Andrew Loh / Leong Sze Hian / Special thanks to Lynn Lee
“If everybody jumps onto this safety net, whether they deserve to or they don’t, that safety net is going to break. … They could easily afford a studio apartment or a small resale flat. They…should not be competing with needy families for rental flats… We need to take decisive steps to correct this.” - Mah Bow Tan, 6 Jan 2010, Straits Times.
Blocks 46 to 50 in Bedok South Avenue 3 was selected for the Selective En Bloc Redevelopment Scheme – SERS – in 2004. All the residents of the block have been relocated. The HDB has put up notices at the void decks of the neighbouring blocks to inform residents of the plan for blocks 46 to 50.
Its notice, among other things, says:
Pending the future redevelopment of the site, residential units in these blocks [46 to 50] will be put to temporary use. HDB will be engaging a Managing Agent to lease out the flats. The Managing Agent will be commencing renovation works at the blocks in the next few months.
The majority of the flats will be leased to Singapore Citizens, Singapore Permanent Residents and students. The rest will be leased to S Pass and Employment pass holders. These are professionals, executives and [supervisory?] staff. There will be no construction and marine sector workers in these flats. Some flats will be reserved as Interim Rental Housing for needy Singaporean families in financial difficulty with temporary accommodation.
Under the HDB’s eligibility rules for public rental flats, foreigners, permanent residents, students, S Pass and Employment Pass holders (who by definition are foreigners), are not eligible to rent public rental flats from the HDB.
So, why is it that HDB flats are being rented to these non-citizens, when needy Singaporeans have to wait up to years to get a rental flat?
Has the HDB ever announced the above policy shift to the media?
Has this shift in public housing policy, given HDB’s mission to provide affordable housing to Singaporeans (not foreigners), ever been disclosed in Parliament?
As to “the majority of flats will be leased to Singapore Citizens”, how many flats and blocks in total are now currently being leased to non-citizens?
If none of our HDB flats are rented to non-citizens, does it mean that no needy Singaporean will have to be deprived of a rental flat now?
What is the ratio of flats rented to non-citizens to Singaporeans?
Is the Managing Agent EM Services, like the two flats in Toa Payoh being rented to the Integrated Resorts’ foreign workers?
If the answer is yes, then, how does the HDB, as the majority owner of EM Services, deal with the possible conflict of interest as the sole provider of housing to needy Singaporeans from $26 rental a month compared to the much higher rental and profits if flats are rented to non-citizens?
As these are SERS flats, in a sense, they were taken from Singaporeans and given to foreigners.
Finally, we think the issue is not whether the flats are being rented to “professionals, executives and staff” and not “construction and marine sector workers”, but one of accountability and transparency on the contention of renting much needed flats to non-citizens.
Perhaps SERS may have acquired a new meaning – Scheme to Exclude Residents who are Singaporeans!
300 new applicants join the rental queue every month, the number of people returning flats is less than half of that. Over and above that, there are over 500 appeals from MPs each month, from those who do not qualify for rental housing, who are not registered in the queue at the moment. I am sure all of you would know that this is probably the largest item on the agenda, as far as MPS is concerned.
There are now 4,550 applicants on the rental queue. Some are really in need of help but they are in the queue waiting. They have no other housing options and the rental flat is the final safety net for their families.
**The Online Citizen welcomes any response from the HDB or its Managing Agent. We can be reached at theonlinecitizen@gmail.com.
So much for GCT.
Remember his Goal 2010. Singapore playing in the World Cup?? Now we may not even get to WATCH the World Cup…
What a joke…!!!
GCT claimed that he is instrumental in forging bilateral ties between SG and the ME. Pls, singaporeans have been doing business and infiltrating this market way before he flew his first-class ass there. What a liar !
Goal 2010 is from the hobbit MBT and not GCT.
Anyone can enlighten on the following? Conflict of interest?
Source: http://www.emservices.com.sg/em/AboutUs.aspx
Since our inception in 1988, EM Services Pte Ltd (EM Services) has been committed to delivering the highest standard of property management services. Founded as a joint venture between the Housing and Development Board and Keppel Land Limited, EM Services is now a leader in the field of property management services. Our premier range of services comprises property, engineering, contracts and project management in public housing, commercial and private properties
Source: http://www.rafflesmedicalgroup.com/web/contents/Contents.aspx?ContId=258
Mr Tham Kui Seng
Independent Director
Mr. Tham is a director of Straits Trading Company Limited, CapitaLand China Holdings Pte Ltd and Alexandra Health Private Limited. He also serves on the Board of The “Housing and Development Board (HDB)” and chairs “EM Services Private Limited”. Mr. Tham was the former Chief Corporate Officer of CapitaLand Limited and also served as the Chief Executive Officer of CapitaLand Residential Limited.
