Home » Posts tagged with "homeless"
Posts tagged with "homeless"
Sunny passes away – from political party member to homelessness
Jul. 28 | TOC just got news that Sunny passed away yesterday. Since this story was published, Sunny had found shelter in a Home for the Aged. His family cannot be traced to claim his body. TOC is enquiring how we may claim the body and give him a proper funeral....
Homeless in Singapore due to technicality
Apr. 13 | Zia is a 42-year old divorcee with five children. Four of the younger ones are in school whilst her eldest son is due to complete his National Service this year. As a Patient Service Assistant at a health care centre, she earns a gross income of $1500...
A great time to be alive
Apr. 9 | The Eleventh Hour (see below) is a documentary on the environmental crisis. I haven’t watched the film and I’m not going to blog about it, but there’s just something from this trailer that caught my attention when I first saw it, and that I still...
Raiding the homeless – part two
Apr. 3 | Andrew Loh While the minister for MCYS was promising the moon to poorer S’poreans, officers from his ministry and Nparks were raiding the homeless at Changi Beach, clearing them away before Al Jazeera came calling. On Saturday, 27 March 2010, Minister...
HDB: Homelessness due to policies? BTS better than BTO? 31,000 flats unsold, but nobody knows?
Mar. 12 | By Leong Sze Hian I refer to the article “Life’s a beach, but it’s no holiday: Parents’ irresponsibility, greed and policy are depriving kids of homes” (ST, Mar 9). The article begins by mentioning how a certain Mr Yusof lost his...
Straits Times’ outrageous opinion piece on homelessness
Mar. 10 | By Callan Tham The Straits Times, true to its form of operating as a government mouthpiece, publishes this gem of an opinion piece disguised as ‘Prime News’ entitled Life’s a beach but it’s no holiday (complete with the accompanying...
Malay homelessness – who was the quicker finger-pointer?
Mar. 6 | By Joshua Chiang Imran sold his flat for a profit. With the money, he rented a bungalow in Johor Bahru and even bought a car. Two years later, his money was spent, and he was back in Singapore, homeless. Imran could be what Senior Parliamentary Secretary...
Vivian Balakrishnan on protecting homeless children
Mar. 3 | “I have insisted that (to) anyone with children. The children must be put in a proper home; they must continue to go to school. They must continue to get access to good food, good hygiene. And if any family has difficulty providing these things...
Homeless people are “defective”, needs “rehabilitation”?
Feb. 12 | Andrew Loh The response from the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS), the Housing and Development Board (HDB) and the National Parks Board (Nparks) to a letter by Mr Joshua Chiang on the issue of the homeless is, to say the least,...
ST Forum letter on homeless situation and official reply
Feb. 11 | ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN The Homeless Deserve Better Treatment Letter from Joshua Chiang as published in the Sunday Times on 8 Feb 2010 As a private citizen who is working with other concerned individuals to aid and raise awareness for the homeless in Singapore,...
Public housing flats – Singaporeans come first or foreigners?
Feb. 7 | Andrew Loh If you have always thought the homeless are lazy people or are unemployed on purpose, perhaps you have bought into the stereotype of these people too conveniently. Yet it is not uncommon to find such views of the homeless among Singaporeans. However,...
Yet another set of SERS flats – refurbished & to be rented out – in Boon Lay
Feb. 6 | I passed by Boon Lay Ave a few occasions and noticed that Block 216-220 is still intact. The former residents were told to move out due to an “en bloc” development in the estate. Today, I passed by once again and saw this interesting banners....
Nowhere else to turn
Feb. 6 | Joshua Chiang The first thing you would notice about Rahim (not his real name) is the slight bulge on the left side of his T-shirt. As he lifts his shirt to reveal an ostomy bag attached to the side of his abdomen, Rahim tells us the pouch collects...
SERS flats converted to condo for expats
Feb. 5 | Andrew Loh / Joshua Chiang Blocks 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 along Tiong Bahru Road were built by the Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) which operated between 1927 and 1959. The SIT was a body set up by the British colonial authority to solve the housing problems...
SERS flats to be rented out to foreigners again – this time in Bedok
Feb. 4 | 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....
HDB’s inflexible policies will result in more homeless S’poreans
Feb. 3 | Andrew Loh / Leong Sze Hian / Picture from Wikimedia ‘There’s no question that our policies are designed for the good of the people. While there may be certain parts of the policies that are not favourable, overall, I think these policies...
The curious case of Block 29
Feb. 2 | Andrew Loh / Joshua Chiang “The Government’s first responsibility is to Singaporeans.” – Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, New Year Message, 2010. On 18 January, officers from the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) moved...
“The government’s first responsibility is to Singaporeans”
Feb. 1 | Andrew Loh / Pictures by Joshua Chiang So, the homeless at Sembawang Park have been relocated to HDB flats. All seem to be well. And on the surface, at least, the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, should be congratulated for stepping...
The behaviour of little Lee Kuan Yews
Feb. 1 | Andrew Loh / Pictures by Joshua Chiang After The Online Citizen broke the story of homeless people camping out at Sembawang Park, all hell seemed to have broken loose. The authorities which, with all their resources could have helped these homeless...
50 years of HDB – homelessness is its biggest challenge
Jan. 23 | Andrew Loh Come next Tuesday to Friday, the Housing and Development Board will host the International Housing Conference, an event to showcase and boast about the HDB’s achievements over the last 50 years. Titled, “Sustainable Housing : Charting New...
Needy waits 2 years under HDB’s Public Rental Scheme
Jan. 20 | Lisa Li I refer to Ms Kee Lay Cheng’s letter ‘Priority given to truly needy’ in the TODAY paper (13 Jan 2010) in reply to Mr Leong Sze Hian. According to Ms Kee, who is the Deputy Director (Land Administration) Housing and Development Board, “HDB...
Homeless in the parks – a symptom of flawed housing policies?
Jan. 18 | 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...
Raiding the homeless – in the middle of the night
Jan. 18 | Update: (18 JAN 2010) The homeless in Sembawang Park have been given proper lodging. Some of them met with MCYS this morning. All of those who lived in the tents have moved – voluntarily – to flats. TOC will keep our readers updated. Joshua...
TOC Editorial: A question of supply
Jan. 7 | HDB should invest more in low-income housing The news last month that two HDB blocks in Toa Payoh – previously slated for redevelopment – have been converted to dormitories for foreign workers employed by Singapore’s new integrated resorts have...
Changing lives through football
Oct. 15 | Announcement: The Reform Party is continuing its programme of weekly walkabouts today (16th Oct 2009). The Walkabout will start from 7.30pm at Little India MRT Station NE 7 along Buffalo road towards Serangoon road to make a short stop over at Tekka Market....
Where’s the compassion in our “fine city”?
Aug. 20 | Leong Sze Hian I refer to the article “Jailed for living in illegal tent” (ST, Aug 18). It reported: “Homeless and unemployed, Noor Mohammad Yassin Ismail pitched a canvas tent at East Coast Park in May, 2007, and lived there for almost a month...
Help the homeless in Singapore!
May. 11 | Help the homeless in Singapore! New Hope Community Services, a voluntary welfare organisation which provides shelter to men-in-crisis and displaced families, is organising a fundraising concert ‘Multi Racial Charity Ride’ on 16 May 2009, Saturday,...
Sleepless in Singapore
Apr. 29 | The country is ill-equipped to cope with a possible rise in homelessness In February this year, the grim reality of the economic downturn in the United States was dramatically brought home to Americans by the Oprah Winfrey Show when it highlighted a “tent-city”...
