Mah Bow Tan
Singapore
“The previous generation of Singaporeans overcame huge odds together to create this improbable nation which we call home. Let this generation work as one to define our country for the next lap of our journey. Sir, on this note, I fully support the amended Motion. Page: 143”
“Like all upgrading programmes, there is a certain budget, and a certain pace at which we will build. We have completed the LUP and now we are going on towards the HIP. The Estate Upgrading Programme (EUP) is ongoing.”
“For those who cannot afford home ownership, we will provide rental flats. For the rest where there is hardship involved, that is where the safety net comes in. I do not think we should make the safety net so wide as to bring in everybody.”
“Building a studio apartment is no different from building any other HDB flat. If a person applies now and the building works start now, he can get it in two-and-a-half years to three years. We have stepped up the building of studio apartments over the last couple of years.”
“Mdm Halimah Yacob asked the Minister for Health (a) how many people have signed an Advance Medical Directive (AMD) and how many have revoked them since; and (b) whether there is a need to review the current rules on AMDs which do not require a person who has revoked the AMD to inform the Registrar, thus causing uncertainty for hospitals t…”
“Parents who wish to exert more control over the maximum mobile service charges incurred by their children may consider service options such as mobile pre-paid cards. IDA is aware of the public's concerns on mobile subscriptions, and will continually review policies and look into measures to further protect the interest of consumers.”
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“The Regulations also require the owner to affix a notice on every storey stating the imposed load for which the floor has been designed. The Regulations prohibit buildings to be subjected to any load beyond its design load. INTERIM UPGRADING PROGRAMME IN HOUSING ESTATES 4. Mr Low Thia Khiang asked the Minister for National Development (a) how much did the Government disburse to the Aljunied Town Council for its 16 precincts which underwent the Interim Upgrading Programme (IUP) and eight precincts which underwent the IUP Plus programme; and (b) what is the number of units in these precincts. 5. Mr Low Thia Khiang asked the Minister for National Development (a) how much did the Government disburse to the Ang Mo Kio-Yio Chu Kang Town Council for its 29 precincts which underwent the Interim Upgrading Programme (IUP) and six precincts which underwent the IUP Plus programme; and (b) what is the number of units in these precincts. 6. Mr Low Thia Khiang asked the Minister for National Development (a) how much did the Government disburse to the East Coast Town Council for its 24 precincts which underwent the Interim Upgrading Programme (IUP) and four precincts which underwent the IUP Plus programme; and (b) what is the number of units in these precincts. 7. Mr Low Thia Khiang asked the Minister for National Development (a) how much did the Government disburse to the Jurong Town Council for its 25 precincts which underwent Interim Upgrading Programme (IUP) and seven precincts which underwent IUP Plus programme; and (b) what is the number of units in these precincts. 8.”
“The permitted occupancy load per floor in a building is computed based on the size and usage of space within the floor. Under the Fire Code issued by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), the occupant load factor for shops and office space is 5 square metres per person and 10 square metres per person respectively. Overcrowding occurs when the number of persons on the floor at a particular time exceeds the maximum number of occupants allowed. These requirements are also clearly made known to building owners and operators. For safety reasons, SCDF also requires the Qualified Person (either a Professional Engineer or a Registered Architect) designing the building to ensure that sufficient exits are provided at the onset based on the maximum occupancy load. Commercial buildings such as shops and offices that exceed four storeys in height (excluding basements) should provide at least two exit staircases for safe evacuation. The width requirements of the exit staircases would be determined based on the occupancy load of the building. Hence, when occupancy load on a floor has been exceeded, it poses significant danger to people in the event of a fire and may impede speedy evacuation and escape. The current method of determining occupancy load is adopted from the British Standard (BF9999:2008), a widely recognised standard which is also used in many other European countries. The SCDF will continue to use this standard in determining occupancy load. Separately, the Building Control Regulations require the Qualified Person to design building floors to carry imposed load based on the type of activity or occupancy and reference is made to the British Standard (BS 6399 on Loading for Buildings) on the appropriate values to be adopted.”
