Comments on: 50 years of HDB – homelessness is its biggest challenge

By: tin

tin — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 04:23:05 +0000

@tintin
thank you…but i’m not asking for anyone to judge whether my stories is true or not.but this is reality.i’m voicing out what i want to say.and needed some advice to those out there ever come across such issues.and by the way i’m online from my friends pc at her house.like i said i’ve been shifting from places to places.anyway thank you…for being such a heartless person as to say that…may GOD bless u and your family…

By: tintin

tintin — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 03:49:35 +0000

@tin

nice touching story (if only it’s real).

and in this fiction, you’re online from ??

..you’re working as ?? tin-can auntie ?

By: tin

tin — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 03:40:40 +0000

i was debar from buying a house just because i rent a flat and allowed my sick grandma to stay with us until she passed away.HDB caught me and asking for that rental flat back.i give them back and explained to them why i do that.but my explaination was rejected thus was given a debarment for 5years just by helping a sick grandma.and now i am homeless…shifting from places to places together with my kids.it’s either to a friend house or the void deck.it’s really uncomfortable.i try so many time appealed to them about this matter still they reject my appealed.i explained to them the situation i’m in but they just said get a rental room or a flat from open market.but how do i do that when i can’t afford the payment of deposit and monthly payment?government always said family day is important for every family to get together so are they trying to say there is a family only on family day?i’m helping a sick grandmother who unfortunately passed away on the same date that i’m supposed to returned the rental flat keys to hdb.i really don’t know what else to do to get a proper places to live with my kids.it’s really heartbreaking to see them sleep in uncomfortable condition.

By: Genuine Singaporean

Genuine Singaporean — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 08:33:19 +0000

I proud to be Singaporean a peaceful country, advance in technology and multi racial country. But I hate the leader because they are daylight robber with license.

A HDB flat with high price and interest. For a local hardly we can afford to buy a flat.

Why does the HDB Flat cost that high?? Simple reason because all the PR and Foreigner from other country say that Singapore house is cheap .

Water and Electric bills keep increasing .

To manufacture a car only cost $30000 plus but our government very cunning just for a piece of paper (COE) can cost more than car price.

Not enough with the Road Tax the Government implement with ERP every where( Enter Road Pay )

Lots of FW/FT working in Singapore . End of the day Local like us just wait to become homeless.

In the beginning they name their party as PAP (PAY AND PAY) After the PAP family have monopolize Singapore Market and make a fortune , Singaporean will getting (POOR AND POOR)

Dear Singaporean we need a change of command in our beloved country. Let show the LEE FAMILY and PAP how strong is Singaporean(Local) if we put hand in hand as 1 family and fight for our right.

Without a local people like us Singapore can’t be like today .

By: No lack of sophistry from the government concerning the homeless | Sgpolitics.net

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 11:52:41 +0000

[...] And while all this chicanery is occurring, the government still unrepentantly pursues policies that continually lead to escalating HDB flat prices which are forcing average Singaporeans out of their own market and which are also resulting in higher incidences of foreclosures and more cases of homelessness. (See here.) [...]

By: M Suhaimi

M Suhaimi — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:46:18 +0000

We do not own homes here in SG unless you are super-rich and can afford to buy a freehold bungalow. All HDB flats are leased by HDB for us to stay at a very high price. You end up paying the monthly rental (installment) for your whole life. HDB needs to mzimise shareholders value since it is a (semi) private organisation. Why should they care about the underpriviledged?

By: look both ways

look both ways — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:28:28 +0000

This is the tragic circumstance, resulted from an archaic rigid bureaucratic system. Having a short hand and severely ignoring expediency totally derails the objective of a WELFARE　system.

It sneers at the underprivileged and beat down their self-esteem to beggar for scrapes that barely sustains a person. The person who survives the humiliation and tribulations gets to hop onto the many (slapping) hands system. Those who cannot muster enough strength to hurdle over the long and tormentous screening process are left nursing their broken confidence in life for a very long time if not forever.

Such selfishness is not only visible in such cases, It is also a glaring characteristic of many Singaporeans. I believe that such perverse trait is unconsciously lulled into us by the strong arm laws and punishments laid out by the government.

Like most parents always said, “Do not cross the O.B. markers” and “Mind your own business” and everything will be fine.

Something I came across.
“First they came …” is a popular poem attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984)

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out.

By: screw

screw — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 02:41:31 +0000

how come sg only donate 50k to Haiti?

Are we really first world country? If we r, why we have charity shows asking for millions of dollars almost every 2 months? Isnt that the job of the gov to provide for the needy?

