Asking if HDB leases can be more than just “depreciating assets worth zero”, Lee Hsien Yang wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday (Jul 10) that Singapore should look to study examples elsewhere.
Lee Hsien Yang, the younger brother of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, asked if HDB leases have a “beyond zero” option.
“Today, retirement and housing has become like a game of snakes and ladders, but with more snakes and fewer ladders. Effectively, almost all HDB flats will turn into depreciating assets worth zero. This is the ticking time bomb of the lease decay”, the younger Mr Lee wrote.
Mr Lee continued that the HDB blocks in Singapore must revert to the government when the leases’ 99 years are up. There is no lease extension and no compensation.
“The government has said this is the only way to recycle land and provide affordable housing to future generations. If so, then why does the SERS, the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme, pay market price as compensation? What makes only 5 percent of all HDBs SERS-worthy, has not been officially detailed”, he added.
He explained that a system that would enable lease extensions beyond 99 years should be something that could be considered. He cited Hong Kong, where a lease could be extended for 50 years and is subject to an annual rent of 3 per cent rateable value of the property at the date of extension.
“Is it so difficult for Singapore to study examples of these elsewhere, with a view to adopting some elements of the best ideas?” he asked.
“The refusal to even consider lease extensions makes hostages of the elderly who face being uprooted and downgraded to smaller flats, or perhaps even made homeless, the retirees who cannot pass on an inheritance to their children, the middle aged parents who still have loans left to pay.
The urgency now is on finding a long term fix to the HDB lease decay”, Mr Lee wrote.
He called that a “progressive, compassionate government” would enable lease extensions. Such a government would “dip into those legendary reserves, or cut the GST. And give people more freedom with the money they put into the CPF”.
“It should not be an inevitable countdown to zero destroying the promised dream of a settled future for which Singaporeans have paid and kept paying all their lives, paid GST, paid into CPF, paid with obedience and acquiescence, and paid with votes in 2020”, Mr Lee wrote.
Ending his post, he asked: “Singaporeans, are you better off today than you were two years ago?”
Within hours, Mr Lee’s post garnered over 2,200 likes, almost 900 shares and 428 comments. /TISG
Photo: Taken from Complaint Singapore and Canva.com
A Housing and Development Board (HDB) resident shared on social media how his neighbour’s dogs would bark incessantly, resulting in their lack of sleep.
Despite reporting the matter to his Town Council and the police, the resident said it was “no use.”
Facebook page Complaint Singapore member Leon Lee posted on Sunday (July 10) that “Enough is enough.”
“I do complain this to town council but no use. I even called police, don’t be bothered to come,” he said.
Mr Lee attached a video of their estate where two dogs barked repeatedly.
According to his post, the dogs would bark from midnight until 4 or 5 am. “Afternoon, evening…the owner doesn’t seem to care,” said Mr Lee.
“One dog bark(ing) is enough to keep me awake but two dogs barking at each other…is a nightmare,” he added.
“I really need help to solve this problem,” said the concerned resident.
Members from the online community quickly responded to his post, suggesting that he should email HDB and lodge an official complaint.
“HDB is the official landlord for all HDB flats. AVS (Animal & Veterinary Service), NParks (National Parks Board), SPCA (Singapore Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), don’t care. They only need to know where the pet is kept on the licensing part,” said Facebook user Xiaobao. “So u need to identify which blk and unit for HDB to take action.”
Those who were acquainted with dogs also noted that the canines in the video shouldn’t be barking like that.
“Pls contact SPCA is not ok for the dogs to be barking like that. I can feel the frustration even as a dog owner myself, including all neighbours with young children and elderly who are sensitive to noise,” said Facebook user Yee Yi Qi.
“How can dogs bark for long hours nonstop? Suggest to call SPCA for possible animal abuse,” said Facebook user Serene Tee.
Photo: FB screengrabPhoto: FB screengrab
The Independent Singapore has reached out to SPCA for a statement and will update the article accordingly. /TISG
UPDATE: July 15, 2022
SPCA Statement
SPCA’s Executive Director, Aarthi Sankar has responded and clarified the incident today with the below statement:
“On the 12th July 2022, the SPCA was alerted to a video of two dogs barking loudly, causing potential distress to neighbours living around the area. Excessive barking by dogs happens for many reasons, including but not limited to separation anxiety, fear, boredom, and medical issues. Dog guardians are strongly encouraged to spend the time to look into the cause, and reach out to positive, force-free trainers if help is needed.