“Ms Indranee Rajah asked the Minister for Defence (a) whether SAF has plans to review its fitness training; and (b) whether it will implement training to emphasise on building core body power, muscle strength and agility, over the current training which emphasises endurance and bayonet drills based on old military paradigms which may no longer be applicable.”
“The Barrier-Free Accessibility (BFA) code specifies a minimum footpath width of 1.2m to accommodate wheelchair users [2]. New sidewalks built in both public and private housing estates have to comply with this minimum width. This is regulated under the Street Works Act which is administered by the Land Transport Authority (LTA). For private housing estates, LTA has stipulated a width of 1.2 metres for new pedestrian footpaths along local access roads. A larger width of 1.5 metres is stipulated for footpaths along major roads and also for HDB estates. For existing sidewalks in private estates where the widths may be sub-standard, LTA will improve the width to the current standard where conditions permit. For public housing estates, Town Councils, in implementing the BFA programme, will provide a comprehensive network of barrier-free paths to connect between HDB blocks and the facilities and amenities within HDB neighbourhoods. There are also wheelchair accessible routes in HDB estates along strategic locations such as footpaths leading to blocks near lift lobbies and staircases. LTA and the Town Councils can take action against owners to remove obstructions such as trash disposal bins and potted plants at the sidewalks, while the Singapore Police Force (SPF) can fine car owners for illegal parking if they obstruct the sidewalks. More importantly, we should encourage greater community ownership whereby residents do their part to be considerate to their neighbours and to the community at large by keeping the sidewalks clear of obstructions. [2] A typical wheelchair is about 0.9-metre wide. SAF FITNESS TRAINING REVIEW 37.”
“Paulin Tay Straughan asked the Minister for National Development (a) if there are specifications for the width of sidewalks in housing estates, especially those in estates with landed property; (b) if these specifications allow for wheelchair access; and (c) what measures are taken to ensure that the sidewalks are not obstructed by parked vehicles, trash disposal bins and potted plants.”
“Season Parking Tickets (SPTs) are sold on a first-come-first-served basis to HDB households. To ensure a fair allocation of designated lots, priority is given to the first vehicle of each household if they purchase their SPT early [1]. Subsequently, HDB allocates the balance SPT for households' second and subsequent vehicles. Where demand is high and there are site constraints that limit the number of car park lots serving the block, car parks are grouped to be shared amongst several blocks. This gives residents greater flexibility in parking. The designated car parks are within 200-400m walking distance from the car owners' blocks. However, when the designated car park or car park group is full, HDB has no choice but to allocate SPTs at alternative car parks. There are such localised car park shortages at 10% (or 225) of HDB car parks. This affects about 2% of total SPT buyers. HDB is looking into increasing parking lots at these car parks where it is physically feasible and cost effective. For example, HDB may construct new car park lots on grass verges, make up shortfalls in adjacent new car parks or extend decks of multi-storey car parks. Where new multi-storey car parks are justified and possible, they may have to be constructed on land that is currently occupied by surface car parks. Details will be announced after HDB has completed its studies. We seek the understanding of HDB car owners that while HDB is able to provide sufficient car parks in general, they may not always get to park at their preferred lots, especially if they return home late at night. [1] Before the 18th of the preceding month for popular car parks and before 11th of the preceding month for lower-occupancy car parks. HOUSING ESTATES SIDEWALKS 34. Assoc. Prof.”
