Andrew Loh
When the National Parks Board (NParks) relaxed camping rules in December 2004, it cited the popularity of the activity among Singaporeans as a reason. Campers would no longer be required to obtain camping permits. “With the relaxation of this rule, we hope more families and friends can enjoy camping in our parks,” Dr Leong Chee Chiew, NParks Chief Operating Officer, said then. “This is part of NParks’ ongoing efforts to enhance parks users’ experiences, and bring more people into our parks”. NParks said between January and October that year, it received 10,000 applications for camping permits.
Well, the relaxed rules lasted about 5 years.
There were 12,000 campers in 2008 who used the various parks in Singapore. In March 2009, the permit system was reintroduced because of, ironically, the popularity of camping among Singaporeans. Among the new stipulations, camping days were limited to just 8 days within a one-month period. Campers can only camp for a consecutive 5-day period within a month.
The jump in permit applications in 2008/2009 perhaps coincides with the economic downturn. One of the consequences of the economic malaise was the number of people who defaulted on servicing their mortgage loans from the HDB or the banks. In a report in January 2009, the Sunday Times said “such defaults have climbed from 5 per cent to 8 per cent of all HDB home loans.” In total, some 33,000 households were in arrears for more than three months. This means one in 12 borrowers are in default, a rise from one in 20 previously. Members of Parliament have also confirmed seeing more of such cases at their Meet-The-People sessions.
So, what happens when one is unable to service the loan?
Aisha (not her real name) and her husband have been camped out at Sembawang Park for several months. Previously they had been living with Aisha’s mother until September 2009. When the family could no longer service the mortgage loans, they had to sell the flat, otherwise it would be repossessed by the HDB. Unfortunately for them, the flat was sold at a lower price than when they first bought it. When her mother applied for a rental flat from the HDB, she was told that she did not qualify. The rules say she had to wait 30 months as she has just sold off her flat. In any case, even if she qualified, she would have to wait anything from 5.5 months to as long as 19 months, according to the HDB website, before one would be available for her.
So, where does she go in the meantime?
As for Aisha herself, who has two small children, she had sought help from MCYS previously. The officer that she met, we’re told, suggested that she put up at a hotel in Geylang instead because “it is cheaper”.
It is believed that there is only one home for the homeless in Singapore, run by New Hope Community Services. We understand that it is already at full capacity. The homeless have no choice but to sleep out in the open, at parks and void decks.
Yet, it seems that even this is not allowed.
When the raid on the homeless took place on Saturday, it was obvious that it was a poorly-coordinated and desperate attempt at ridding the park of the homeless campers. The police, which came with officers from MCYS and NParks, started ordering the campers to dismantle their tents and also issued summons for infringements of camping rules.
The authorities must have known about the situation at Sembawang Park for months. If they did not, one would have to question their competency. Would it not have been better then for the authorities to visit the place quietly, speak with the homeless, find out about their plight and help them, rather than come in such an intimidating fashion? It makes one question if the aim was to truly help the homeless or simply to intimidate them or haul them away into oblivion. After all, why issue summons and bring the police along?
Does that sound like “helping” the homeless?
And the authorities had no idea where to house the campers, besides telling TOC that they hope to find some voluntary welfare organizations to take them in. Clearly, the raid on Saturday was ill-conceived. What were the authorities planning to do? To cart off the campers to Angsana Home as they did last Thursday with two of the families? The conditions there were, according to the families, unbearable. They were locked-in and were not allowed free movement out of the premises. Not surprisingly, the families were back at Sembawang Park the next day, after a friend had “bailed” them out. It is believed Angsana Home houses ex-drug addicts and the mentally ill, besides the elderly destitute.
Yet, the issue here is a bigger and more important one – that of the affordability of public housing. With more and more people defaulting on their mortgage loans, and prices of flats reaching ridiculous ranges, how many more people will be driven to homelessness?
Already, in 2008 the Prime Minister expressed his concern about the rise in the number of people seeking rental flats. In the preceding year, there were 4,000 applications for such flats with a waiting time of 15 months.
The Minister for National Development has tacitly recognized the problem and announced that his ministry would be building 7,500 more one and two-room flats over the next three years for the public housing rental scheme. This is in addition to the 42,000 current public rental flats, bringing the total to almost 50,000.
Would an additional 7,500 rental flats over the next three years be enough? Given that the waiting period and the waiting list itself are so long, one would question if this is adequate.
Where do the homeless sleep in the meantime?
Two blocks of HDB flats in Toa Payoh were recently reserved for foreign workers from the two Integrated Resorts. As my colleague, Leong Sze Hian, pointed out, “HDB flats, being public housing – a precious, limited resource, and much in demand – should only be reserved for Singaporeans.”
With the growing number of homeless Singaporeans, shouldn’t the authorities have reserved the two blocks of flats for them, instead of foreign workers? This is especially sad when everyone from the PM to his MND minister, from officials from the MCYS to the Members of Parliament, are fully aware of the growing number of homeless Singaporeans, of the long waiting period for rental flats, and the increasing number of those applying for these flats.
Thus, one would advise government officers, particularly those from NParks and MCYS, to be more understanding with regards to homeless campers. These homeless have nowhere else to go. Parroting the dictum that “HDB flats are still affordable“, as our minister Mah Bow Tan has been doing, is little comfort to those who are driven to homelessness.