We have since reached out to Leon Lee, and we will step in to support by investigating once we obtain more information.”
A family in Singapore is appealing to the public to help raise over a million dollars for a growth-stimulating drug for their nine-month-old son born with dwarfism.
One Amanda Tan took to Facebook on Saturday (July 9) to share their son Jayden’s rare genetic condition called achondroplasia or dwarfism, affecting his bone growth.
Ms Tan listed out “a host of serious medical issues” Jayden would face growing up, such as short stature, disproportionate growth, nerve compression, spinal deformity, back pain, and recurring knee and joint pains. He could also experience sleep apnea, bladder, or bowel dysfunction or hearing loss.
Depending on the severity of complications, Jayden may require surgery in the future.
Adult males with achondroplasia have an average height of 131cm, while females grow to about 121cm.
Ms Tan attached a National University Hospital (NUH) doctor’s letter in her post, citing a new type of drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration which could help with Jayden’s condition.
Photo: FB screengrab/Amanda Tan
Phase 3 trials for Vosoritide or Voxzogo have shown positive results in inducing growth of about 1.57cm per year in patients.
Voxzogo was invented specifically to treat achondroplasia and is the only approved treatment that Jayden could take until he’s 18 years old. In doing so, he can possibly grow 20-30cm more than the average.
“Apart from increasing his height, it will also lessen the severity of his medical complication, and that is most important,” Ms Tan noted.
However, the drug is currently not on the list of medications in Singapore approved for subsidies. It also costs around S$40,000 to S$50,000 per month. The doctor’s letter also estimated the drug to cost S$420,000 per year.
Ms Tan is now trying to raise S$1.5 million to fund the first three years of Jayden’s treatment. The total treatment would cost S$7,000,000.
“Please help Jayden to grow normally like other children, any small amount within your means will give him a chance to grow up pain-free and healthy,” she added.
The family would also continue in their appeal to the government to include the drug for subsidy.
Members of the public can donate directly to Jayden’s account; the bank details are included in the Facebook post or through the Give. Asia campaign here.
More than S$72,000 have been raised towards Jayden’s cause as of writing. /TISG
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) is urging the public to refrain from calling the 995 emergency hotline unless for urgent matters, as the agency receives about 760 calls daily.
If Emergency Medical Services (EMS) calls continue to climb, the public may experience delays in ambulance response, particularly for less critical medical incidents, said SCDF.
The average number of EMS calls before the Covid-19 pandemic was about 550. This increased to about 760 calls a day on average in the first week of July, with the highest being 810, said SCDF in a Facebook post on July 8.
Photo: FB screengrab/SCDF
SCDF is monitoring the situation closely and has put in place measures to manage the increase in EMS calls.
It will optimise and adjust the deployment of ambulances to areas with a high rate of medical emergency calls and prioritise response to critical life-threatening medical emergencies.
“Patients assessed by SCDF paramedics to have non-emergency medical conditions will not be conveyed to the hospital,” said SCDF.
Members of the public are urged to refrain from calling 995 if they are not suffering any life-threatening or emergency medical conditions.
“By doing so, SCDF can continue to provide swift conveyance to those who require our emergency medical conditions.” /TISG
Opposition leader Chee Soon Juan attended the commencement at the National University of Singapore for his daughter’s graduation recently.
In a Facebook post on Saturday (July 9), he wrote that he agreed with founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who was quoted in the commencement programme notes, that innovative and critical thinking are needed in order to meet complex changes going forward.
“I hope that Singaporeans will continue to seek out an education that nurtures them to think critically and innovatively to meet the diverse and complex challenges ahead,” Mr Lee had said.
However, Dr Chee, who heads Singapore Democratic Party, added that “phrases like ‘innovative and critical thinking‘ are just buzzwords dropped here and there every now and then to placate restless minds and keep up appearances.”
And while he wrote that it was “Good to see all the young faces beaming with pride and expectation,” he also criticised NUS as an “institution dominated and domesticated” by the ruling People’s Action Party.
He wrote that the ceremony was “everything one would expect of academia’s highest traditions… except when you scratch the surface.”
“There you’ll find the sad spectacle of an institution dominated and domesticated by the PAP,” Dr Chee also wrote, adding that the list of chancellors deputy chancellors is full of PAP notables, including “Devan Nair, former PAP MP; S Jayakumar, former PAP minister; SR Nathan, former intelligence officer; Tony Tan, former PAP deputy prime minister; Ong Teng Cheong, former PAP minister; and Halimah Yaacob, former PAP MP.”