“Yes, I do agree. That is the reason why we do not totally meet the demand from first-timers with new flats. We do not have a 100% new flat, 0% resale flat policy. If that were to happen, then the concern that the Member has expressed would come true. What we would like to do is to have a balance of new and resale flats. What I said in my reply was we do not have a pre-conceived idea what that balance is. But we have monitored the situation and the balance over the last many years has been quite acceptable. There will be people buying resale flats, people who are able to afford resale flats and people who want to buy resale flats for all the various reasons that I have mentioned. The current grant is a very effective way of incentivising and encouraging them to do so. The grants are very generous – you can get a grant of $30,000 or $40,000 from the CPF Housing Grant to buy a resale flat. On top of that, you can get another grant, up to $40,000. You can get up to $80,000 to defray the cost of buying a resale flat. That is encouraging and incentivising many young couples today to buy a resale flat. I do not think the Member needs to worry too much that people will not be buying resale flats. As the numbers show, about 45% of people – or almost half of the young first-timer couples – are buying a resale flat. ILLEGAL EMPLOYMENT OF FOREIGN WORKERS 6. Mdm Halimah Yacob asked the Minister for Manpower (a) how widespread is the problem of illegal deployment of foreign workers; (b) what measures are in place to address this issue; and (c) for foreign workers who refuse to be illegally deployed or complain against their employers, whether the Ministry can provide better protection from reprisals by such employers.”
“To say that we want to control the COV and do something with the COV, essentially means we want to set the price of the resale flats, which I hope and I believe most Members of this House would not agree to. What can we do with the valuation process? It is a process which is not determined by the HDB. The valuations are set by private sector valuers, and the valuers would then present this valuation price to the HDB. HDB would then use it to determine what is the loan eligibility of the buyer. Then it is up to the seller to determine how much above that valuation he wants to sell the flat. This is part of the market process as it is in the private sector, where there is no COV. So there is nothing unusual about having a COV in the HDB resale market. The fact that the COVs in the resale market are high today, which is causing some anxiety, is a reflection of the demand and supply situation in the market. I recall that last year, we had COVs which were either zero or negative. Again, that reflected the market's situation at that time. I dare say that, as the market cools down or the supply catches up with demand, the COV prices would start to moderate as well.”
“The Member asked what we do with those flats that are not selected. I did give some figures in this House earlier to show that we have on average about one-third of flats not selected on the first day of selection. HDB would set aside those flats that are not selected and offer them to the next persons down the queue. They would call up about two or three times the number of people than flats available, and ask them to select. If at the end of that selection process, flats are still unsold, they would be kept in a pool and then resold some time down the road. In other words, from time to time, you would see an exercise where HDB sells its balanced flats. What they call, the sale of balanced flats exercise. These include those flats that have not been sold under the previous BTO exercises. But at the end of the day, rest assured that all these flats will be sold. Some of the not-so-popular flats may take longer time to sell. The second question is whether we can do something about the valuation. I hope Members would appreciate that we have decided that we would let the market set the prices of resale flats. Government sets the price of new flats to make sure that they are affordable, but we do not set the prices of the resale flats. We want to make sure that there are sufficient new flats to cater for first-time buyers. We also know, as I explained in my reply to Dr Lim, that there are some people who prefer resale flats – so be it. But the resale flat prices must be set by the market and the resale flat prices include the COV. The COV is part and parcel of the resale flat price.”
“Doing so will implicitly mean that we would like to have more people buying the resale flats. There is no policy reason why we should be favouring one over the other.”