Ironically, just beside Sembawang Park, a new housing development – Watercove Ville - is being built, boasting beachfront housing for those who can afford it.
In the meantime, the homeless have to tread carefully, in case another posse of authorities come a-helping, with the police in tow – lights flashing and all.
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Related posts:
- HDB’s inflexible policies will result in more homeless S’poreans
- HDB housing policies – tilting the advantage towards PRs?
- Providing affordable housing – HDB should re-look policies
- Raiding the homeless – in the middle of the night
- ST Forum letter on homeless situation and official reply
It is not only the flawed housing policies but the investment policies of the GIC, Temasek, FT policies etc, just to name a few. The talk these days is, “you’re lucky if you can service your housing loan!” This homeless thing going to blow up in their face, they know it as they cannot contain something which was pushed under the carpet, the buldge is too big now!! Is the economy going to pick by leaps and bounds, don’t think so.
I wonder if some of these homeless are called for their reservist, where are they going to get their uniforms?!! Perhaps if we had kampongs, they would have a place to stay. There are still many government buildings around, these can be turned to temporary shelters, why don’t they look into in. Then there will be a new term, “refugees in their own country!” Truly I cannot imagine the government has allowed the plight of our citizen to come to this state of affairs.Really unacceptable and sorry state of affairs for our first world country!. We must send them a clear message come voting time.
Were they really there to help ?
Or were they there to get rid of these campers as it is an embarrassment for the PAP govt who claimed that they are no homeless people in Singapore ?
If they are really there to help, why were these campers issued summons ? If they can’t even afford to put a roof over their head, issuing summons is definitely not in anyway helping.
Not only two blocks of flat at Toa Payoh, rented out to foreign workers.
What about, maybe more hdb flats at Jalan Boon Lay, Blk 76 onwards,
also rented out to foreigners.
T.O.C. You may want to check it out!…………. No wonder so many homeless
people.
I thought the IRs’re supposed to create jobs for singaporeans? Then how is it that foreign workers from the IRs can take up as much as two HDB blocks worth of residence?
Oh and I do wonder what’s going in in the minds of the authorities. I mean, these people have NOWHERE to go! It’s not like they enjoy camping out at some “ulu” park? It’s irresponsible of them to drive these peeps away without first establishing some form of temporary housing that actually befits humans.
HDB for foreigners, Angsana for Singaporeans. Did I hear wrongly from Prime Minister that Singaporeans will always be given priority? Talk is cheap, action speak louder than words as to how contradictory PAP was.
If this homeless news was real. I think this present govt has failed terribly.
And it seem very norm to hear or read govt comments about:
1: Spore kids less striving…
2: Dont blame foreigners for jacking up the house price
3: Spore is not a nation yet
I find the above rather worrying and disturb for not whether the comment deem to be truth but our leader kept slamming its home ground. For whatever reason, i personally feel for my point 1, they are getting the brightest from other country and usually having the age gap advantages. This doesnt conclude our kids are not striving enough and in many instances, we have some are equally well. For point 2, they have not realise that it home grown males were never place in a same level fields as PR in terms of national service obligation and that 2-3 yrs lost of income can translate a big different for the intial home affordability.
3: It seem that our forefather or at least my forefather has wasted their time here
Sigh………..
I hope HOTA staff are not waiting nearby Sembawang Park for one of the homeless to drop dead due to living stress, and harvest their organs.
Sounds far fetched? I don’t know. Anything can happen in Singapore as long as money is involved, there is no morality anymore.
BTW, I saw some pictures of the Toa Payoh flats rented out to CFL (cheap foreign labour). They have been spruced up and looks even nicer than our flats. Maybe PAP can rename itself to FPAP? Foreign People Action Party.
Its cheaper to sleep in tents than having to pay even a small rent to HDB and the utilities bill.
I have also seen old man and women locked up exercising in the upper most floor of Geylang Polyclinic. They do look mentally ill and might be a public nuisance. While it does make the streets nicer, i can’t help feeling we are losing the natural breaks in life which tell us to slow down and take a second look at the society of Singapore itself.
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http://www.facebook.com/#/group.php?gid=243022663629&ref=ts
How come the turncoat Bala didn’t report on this?
Remember the incident where they found out that one of the cases put up by the websites is not exactly true, he made a statement.
Now, he dare not make any statements?
Why?
It goes to show he is “caught” by surprise again.
I find that this article is not showing the full picture, actually, it is exceedingly biased. I’m not supporting PAP government completely since HDB prices are rising, that’s for sure. But these homeless people aren’t completely faultless. More research should be done on why they ended up homeless in the first place. If the case is really as reported in the news, where some people sell their houses and spent the money, leaving their families homeless, it is unfair to make all singaporeans bail them out each time. Providing help for them everytime they end up homeless should not be the priority, since that will just lead to a unwise dependency on the state’s welfare. The average singaporean is already struggling with their own house installment payments, why are there people pushing to help those who sells their property for fast cash? Even if the government is to blame, what can they do? Build HDB in 1 day to cater to those who sold away their previous one? Provide free housing at the expense of those who pay taxes?
The ruling party is not interested to help us, they are very good actors. Don’t trust them as they wayang only.If they have are real then let debate live about this issues and see what their excuses will be. We need help immediately not in 24 months.
if foreign talent is soooo great…then i would rather have foreigners run the country in place of the current ruling party…