paying for the HDB flats, not HDB itself never mind whether it did "subsidize" home buyers or not. Public housing is supposed to be easily affordable to ordinary Singaporeans like in the 1970s and 1980s. The prices of new HDB flats should be pegged to the median wages of ordinary Singaporeans instead of that of resale flats. In 1981, a brand new 3-room flat costs only $32,800. Today, it costs more than 7 times, but our salaries have not increased by that much. The Singapore government can easily reduce the cost price of new HDB flats by selling the land at a lower price to HDB for constructing them. Perhaps SLA and other statutory boards should consider "subsidizing" Singaporeans for HDB flats by selling the land to HDB at a lower than market price just like when it first acquired the land years back. After all, as land prices have sky-rocketed in the last few decades, SLA will still able to make a "profit" even if it sells the land at a couple of thousands of dollars less than its market price to HDB. So when HDB says it is selling flats to Singaporeans at cost price with subsidy, it is technically correct. However, it fails to mention that it is buying the land from SLA and other statutory boards at market price. With public anger fast rising over the escalating HDB flat prices, it is time Singaporeans exert pressure on HDB and other relevant agencies to reveal the truth of the matter - the exact constuction and land costs of HDB flats for us to judge for ourselves if HDB flats are indeed heavily "subsidized" by HDB and if they are worth the price we are paying for.  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent Some 118 Pasir Ris residents have submitted a petition to the MPs in their constituency to protest against HDB's decision to build 220 units of rental flats at the empty plot of land between Blocks 475 and 476 along Pasir Ris Drive 6. Residents were shocked when they saw the notice of the construction pasted on the notice-boards besides their lifts one day. Most of the residents interviewed by Chinese tabloid Lianhe Wanbao disagreed with the construction. 41 year old Mr Lim is worried that the tenants living in the flats may bring some social problems to the community. Another expressed concerns that the foreign workers building the flats will affect public safety and order in the vicinity. One lady said: "HDB should seek our opinions first and not just paste the notice besides the lift to settle the matter." A spokesperson from HDB told Lianhe Wanbao that the construction of rental flats is "in line" with the nation's "development plan" to increase their numbers. The Singapore government is not known for consulting the people before they do anything. Two years ago, a furore erupted in Serangoon Gardens when HDB decided to build a foreign workers' dormitory there. They did not seek the views of the residents either. After conducting a few sessions pretending to "listen" to the people, the project went ahead anyway and is now completed with the foreign workers moved in. Pasir Ris residents should not waste time with the petition as nothing will come out of it. Whether they like it or not, HDB is going to build the flats right at their doorsteps. After all, almost all the land in Singapore is owned by the state including the 99-year leasehold HDB flats which they "owned". So long Singaporeans remain as "sheep" being chased around by a pack of hungry wolves, there is little they can do until they reclaim their rights as citizens of the nation. News source: Lianhe Wanbao  Read More →