“Sir, young, first-timer couples in Singapore have a choice. They can either buy a new flat or a resale flat. There are pros and cons for each decision. If they buy a new flat, the price is lower, because the implicit subsidies are built in. But the disadvantage is that they have to wait. There is another issue and that is most of these new flats are in the non-mature estates. Some couples cannot wait and some couples prefer to have flats in a mature estate, perhaps where their parents are staying. So there is a choice – new flats versus resale flats. But if they buy a resale flat, then they are paying a premium. They have to pay cash upfront because of the COV and they generally have to pay a premium for enjoying the benefits of no waiting time, mature estates, etc. We do not have a pre-conception of how many first-timers should buy new or resale flats. We do not set a target for this. This is left to the particular situation and preference of the young first-timer couples. This ratio of 55:45 has fluctuated over the years. In some years, when resale flat prices are low, the resale flat proportion goes up, as high as 70%. Now when the resale prices are high, the proportion comes down. We do not have a policy as to whether we should have 40%, 50% or 60% new flat buyers versus resale. Hence, there is no need for us to consider incentives. The most important question is whether overall we have enough flats available for first-timers to purchase, whether new or resale. The Member assumes that it is better for first-timer couples to buy resale flats. I do not think we want to skew the decision either way. We will let the market take care of it. That leads me to his next question, which is whether we should increase the grant or finance the COV.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, an average of about 18,000 first-timers a year bought HDB flats in 2008 and 2009. Among them, about 10,000 (55%) booked new flats. The remaining 8,000 (45%) bought resale flats. So, 55% new; 45% resale. Six thousand and eight hundred bought resale flats with the CPF Housing Grant, of whom about 3,000 bought a resale flat near their parents and, hence, enjoyed a higher tier grant of $40,000. The remaining 1,200 bought resale flats without any grants. The high number of young couples who buy their first flats each year is made possible by our generous housing subsidies. HDB is committed to help Singaporeans, including lower-income households, own their first homes. Lower- and middle-income families earning up to $5,000 monthly receive additional assistance of up to $40,000 through the Additional Housing Grant (AHG) for the purchase of new or resale flats. A low-income family can therefore enjoy up to $80,000 in grants when buying a new flat.”
“It is not consumption because when you buy a HDB flat, at the end of the tenure of the flat or towards your retirement, that HDB flat is a very significant store of value. In fact, when the Department of Statistics last did a household survey a few years ago, they found that, on average, a Singaporean family has over $100,000 worth of asset sitting in his flat. That means, net of debt, net of all the payments, all the repayments due, a Singaporean family on average is sitting on over $100,000 worth of asset and that asset can be used for retirement purposes. Some of the policy changes over the last few years had been to achieve this objective of monetising that valuable asset. If we can monetise that asset, then the Member need not fear that we are spending our CPF funds. And this is another vindication of our home ownership policy because if we were to use that same amount of money – 25% of income – to rent a place rather than to buy a place, then at the end of 20 or 30 years, you will not be having this asset which you can use for your retirement income. Again, I would like to assure the Member that when we allow people to use their CPF for purchasing a home, it is to purchase an investment. It is not for consumption purposes. FIRST-TIME FLAT BUYERS AND FLAT TYPES 5. Dr Lim Wee Kiak asked the Minister for National Development if he will provide a breakdown of the number of first-time HDB flat buyers in 2008 and 2009 who bought (i) a resale flat from the open market; (ii) a new Build-to-Order flat from HDB; and (iii) a resale flat near their parents.”
“When the Member looks at Table 1 which shows that the Debt-Service Ratio (DSR) for 3-room flats is higher than that for the rest, it would appear at first glance that the 3-room flat buyers are, as she put it, hit hardest. But these numbers refer to the average over the last six months. We have been monitoring the DSR for all the flat types over the last 10 years. We find that at every year, during the last 10 years, the DSR has been within this benchmark of 30% to 35%. So, if I take a concrete example, at 25% DSR for a 3-room flat, we are talking about, on average, monthly instalment of $528. $528 can be almost fully paid for using the CPF contributions. So, that family would need to pay something like $40 to $50 per month in cash because the rest of that mortgage instalment would have been taken care of by CPF. I do monitor this closely and based on the current situation and the situation over the last 10 years, these figures indicate that our new flats are well affordable, well within the means of all the different income groups, from the lowest to the highest. As I indicated in my reply, there is more help for the lower- income groups because we have an Additional Housing Grant which we give to the lower-income groups. Because of this Additional Housing Grant, the 3-roomers and the 2-roomers benefit even more than those in the higher income brackets. So I would like to assure the Member that we do watch this carefully and I can say in all honesty that our new HDB flats are within the affordability range of all our new HDB first-time flat buyers. A related question is whether, as a result of this, people are maxing out their CPF. To answer that question, I have to emphasise that buying a HDB flat is not an expenditure. It is an investment.”