Mr. Tham holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Engineering Science from the University of Oxford, UK. He joined the Board on 1 October 2009 .
This is so unfair.
I quote my own experiences. I try 2 rent a HDB flat becos i couldnt afford it earns more than 1500 (total). And i couldnt rent it. Yet they r renting it to foreigner people that earns more than me. Is that the way for u to treat citizens…why citizens always have so many restrictions?
Singapore Technologies have more than 60% foreigners, it exceed quota. Yet u insist on giving foreigners in ST perm jobs while locals get contract job just becos u want the whole world to know ur education system is good.
I dont like this lying gov anymore.
I saw some block along PIE before exiting Kallang Bahru that are like that too.. I believe its SERs too.
Toc please go check it out!!!
@tiger – Feb 5, 2010 11:02 -
Tiger with a PAP attitude: you die your business, isn’t Singapore belongs to Singaporean and why can’t we share the same rice bowl.
If you want to know how the opposition solves the housing problem, first you got to vote them in as government. TOC is already doing something to help the homeless by letting the public know. Ask not what other can do for you, ask what tiger can do for the nation.
There are good times as well as bad times for anyone, maybe tomorrow it could be you in trouble. It is not uncommon that millionaires become a pauper if they are not careful. If you don’t have a good word to add to the less fortunate at least don’t add salt to their wound.
Don’t be too happy if there is more homeless people, they may one day come to rob your family. Even your life may be jeopardize if you continue to let the homeless grow.
If I happen to know you and your family, I will ask them how helpful you are to them. A person with PAP attitude: you die your business, I doubt you really know how to care for your family.
“What happened to “More Good Years” and “Swiss Standard of Living”?
aiyoh, standard marketing talk lah. just to make you feel shiok shiok.
when our country was not so rich so many many years ago, we did not feel so much stress.
now they say country is so tip-top & rich, and yet we feel so much stress.
lon lon ago before luke skywalker takled princess amitalah..there was a long curved block in tampinese built with multirooms on this special block..it has both 3 rooms/4 rooms flats(brand new)
when iwas visitin the particular block on an adhoc odd job..i noticed few flats was empty even though it was on sales more than 5 years ago.. i asked the resident why was it not bein sold? overprized or what?
the resident told me..this is a special deal handled by the defunct hdb managment itself…
it was catered for ^DOWNGRADER^ 4/5rooms owner who cannot pay their loans on time..
you can no longer serviced your 4/5 room flat?..not a problemo @ all
we hdb got a new scheme for you poor peasants..you just downgrade to a brand new 3 room flat lark..
ready as well..good locations somemore..tampENIS hor..home of the hdb minister himself(as though he reside in tha area)….
see? hdb very kind type guranteed you won’t be HOMELESS @ all…just swallowed your pride lark..my fello singapooriums…go to where no poor people gone before….
~sigh~
If MBT and HDB themselves, break the HDB rental flat eligibility law , those applicants for rental flats can now file a complaints to CASE or the courts to seek redress and MBT and HDB should be fined and make to pay compensation to those applicants who are put at extreme distress condition for their waiting period for the rental flats.
“Anyone can enlighten on the following? Conflict of interest?
Source: http://www.emservices.com.sg/em/AboutUs.aspx
Since our inception in 1988, EM Services Pte Ltd (EM Services) has been committed to delivering the highest standard of property management services. Founded as a joint venture between the Housing and Development Board and Keppel Land Limited, EM Services is now a leader in the field of property management services. Our premier range of services comprises property, engineering, contracts and project management in public housing, commercial and private properties”
This is exactly what the Reform Party is talking about. A bloated GLC that monopolises businesses across all sectors and segments of the various industries. It is little wonder we are a nation with one of the lowest rate of entrepreneurs. How to compete with all these mega companies feeding off public funds and state coffers for their ever expanding empires ? Not to mention having unfair practices of colluding with their own “kakis”. It is high time these GLCs be disbanded and dissolved. Only then will the private sector thrive on a more dynamic pace.
Looks like HDB would rather rent the flats to FTs/FWs than to needy Sporeans without home. It all boils down to dollars and cents. In this country, everything is about money and more money. No money no talk. Among the Stats boards, HDB has the worst customer service, even those in higher management are rude and unhelpful. Their replies are usually based on SOP and at times, downright rude. This organization is the worst that I have come across.
Hello whoincharge
Its not luke skywalker who tackled queen amidala (not princess), it was anakin
What happen to today’s posts? Have they been deleted?