Why? But our gov is so well paid…do they deserve it?

By: iamawelfarereptilient

iamawelfarereptilient — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 15:17:34 +0000

[i]hoddioo on January 24th, 2010 11.12 pm Jessie Roobalosani sounds like someone who doesnt bother to follow the procedures of seeking welfare..[/i]

singapoor have welfare mey?
which department whoincharged?
hello paplicker don’t anyhow says WELFARE handouts
IT DOESN’T EXIST!!! want to bullshI t..try gettin a cow to dung instead………..

By: hoddioo

hoddioo — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 15:12:13 +0000

Jessie Roobalosani sounds like someone who doesnt bother to follow the procedures of seeking welfare.. Supporting evidences (such as medical records etc) are definitely required! How else can the Govt units ensure that welfare is given rightfully? Interviews are again part of the process to ensure that proper agencies can be roped in to aid her further.

By: New Era

New Era — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 13:40:21 +0000

Last year, Jessie Roobalosani fell into that category. A mother of three children, she became homeless and wound up in a government-run shelter after leaving her alcoholic husband. She now lives with her mother, stepfather, and three children in a one-bedroom apartment in a public housing block, one of hundreds that line Singapore’s tidy streets.

Six months ago, Ms. Roobalosani found a job as a baggage scanner at Singapore’s Changi airport. That took her off the welfare roll, so now she struggles to pay the bills from her $535 monthly salary. Her mother was recently hospitalized with a stroke and is no longer around to take care of her two young sons while she’s at work.

Roobalosani says she applied for various government grants but got bogged down in demands for supporting documents and interviews. None of the promised aid came through, she complains.

“By the time you’ve done it all, you just want to quit. I’m genuine. Why do they want to bother asking so many questions?” she says.

Experts say Singapore’s stringent evaluation of welfare claims acts as a deterrent to all but the most dogged. Only 26,000 households currently receive benefits, up from 22,700 at the end of 2007. By contrast, more than 100,000 households – the bottom 20 percent of Singapore’s income rung – earn less than $715 a month, a level that can be considered poor, says Mr. Leong. That bottom percentile has seen its income decline in real terms since 2001. Singapore has no official poverty line.

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2010/0108/Rich-Singapore-resists-welfare-reforms

By: Too Much Too Many

Too Much Too Many — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 03:51:54 +0000

Very soon, a rental service for high quality tents might just happen. Maybe the humanitarian NGOs could pilot a scheme. If they can support the earthquakes and Tsunami victims with good tents, maybe these homeless people could also benefit from a peace of mind during thunderstorms with better quality tents.

By: Bhavan Jaipragas

Bhavan Jaipragas — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 13:00:17 +0000

Thanks for this Andrew, a poignant read. Hope to see more grassroots investigative journalism from TOC.

By: whoincharge

whoincharge — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 08:55:50 +0000

1st of all
welldone TOC for gettin back on line
now back to the homeless threats…singapoor do not need to have a homeless situation @ all….
EVERY workin or x-workers will have a plus balances in their cpf savins
without a doubt this do needs to show proofs @ all
if the government is GENUIED in helpin the present homeless in makin them NOT homeless..let them used whatever cpf balance in their savins for a 2nd/3rd hands purchases in a used hdb ole flat..hdb do not needs to tear down EVERY ole flats
which is why it been built on a 99 year ole lease…
every europeans government has been doin it ALL alon in the name of easin the homeless situations..how come the singapore HIGHEST paid ministers cannot do the same?

By: andrew leung

andrew leung — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 08:09:56 +0000

‘Homeless’ Prince William spends night on street

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/12/23/prince.william.homeless.uk/index.html
–

I invite Mah Bow Tan and Vivian Balakrishnan to celebrate HDB’s 50th anniversary by spending a night at The Pinnacle@Duxton’s roof top garden with the homeless people in Singapore. They can then explain HDB’s and MCYS policies to them and their children.

By: Lucky

Lucky — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 06:52:40 +0000

Most important is no one is seen camped on the streets or in public places. Then everything is still OK. If they camp in remote beaches like in Sembawang or in nature reserve out of public sight, it is still OK. Unless Online citizen make an expose of it, then action will be taken.

Even in the US, there are tent cities. So if we don’t have , we are considered luckier than in the US..

Whatever hardships Singaporeans may be facing, all these are nothing compared to the sufferings of the Haiti people.

So Singaporeans are very lucky. No earthquake, no hunger and no tents in the streets.