Dr Chee also commented that the China Daily Prize given to graduates is “the same China Daly owned by the Chinese Communist Party that insists that the Tiananmen massacre in 1989 is a myth.”
He added that the NUS is not “a hotbed for innovative and critical thinking.”
The opposition leader also mentioned a very personal reason for criticising the university “my sacking in 1993 after I joined the SDP.”
“Little has changed,” he added.
“I remember the time when I visited campus to talk to students, I was quickly confronted by a phalanx of police and security officers, and warned to leave or face arrest…
Lee Kuan Yew was right; we need innovative and critical thinking to meet complex changes going forward. But it’s one thing to say words and quite another to put them into practice. Therein lies the danger for this nation.”
While conducting house visits at 321C Anchorvale and 289B Compassvale this week, Jamus Lim met residents who had concerns after hearing that no bids had been placed for a Managing Agent last April.
Because of this, Sengkang Town Council is transitioning to direct management, it announced via a Facebook post on May 17.
“A number of residents shared their reservations about the impending transition to direct management for Sengkang Town Council, having read the news about the absence of bids for the managing agent role,” the Workers’ Party MP wrote in a July 9 Facebook post.
Assoc Prof Lim added that this concern “is natural, of course, as anyone would have for any transition.”
He added, however, that the situation is not new for Anchovale, the ward he is responsible for, which has actually been under direct management since late 2021.
“Our experience thus far has been extremely positive. The new property team has been very responsive to our feedback and requests for improvements on the ground, and have also worked hard on addressing and recovering from maintenance lapses brought about by manpower shortages last year.
They have also worked to standardize processes and procedures—as well as adopt best practices—for back-end operations. The team is now in a solid position to scale up the experience of direct management in #Anchorvale to the rest of #SengkangGRC, and we are confident that they will hit the ground running.”
Sengkang Town Council announced in a Facebook post on May 17 that “After receiving no bids in a tender exercise for a Managing Agent (MA) in April, Sengkang Town Council (SKTC) will directly manage all divisions within Sengkang Town when the current management period of the remaining incumbent MA comes to an end in 2023.”
Like Assoc Prof Lim, the post noted that Anchorvale had been directly managed by SKTC since October 31, 2021, and its day-to-day operations are being handled by staff directly hired by the Town Council.
“With the experience gained from directly managing Anchorvale division, and more than eight months to the handover of the Buangkok, Compassvale and Rivervale divisions from EM Services, SKTC is confident of a smooth transition, and its ability to deliver the standards of service that Sengkang residents have come to expect,” the post also said said.
Sengkang’s other divisions are currently managed by EM Services, whose contract ends on Jan 31, 2023.
“Given the circumstances, Sengkang Town Councillors deliberated on this matter and voted to transit into direct management of SKTC, after the management period of EM Services comes to an end.
Till the expiry of its contract, EM Services will continue to provide its services to SKTC. SKTC would like to convey its appreciation to EM Services for its years of service to Sengkang residents.”
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Foremost, let us always keep in mind the Road Traffic Act (Chapter 276, Section 112). It clearly states that road traffic requires the cooperation of all road users for its smooth and efficient operation.
Hence, all road users always have to be considerate, courteous, vigilant, and sober. It is particularly for cyclists and pedestrians, as they are considered the most vulnerable groups on the road.
Moreover, The Active Mobility Act (AMA) came into force in May 2018. On-road Rules which place a strong emphasis upon cyclists and power-assisted bicycle (PAB) riders must adhere to the following rules when riding on roads:
Obey all traffic signals and travel in the same direction as the flow of traffic.
Always ride as close as practicable to the far left edge of roads, and allow traffic to overtake you safely.
Cycle in a single file on single-lane roads.
(From 1 Jan 2022) Keep to a maximum length of 5 bicycles when riding in groups, which means a maximum of 5 cyclists if riding in single file, or 10 cyclists if riding two abreast.
Not cycle on expressways, road tunnels (currently 14) and selected viaducts (so far Tuas Viaduct is prohibited).
We can vividly notice from the specific uploaded video which showed that the cyclists did not adhere to the rule 2, 3 & 4 stated above. Undoubtedly, this incident could hamper road safety.
Anyway, based on my close observation, the width of a drive lane/path is about 1.83 metres. If cyclists ride in two abreast, it could simply occupy about 0.92 metres and hardly allow a salon car to drive past them or squeeze through a drive path. It is especially so during the peak hours of traffic in the morning and evening period.