Okay now i see them… sorry
[i]anakin
Feb 5, 2010 18:07
Hello whoincharge
Its not luke skywalker who tackled queen amidala (not princess), it was anakin
[/i]
hee hee tiokang 1 lark(purposelee)
you wouldn’t want luke skywalker to sleep with his mother right?
that against yoda rules(yoda also fancied her.. me also…even me lesbo fren kiwi the butch)
This SERS scam also happened in Boon Lay. The residents of Blks 216 to 220 sought the help of their MP to plead with HDB to spare their flats but were turned down, citing structural defects, redevelopment plan for the estate, etc. The residents were relocated to some ulu unwanted flats in Jurong West extension. Many of these residents could ill-afford the new flats but they didn’t have a choice. HDB’s stand was simple: Take it or Leave it. Months past and the flats are now rented to foreign workers. Suddenly, the flats became fit for dwelling!? Talk about being played out by HDB and the inadequacy of MP. HDB is king and they will do you in any pattern they want, and they still have the cheek to declare they made losses!
PAP & HDB are in collusion here when it comes to terminology & choice of words. The key word is SERS & that changes everything. SERS does not cover the umbrella public rental for Spore citizens thingy. It is an all encompassing brotherhood/sisterhood thingy, all are welcome to stay here.
But, do not think its fair. How about renting it to couples who are married and are Spore citizens waiting for their BTO flats which takes about 4 to 5 years to complete, single parents with kids, hardship cases.
I just got a flat, its being built now.
I will be sitting on 200K loan soon. Scared shitless.
Today I called Starhub and a foriegner answered the call, it really made me sick.
Come on, a job like that, I think any Singaporean will be able to do.
I know the PAP did good before. Now it is just lost. I clearly remember their election campaign policies…it was James Gomez, James Gomez and CCTV….now after some years…we are like sitting ducks.
It is time to put better people in or we would certainly lose our future.
why so many companies are related, joint ventures with gov?
is it a way to get more $$$ for who?
@ prettyplace
“It is time to put better people in or we would certainly lose our future.”
This is where you come in
I grew up in the same estate as those Bedok flats. I have moved out when I started my own family in 2007. In fact from my dad’s flat, I can see those blocks. This estate is great. Huge carparks, peaceful, very convenient place to live with many shops and a good variety too, near good bus services and the Tanah Merah and Bedok MRTs. The residents from blocks 46 to 50 have been vacated long ago and I am sure they did not get a good deal from the HDB. For those who are old enough to remember, these flats are the larger older types. Block 46 is mainly 3-room while 47 to 50 are 4-rooms. My heart breaks to think of these HUNDREDS of large old-style flats going to all sort of foreigners when many young recently married Singaporeans can’t get a flat. If these flats were offered to young Singaporean couples instead, I am sure many would really love it. Yes, these are 30 year old flats but the size, location and amenities are great. Plus, so what if they are old, get a decent reno work done and you won’t feel like your flat is old. And forget about that 99 year thing…who lives to 99 anyway?! Damn! If I had been offered a flat there and at a truly affordable price which I can pay off within 15 years, I would grab it! Now, just to keep cost low, I am living in Jurong West…buying a repossessed flat with unlucky fengshui! Isolated from all my family who live in the east. Sigh…
Sparkles, how much did you pay for your “repossessed flat” ? Have you asked yourself whether one of those homeless people that Andrew and Joshua have been meeting in the parks used to live where you now live?
My point is that it’s very easy to blame the government as the sole cause for the homeless problem, but we also contribute to it by our desire to get a “good” price – when we buy a flat, when we sell a flat – all of us look for the best price. I’m sure you didn’t pay a record-setting price when you bought your home. And yet when you sell your flat, you’ll be asking for a higher price, or at the very least, something close to what you paid for.
I have a radical thought – what if all of us reading these articles rent out a room in our flats to one of these homeless families for the exact amount that they’re supposed to pay to HDB for a 1-room flat. We’ll be helping them and showing the government that we are not just NATO, and we’re putting social work before profiteering.
Any takers?
Anyone,
Just because most people would not be willing to take up your ‘radical thought’ doesn’t mean it is an issue they shouldn’t care about. Ever since the story broke, we’ve had people offering donations, students offering their time etc for the homeless… that is care and concern enough.
Two, you mentioned greed. Sure, it is only human nature to want to profit, especially from something you work very hard for. Now Singaporeans get blamed (no less!) by the government for the spike in prices etc. Maybe you wanna consider who are the people ramming home the home-is-your-best-asset message all these while.