“If you take the same criteria from the time that the contract is awarded to the time it is completed, it is the same. But what the private sector may do is that they may build the flats, award the contract earlier and then market and sell the flats later on. So the time from when the person buys the flat to the time when it is completed may actually be less than three years. This is something that the HDB is looking at, to see whether it can award the contract slightly earlier, eg, if the subscription rate is very high, it may decide to award the contract earlier, given a fair chance that the flats for that particular contract will be more or less fully subscribed. So that is something that the HDB is looking at to see whether it can shorten the completion period from three years to, say, two to two-and-a-half years. Assoc. Prof. Paulin Tay Straughan (Nominated Member): I thank the Minister for these figures. I have a couple of questions. First, with regard to affordability, I note that it is the 3-roomers that have been hit the hardest. So this would affect Singaporean families which are in the working class and lower class. Is the Minister worried about that? The other comment I have is looking at the affordability figures, I note that in order to take care of mortgage responsibilities, it seems like most Singaporeans are maxing out their CPF to pay for their housing loans. This means that in terms of preparing for retirement, it may be a serious consequence ahead if they are not able to recover the funds, depending on whether the valuation of their property goes up.”
“Yes, the Member is correct that there are flats in certain precincts which are priced higher. What I have cited in the Table are really the average prices. Why are these flats priced higher? One of the main reasons is because they are located in the central areas or mature estates. The prices I have cited are specifically for the non-mature estates. Having said that, we also track the affordability ratio, the DSR ratio for flats in the mature estates, and the DSR ratio also comes in at around 30% or so. Again, it is within the affordability benchmark. Sir, the Member asked whether we would raise the income ceiling to allow more people to buy these flats. As the Member knows, the income ceiling today is $8,000 and at this income ceiling, when we track the Debt-Service Ratio (DSR), we find that prices of flats are still within the affordability benchmark. Hence, there is really no compelling reason for us to raise the benchmark. But the other reason why we will not be raising the household income ceiling at the moment is because, as I had explained in this House many times, we have a finite housing budget and out of this housing budget, we will have to subsidise the first-time home buyers. And at the household income ceiling of $8,000 today, we are subsidising about 80% of the population. So, given the fact that our housing budget is limited and given the fact that we are already very generous in our housing subsidy framework, there is no reason for us to increase the household income ceiling at the moment. The other question he raised was whether we can build flats at a faster pace. The current time to build a HDB flat from the moment the contract is awarded to the time it is completed is roughly three years. Are private sector flats built at a faster pace?”
“Members here – for your cooperation and forbearance, and for participating in the debate, and without whose presence this debate would not have been possible! [Applause.] ADJOURNMENT Resolved, "That Parliament do now adjourn to a date to be fixed." – [Mr Mah Bow Tan]. Adjourned accordingly at Twenty-two minutes past Six o'clock pm to a date to be fixed. APPENDICES”
“But I am still trying to figure out why several Members persisted in cramming five-minute speeches into one-minute amendments, often resulting in their speeches being read at breakneck speed to get every point in and stressing the simultaneous translators and the Chair in the process! Some others, started at a comfortable pace, but then suddenly – just like Toyota cars now being recalled – picked up speed when the guillotine approaches. Now, this debate also scored a first. In my 26 years in Parliament, this is the first time we were treated to an exquisite rendition of "Good, Better, Best" in the Chamber by an hon. Member! But these asides do not detract from the fact that this debate is a serious and very important one: nothing less than about the transformation of our economy over the next decade. What we decide and what we do, will affect our future and those of our children. The challenges are many, and the road is strewn with sharp obstacles. But we push on nevertheless, resolutely and together – with a smile and a song on our lips. This is what the Singapore story is all about! Let me end by recognising and thanking the following people for their roles and contributions to this debate: (1) my two Deputy Speakers for their assistance and for standing in for me during the later parts of the debate; (2) the Leader of the House and his Deputies, for their guidance and assistance in running the business of this House; (3) the Whip and his Deputies for ensuring that this debate runs smoothly and according to schedule; and (4) the Clerk of Parliament and her staff for their efforts and support in ensuring that the sittings run smoothly and efficiently. But the biggest thank you of all is reserved for all hon.”