Could LTA consider the prohibition of cyclists riding on West Coast Highway, Bukit Timah Viaduct, and Bartley Road East Flyover/viaduct as the traffic volume is high during the morning and evening peak hours at these mentioned venues?
Teo Kueh Liang
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of The Independent Singapore.
A woman wrote a post on SG Whispers claiming to not only give her mother a monthly allowance but also pay for household bills and groceries, but her mother remains dissatisfied and tells others that her daughter gives only a small amount and refuses to let her mum retire.
The poster is aged 41 and is single. She writes that she earns $12,000 monthly.
“Investment and saving I put aside portion of money, and I don’t spend on top end branded clothing/bag. I love good food I spent quite a fair bit on good restaurants with my family and friends and holiday.”
She pays for all the expenses in her parents’ home. “Pub bills, Groceries, anything you name it I am the one paying for it. That include bringing her for nice restaurants dining and travelling.”
The woman is not an only child. She has a sister who is married with two children, whom she is expected to spend money on as well.
She also has a brother who hasn’t worked for four years, whom she doesn’t give money to, but whom she described as “just idle at home doing some housework or watch YouTube, Netflix.”
The woman wrote she used to give her parents $600— $400 for her mother and $200 for her father. But since her mum said she wanted to retire, the woman stated giving her $1,600 month.
However, her mother “still feel her money not enough she now saying she don’t want retired till I give her more.”
What appears to be very painful for the poster is that her mother “goes around telling my relative and friends I’m very spendthrift…
I can’t be giving her all my own money for saving in the event if anything happen to her my brother and sister will want the money to be spilt among them. I’m single I still need own money for old age.”
The situation with her family got so difficult that it caused fights between the woman and her ex-boyfriend, whom she broke up with eight years ago. She has been single since then.
She ended her post by writing, “I always wonder I’m doing too little or too much for my family. Till I deserve my mum going behind my back telling tales and my auntie will come tell me.”
Netizens encouraged the woman to move out or at least tell her family how she feels and to enjoy her own life, even while supporting her parents.
“Filial piety is NOT an absolute,” another commenter told her.
“Don’t understand why some parents treat their children like some retirement plan,” wrote another.
This weekend’s YouTube Binge was particularly an interesting one. The video that struck me was an interview of a US Marine who had served in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) as an officer.
This young man was born in Singapore and, after serving his obligatory national service in Singapore, decided to join the US Marines. In a Zoom session interview with YG From SG YouTube Channel, he provides insights on the difference between serving in the National Service and in the US Marines:
What makes this interview so insightful is the fact that instead of comparing the training and equipment in the US Marines and the SAF, he talked about his personal experiences in the SAF and the culture of the two organisations.
One of the most striking things he said was the fact that in the SAF, there is an “Ideal” of what the military should be and everyone trains towards the ideal. One of his most striking examples is in field training.
He mentions that in the SAF, there’s a lot of emphasis on getting things ready for a parade (keeping your uniform spick and span), which also carries onto the field. On the other hand, in the US Marines, there is an emphasis on parade appearance when you’re on base and not when you’re in the field.
He also gave the example of being in the field whilst training in the SAF and being punished because he instinctively threw a smoke grenade when his platoon came under attack because smoke grenades are controlled items and expensive, and he needed to ask for permission to use the smoke grenade.
The SAF is a conscript force, and what goes on in the SAF is pretty much a good guide as to what goes on in the rest of Singapore. It was good to see this young man touch on one of the most pressing issues in Singapore – namely the fact that we’re a society that prepares our people for a textbook ideal of what the world is rather than what the world actually is.
I think of another national service story, which comes from a lawyer friend who was a combat engineer officer. The story he tells is that in Singapore, the only way to determine if an area has been occupied previously is if you radio HQ. By contrast, the Israeli (field experience) doctrine tells you to check if there are birds in the area because the birds would be feasting on leftovers by the humans.
OK, there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with having a vision and working towards it. This is supposed to be the one key thing that all great leaders are supposed to have. However, having an idea and putting it into practice are two separate things. There are many cases in life when the textbook does not provide an example of how things should be and the man in the centre does not know what to do because he’s far removed from the ground.
These basic facts are probably the biggest fault lines in how Singapore is run. Our system only seems to cater for textbook answers (textbooks written in the 1960s) and the centre always knows best.
