THEME: Public Housing - A Home for Every Singaporean

HDB's housing mission was originally premised on nation-building. Public flats were initially sold on a "construction cost-based" pricing policy to enable every citizen to own a HDB flat. Later, "land-cost" pricing was added and this eventually changed to "market pricing" which is based on resale prices. This last pricing policy has led to prices spiraling higher and higher, making owning a HDB flat out of reach for many young citizens today. 

These pricing changes ride on the back of promises to enhance assets and HDB's rigorous innovations to create public flats that are more like private apartments. These innovations moved HDB into the realm of real estate business, selling land to private developers. Consequently, a HDB flat can now cost more than a private apartment.

If nation-building is still HDB's sacred mission, then HDB has a duty to ensure that Singaporeans are the only ones who are eligible to buy HDB flats. If this is no longer its mission, then it should no longer be called the Housing Development Board.

As a public housing agency, HDB need not be concerned at all with the housing needs of foreigners and permanent residents. If foreigners and permanent residents choose to own their flat, they should look at private flats and not compete with Singaporeans for public flats which are built with taxpayers money.

HDB flats should also not be approved for use as dormitories for foreign workers or leased by HDB directly to foreigners or permanent residents.

HDB flats should not be acquired or rented to any public or private corporation, even if there are excess public flats. Excess flats ought to be rented out to meet the needs of Singaporeans who do not have the means to pay for a flat or are not yet ready to do so. In particular, 3- and 4-room rental flats should be made available to young couples, including single parents, who need a place with adequate living space to start a family and to raise children . 

If these measures are kept in place, there will be no need for HDB to keep building new flats. There will be more than enough flats if permanent residents are no longer allowed to own any public flat. HDB could revert to construction-cost pricing for new flats. In order not to impact upon the prices of existing flats which were bought based on market-pricing, these new flats that are sold more cheaply should not be re-saleable in the secondary market and must be re-sold to HDB when they are no longer needed.

Private developers are clearly motivated by profits. HDB should not sell land to private developers to build public flats and then disclaim any responsibility for building defects or non-compliance with building specifications. After-all, these flats are still sold with HDB's minimum occupancy requirement for resale which do not exist for private flats. If HDB chooses to disclaim such responsibility, then it should cease selling land to private developers. 

These are just some ideas. There are probably more and maybe better ideas that others may be able to come up with. Whatever it may be, we should not stop thinking of ways to improve our public housing predicament. May every citizen who needs a public flat be able to afford one without paying for it with an arm or a leg.

The Trolls Are Amongst Us

The internet is abuzz with commentaries about the upcoming elections. There are heated exchanges amongst netizens who speak without restraint about their feelings on a wide variety of subjects. Sadly, it is also the time when the most vulgarities and expletives are used.

Reading the commentaries brings me back to my first day in national service. I had a culture shock when the sergeants and corporals were verbally abusing every recruit with that infamous four letter word and a myriad of Hokkien expletives. I guess one of the best things that the army has done for me is to numb me to the impact of such vocabulary. But for those who have not gotten use to it, try and see it this way. When people run out of words to say or use to express their anger and frustration, they jump straight into their pool of swirling unpalatable adjectives and nouns. Learn to read the feelings and not the words. They are just human.

But there is a group of netizens who do give rise to some concern. They enjoy name-calling, inflaming matters and inciting negative emotions to derive a certain psychological thrill. They deliberately choose to use mocking, insulting and incendiary language to work up a storm in the forum and to provoke a response. The term "trolls" is used to describe them.

How do you identify trolls? Well, they do not use their real names and would work behind an air of mystery. Sometimes, they would use monickers which are derogatory names of the people they are targeting. Their tactics are easy to detect. They use strong abusive language to throw a rational discussion off-course by refusing to accept any logical reasoning and then make personal attacks without checking out their facts.

We need to be aware of who are the trolls and avoid becoming their prey. They are out to thrill themselves at the expense of a serious public discourse on matters that deserve to be treated rationally, reasonably and responsibly. If you identify a troll, all you need to do is to ignore them. Don't give them the thrill that they are looking for.

I Am Not Alone

Some people think that independent candidates are working all by themselves and are short in resources and may not be able to run a town council. Conversely, they think that party candidates have more resources and are better able to run town councils. If we care to think deeper, these are merely assumptions and are not absolute truths. 

I may be an independent candidate but this does not mean that I do everything by myself. The amount of work that I have been able to do on the ground and in so many places would not have been possible without a dedicated team of supporters and their resources.

As a matter of fact, when it became known that I no longer had any party affiliation, there were immediate invitations from various political parties for me to join them. Some had even sought support to tap on the resources that my supporters have as they do not have adequate resources of their own.

A political party cannot succeed without strong supporters. With so many political parties on the scene, there is not only competition for talent but also resources. I am open to sharing the resources of my supporters with anyone who genuinely wish to serve the people and are not involved in politics for ulterior motives.

The idea of making MPs run a town council is an unfair political move that has shifted municipal duties from HDB to an MP. It not only makes the job of an MP more onerous so that he has less time in his parliamentary work but to also act as an electoral hurdle. It has been seen that even PAP town councils have their own issues. Voters, however, choose their candidate not because the candidate will be good in running a town council but because he or she can be their effective voice in parliament. Otherwise, their estate manager would be their best candidate as MP. And many may not know that I am not entirely new to town council work and was once a volunteer lawyer in the drafting of tenders and contracts for the Bukit Batok Town Council when it was first formed under the late Dr. Ong Chit Chung.

Having said so, since running a town council has been thrust upon an MP as his municipal duty, it makes sense for any new MP to continue to employ the services of the existing staff who are managing the estate. This is a step towards depoliticizing the system and ensures continuity of service with necessary improvements under the new MP. Obviously, if this continuity is not possible because there are issues of political ties, which will be truly regrettable, my plan will be to adopt a direct management approach with the help of my team of supporters which comprise people with the relevant skills and experience.

As an independent candidate, I am no different from a party candidate. In fact, I may be more equal to the task of running a town council.