“Members asked for explanations and proposed changes, many of which were accepted. In some cases, they provided food for thought for future discussions and future policies. In one case, Members decided to initiate a Private Members' Bill to improve existing legislation. Sir, this Parliament is the highest forum in the land, where national issues and policies are argued and decided, seriously and soberly, for the interest of the people. Its purpose is not to provide exciting TV drama or be a wayang or a show, although we do have ample examples of such parliaments. I believe our Members have acquitted themselves well, they have not let down the people who elected them into this House. On behalf of the House, Mr Speaker, Sir, I wish to express my thanks to you and your Deputies for patiently chairing the sessions and for the regular and timely dispensation of advice to Members to save them from the guillotine. And last but not least, I would like to thank the staff of the Secretariat for their support and cooperation rendered to this House over this period of Budget sittings. Thank you, Sir. Mr Speaker: Thank you, Mr Mah. As always, the Speaker has the last word. I would like to thank the Leader for his kind words and wise counsel. I shall keep to my own counsel and be brief. Compared to last year, I think we all agree that we have had an intense and more spirited Budget debate this year. Old paradigms are being reviewed and refined, or even replaced, by new ones to ensure our future growth into a more advanced economy. It is therefore no small wonder if hon. Members are passionate in their arguments and persistent in pursuing their convictions. So, I am happy to report that this debate had proceeded smoothly as mentioned earlier by the Leader of the House.”
“I am grateful to you, Sir, for allowing the use of such new media, and I am told somebody actually sang as well. 6.15pm A few Members took more time to press their points and occasionally came close to testing the Chair's patience. As a result, they may have had more difficulty in catching your eye. May I, on their behalf, seek your understanding that sometimes they may need to put their clarifications into context, although I do agree that they should allow some time for the Minister to respond to their requests for clarification. Overall, there was orderly debate throughout in keeping with the dignity of the House. This is a testament to the seriousness with which Members undertake their role and the standards of discipline upheld in the discharge of their responsibilities. Sir, the debate in this House over the last two weeks has been a robust one. Hard questions were raised by both Government and Opposition Members as well as by Nominated Members. Ministers and their deputies responded fully, both when cuts were made and during clarification time. While most Members had well-prepared speeches, which in turn gave Ministers the opportunity to provide detailed responses, I was happy to see lively, at times heated exchanges during time set aside for clarification. Time, which I may add, in many cases stretched beyond the allotted time. I hope to see more of such exchanges, more free flowing debate in future years. If necessary, we will fine-tune the rules and be more flexible to facilitate this. But more than being a robust one, the debate was also a substantive one. Strategic directions of the economy in the next decade was spelled out, challenged and endorsed. Many significant policy initiatives and changes were announced, discussed, questioned and clarified.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, we have come to the conclusion of two weeks of sittings to consider the Government's Estimates of Expenditure for FY2010/2011. The House has supported the proposed Budget and Members have approved the Supply legislation to put this Budget into effect. Before I move to adjourn the sitting, let me say a few words. In the last two weeks, Members have rigorously examined first the broad policies of the Ministries during the debate on the Budget and then the specific programmes during the Committee of Supply. Sixty-one MPs filed a total of 405 amendments. The number of MPs who filed cuts and the number of cuts were among the highest in recent years. These were extensively debated over six-and-a-half days, with about seven hours allotted each day. This was indeed the most productive session since the new system for debate in the Committee of Supply was introduced in 2005. The House also saw the active participation of the nine new Nominated Members who were appointed to the House just seven months ago. Their interventions on the various initiatives of the Ministries provided fresh perspectives to the debate. Compared to the previous years, Members generally did well to keep their speeches short and focused. Few Members had to rush through their speeches, even less suffered a cut by the guillotine. Members posed many relevant questions during clarification time and made full use of this time to engage the front bench. This year, Members used various means to put their points across. One Member spoke in three languages in one speech. I wonder whether she will take up the challenge to speak in four languages next year. Members also made good use of new forms of communication, including videos, cartoons and photographs.”