Singapore is run by people trained by a textbook written in the 1960s. In fairness to Lee Kuan Yew and his team, that textbook worked brilliantly. Singapore is pretty much what a place should be – clean, green, and rich. As things stand, things in Singapore look pretty good. I get funny looks from Americans and Europeans whenever I suggest that Singapore is less than paradise, the look of “What are you complaining about?”
However, as I’ve argued, the problem in Singapore is not so much that it’s in danger of imminent collapse but that it’s bound to slowly rot away from the inside and while things look quite ok at the moment, it won’t always be the case.
In the 1960s, the centre was held under Mr Lee because he and his team admitted that they didn’t know everything and were willing to learn, adapt and get things done. Mr Lee in his early days had the good sense to keep the politics off the backs of capable people like Dr Goh Keng Swee. He took care of the politics, and they took care of the work.
Unfortunately, things changed. Dr Goh Keng Swee retired in 1984 and was only heard off again at his funeral. Singapore’s success then became all about one man in the centre. The centre was all wise and knowing, and only the centre could get things done.
This was OK when the centre did have answers. However, the internet happened and things started loosening up. In Singapore speak, being on the periphery is for losers and nobody cares what people on the ground think. A classic case is the explosion of COVID-19 cases in the dormitories. Activists spent years raising the issue of unsanitary conditions in the dormitories. They were ignored or sued.
Then, Covid-19 happened, thus proving the activist right (the activist being on the ground), which resulted in the government bailing out dormitory operators so that they could go back to suing and deporting anyone who suggested that management was not doing a perfect job. Think of the deportation of Zakir Hossain as being the Singapore version of Trump “Sporadic for you but not for others.”
This would indicate that the object of doing anything in Singapore is about maintaining the status quo, rather than trying to improve the status quo. This won’t work forever. The world is moving in such a way that it will be impossible for the centre to know everything, and guys in the periphery will need to be able to act and improvise according to the situation.
Unless you value the guys on the ground, or the guys doing the actual work and fighting the actual battle, you’re not going to achieve very much. So, instead of tying up the hands of the people, the government should allow people to get on with it, if Singapore is to have a future at all.
Makansutra founder Kf Seetoh paid tribute to the hawkers currently in New York prior to the opening of Urban Hawker in Times Square.
On Sunday morning (July 10) he posted a photo of himself along with the hawkers “over kopi meeting in New York now, discussing pre opening issues.”
The food guru was all praises for the them, writing that they have what it takes to succeed in New York City.
“I have said before, any, if not many of our UNESCO class hawkers in Singapore can make it in the Big Apple. But skills, passion, an SOP, a famous, popular brand and money, is not enough ..you need gumption, dare, galls, and determination.
Then, the world truly becomes your oyster and bows down before you and submit to your plans. They have it.”
As for his part, he wrote that Makansutra plays a consultant, management and advisory role, setting the stage for the hawkers to “light up the world makan scene.”
“I salute all you Pioneer world class hawkerpreneurs making this mark in NYC . They will talk about you in future and you will go down in our makan history,” he added, before naming the hawkers in the photo: “Sulaiman of PADI, Roy(Daisy’s Dream), Syafiq (Ashes Burnnit), Alan (Prawnaholic), Terry ( Kopifellas), Raymond (Hainan Jones Chicken Rice), Joe ( Smoking Joe), Shukor ( Manager Mamak Corner), Ah Yau n May (Mr Fried Rice), Irwin (White beehoon..Sembawang).”
Urban Hawker is set to open later this month. Mr Seetoh and the Makansutra team are with the hawkers at the moment.
There are 11 Singapore hawkers in the lineup for the new Urban Hawker food market, which will be located at 135 West 50th Street, within walking distance of Times Square in Manhattan.
Netizens, especially those based in the US or have relatives there, expressed excitement over the opening of Urban Hawker.
In November of last year, Mr Seetoh announced that his team would with Urbanspace, a US food hall operator, to open a Singaporean hawker centre in New York City.
The street-food vendors were hand-picked by Mr Seetoh himself.
Talking to TISG in January, Mr Seetoh said that the idea of this hawker centre is to emulate the new style of hawker centres that are more than the ‘old school uncle-auntie style’. He said that they look to have modern takes on foods such as burgers, nasi lemak with blue pea rice and many more.
Mr Seetoh added that seeing how the hawker stalls were to be situated in Manhattan, they aimed to bring an eclectic push to the food, “not just the old Ang Mo Kio-type of food. Hainanese meat chops, ramen and fancier things, a new style of hawker centre”, he said.