Just to digress a bit.
Adjusting for inflation and wage increases over the years, on average it takes a person five to six times longer (ie – 30 years) to pay off his mortgage of an HDB flat than a person working a similar job in the ’70s would need to. (5-6 years)
I think people are waking up to the fact that it is more in their interest to have cheaper flats that they do not have to slog so hard for just for that potential $100-200,000 profit 30 years down the road where one may possibly have died from cancer and hypertension for having worked so hard anyway.
i totally lost faith in HDB and PAP, and hope my $ is still in CPF :(
FT compete jobs with locals, resulted from PAP policy.
now, opposition party fight seats with PAP, it is eye for an eye.
time to change for the better.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
twasher
Feb 5, 2010 0:54
Another thing that would be interesting to find out about JTC’s SHiFT scheme is whether the rent they offered is below market rates. If so, JTC would be effectively subsidizing the rents of foreign talent while forcing Singaporeans who need to rent onto the free market. Here are screenshots I took of the current flats available under that scheme:
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I used to rent 3room flat in Tanglin Halt form JTC SHiFT but last year they want me to pay SGD15xx/month. Because of this I buy 4room flat in woodlands. Take loan for 20years with SGD8xx/month. The way I look it no such thing as “real free market in Singapore”. I think because some Policy maker make decision than the renting flat go lie crazy.
Work Camps for foreigners -> Singapore is turning into Nazi Germany under Dictator LEE KUAN YEW
http://fashionablefacistdictator.wordpress.com/
City of Possibilities…….for non-S’poreans!!!
Mah Bow Tan can talk anyway he likes because he knows he is MM Lee blue eye boy. Last time when Singaporeans ask for cycling lane he said not enough land in Singapore to build cycling lane. Now some other MP took over and we see cycling lanes being built all around. Wow, suddenly Singapore grew more land already huh!
i just cant stand it that all these PRS are taking up our flats… causing the market prices to soar like shit. im homeless n got stuck in a rut. sold off 5 room flat in recession n for 3yrs now, still left hanging cos the damn 3 room house prices soared even higher than the cost of the 5 room flat bought. sheesh~. cant wait to take my $ n get out frm here once i grad man.
i cant wait for change in this country.
sigh…
why all these multi-million dollars donkeys just don’t listen with their ears, but with their butts huh??? have they got any heart or not? let’s reverse it , if their family or their own children are those homeless people, will they totally ignore???
ask their conscience??? will they really ignore??? i believe that these people will get divine retribution for all the evil and wicked things that they done. chinese always have a saying : you reap what u sow. so eventually if there is any ministar who is reading this page, they better be prepared for a divine retribution that is going to happen in their and also their families lives too!!! mark my words!!!
IT WILL SURELY HAPPEN!!!
Instead of offering a email address for HDB or EMAS to repy (I am sure they would not), could TOC consider pester HDB or MND (and i mean really pester.. reminders after reminders) for an offical reply ??
It would be interesting to see how they will explain this. If there is no reply, then it is really telling and surely heads must roll …
renting out these SERS blocks to foreigners and then building blocks in Pasir Ris and Tampines to rent out to Singaporeans? Wouldn’t it make more sense, more effective and faster to just rent these SERS to Singaporeans? But of course, by doing so HDB will not make the profit that they have planned.
Singaporeans first, really?
@ brainwash
singaporeans first, for LIP SERVICE only
for other services e.g. HDB, SERS, PRs, foreigners come first
Boon Lay rental flats no longer under HDB. They are sold to LHN Group to sublet to Singaporeans and Foreigners at very high price. Really money minded HDB, something only MBT can accomplish. His trademark moves. Top money spinning machine for LKY.
THIS IS MADNESS!!!
Quote from LKY.
Yep he should repeat it after me again… :)
Let me tell those who want the PAP out. There is no way the PAP will be out as long as the old man keep his control. If you have a dog standing on the PAP banner the dog will definitely win I will assure you that. It’s no point, don’t waste your breath, there are so many people in Singapore who have no back bones and will definitely vote for PAP whatever animal stands under the PAP banner. We Singaporeans are well frogs without knowing the meaning of freedom. Goodluck to all those freedom fighters. The impossible will only be possible after the old man had died.
Hey Singaporeans…
Whats the point of moaning and groaning on the internet forum? What happens when elections come? All of you will vote for the pap. This has been happening for years and years.
There is no point posting threads and threads on forums. Its nt going to change the situation. Its time to act. The government has gone too far and they need reminding that they are the Peoples servant.
So what are all of you gonna do, is the question…
can i know who is the contracter of this building??
you little slagawag
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