“I am not sure whether Standing Orders allow this but since the Chair has allowed it and my hon. colleague has given me the floor, I will make two clarification points. The first is really that singles do enjoy certain housing privileges but they enjoy less than families. So it is not correct to say that singles do not enjoy any housing privilege. What they do enjoy is, of course, the grant for the resale flat. Why is it that they cannot buy a new flat? The simple reason is that the subsidy that is embodied in the new flat is really meant for families. So we cannot be giving them a new flat because the subsidy is much more than what the singles should enjoy. I want to tell the Member that if he would like to apply for an HDB resale flat, I will give him half a grant, provided he is above 35 years old which I think he is.”
“The quick answer to that is that we do price these "less attractive" flats cheaper than the other flats. Is it cheap enough? I do not know how cheap is cheap enough. But the evidence shows that some of these people who reject these flats do not even look at the price when they reject them. So it is not just a matter of pricing.”
“$80,000 in total. In other words, if they buy a resale flat, they have got $40,000 from the CPF grant, another $40,000 from the additional housing grant. If they buy a new 2-room flat, they can get, on top of the subsidised price, additional discount of $40,000. With these things in place, the Debt Service Ratio for that family buying a 2-room flat is below 20%.”
“I think that is a very relevant point because if we talk about Debt Service Ratio (DSR), obviously the amount of money that a low-income family needs as a proportion of his total household income for his other necessities would be higher than, say, for a higher-income family. So, strictly speaking, the ideal DSR for a low-income family for a 2-room flat should be smaller than the DSR for a higher-income family for a bigger flat. I do agree with the point that the Member is making. Indeed, the evidence suggests that this is so. Over the last 10 years or so, I have been looking at the numbers and the Debt Service Ratio for the smaller flats, ie, the 2-room flats, is indeed smaller than for the 3-room, 4-room and 5-room flats. That is a result of a deliberate pricing policy that we have plus, of course, the additional grants that we give to the low-income families. Just to recap, for a low-income family of, say, $1,500, that family can get as much as another $40,000 more in grant.”
“If we tell you what other measures there are, then there is no point in having these other measure in our pockets.”
“So for the 3-room flats, we have a $3,000 household income ceiling, that means, if you earn more than $3,000, you will not be able to compete for the 3-room flat. Similarly, if you want to buy a 2-room flat, your income cannot be more than $2,000. With all these in place, we do not see any problem in making HDB flats affordable for first-time low-income families.”
“Sir, if the idea of having a shorter lease of 60 years is to make the HDB flat more affordable to the low-income group, then I submit that there might be a better way of doing it, and indeed that is what we are doing. We provide additional grants to the lower-income group. We build smaller flats, priced more affordably for the lower-income group. So if you take the 2- or 3-room flats that we are building for the low-income group, with the additional housing grants that we have in place, these 2- or 3-room flats are actually very affordable. In fact, they are below or close to the debt service ratio (DSR) of 22% that I talked about last Friday. I think that is a much better way of providing them with a roof over their heads, with a 99-year lease which they can stay in comfortably and with a great piece of mind for as long as possible. If you are talking about providing a 60-year lease for a young couple, I think we are going to run into trouble especially when that particular family grows old because our life expectancy is increasing. So a 60-year lease may not be that attractive for them. We do have shorter leases, as the Member knows. For studio apartments, we have a 30-year lease. But that is really meant for the elderly – the senior citizens. That is the reason why we have a shorter lease. But I am not keen on the idea of a 60-year lease for a young family or young couple starting up. We want to make flats affordable for them. Let us find other ways of doing so. Give them more additional housing grant, build smaller flats for them and also tweak the policy such that higher income applicants do not compete with them for the same flats.”
“The problem is that there is insufficient carpark space in one particular carpark, even though there may be available lots elsewhere. Here, we will have to look at some demand management measures as well, eg, we may have to look into giving more priority to the first car of each family as opposed to the second or even the third car. Together with the increase in the supply of carpark spaces, we will have to look at demand management measures as well. Er Lee Bee Wah: Sir, I would like to ask the Parliamentary Secretary how many private estates were selected for estate upgrading per year during the last few years and how many private estates are there in Singapore. At the rate that we go, I am afraid some of the residents may have to wait as long as 30 years before their estates are selected for the estate upgrading project. In view of the ageing population, I would like to urge the Ministry to set aside a sum for carrying out Barrier-Free Accessibility (BFA) for private estates.”
“I recall that there was an answer to a parliamentary question just a couple of days ago on this subject. Let me just reiterate the main points. First of all, yes, there is an increasing pressure on carpark spaces in HDB estates. This is as a result of the increase in the car population where planning norms used to indicate a certain number for HDB estates. We did not count on the fact that many families actually have more than one car today. Some have even three or more cars. As a result of that, we do face a pressure on carpark space. Overall, there are enough carparks but in localised areas you have a shortage. HDB tells us, when they did the last survey, that about 10% of the carparks in Singapore are over-subscribed; in other words, there is a need for expansion. So we will look at this 10% as a priority to see how we can alleviate that shortage. We can do that in several ways. One, we can simply expand the surface carpark if there is space and there are no other competing uses for land or, two, we could increase the number of floors on an existing MSCP (Multi-Storey Carpark). That is also possible. But if those two measures are not sufficient, then we will be looking at building MSCPs. These are the three ways we can alleviate that problem. Specifically, the problem is that there is an increase in the car population in our HDB estates. The Ministry of Transport (MOT) is looking at the control of car population. On our part, we would have to provide sufficient carpark space. But I want to add that some of the problems cannot be solved just by MSCPs alone. Sometimes, when we look at the carparks, we group several carparks together into one. And when we look at the number, we find that actually there is sufficient carpark space.”
“For example, the MRT system in the East Coast area will reach that particular area. The Circle Line will serve part of the Paya Lebar developments. The roads will also be expanded. There will be a new Marina Coastal Expressway that will be built, in addition to the current East Coast Parkway, which will help to take additional traffic volumes. So, in a nutshell, when such development plans take place, whether it is further expansion of Jurong or Paya Lebar, or whether it is intensification of land use in the Katong area, it is done on a total basis. Of course, there will be specific pockets of congestion that will take place, and this has to be resolved at a local level. If there are such problems taking place, LTA and URA, will collectively look at these problems together with the MP for the area. I am aware that there are such localised congestion problems in that vicinity and I will be happy to look at those specific areas in greater detail. But, overall, the whole planning process takes into account a whole gamut of requirements, ranging from housing to roads to schools to nature areas, even right down to things like markets and places of worship, etc.”
“Yes, the relocation of the Government buildings to Paya Lebar and Jurong will obviously mean that there will be increased requirement for adequate infrastructure, not only transport infrastructure, but also social amenities, etc. This is part and parcel of the overall Concept Plan and the Master Plan that we draw up. From the Concept Plan review that I talked about earlier, we actually derive a detailed and specific Master Plan. This Master Plan will then look in a more detailed manner, what kind of road infrastructure is needed, what kind of transport infrastructure is needed, what kind of other facilities such as schools, jobs, parks, shops, commercial areas, etc, are needed. This level of planning is conducted at the master planning level. I want to assure the Member that when we do make these changes, they will be taken as a whole and not just development for its own sake. I think this is one of the strengths of the Singapore planning system. When we plan, we plan it on a holistic level, taking everything into consideration. The Member is worried, justifiably so, about the increased developments in the East Coast area, particularly in the Amber-Katong area. This has traditionally been a very low density area, but it has become much more high density as a result of the changes in the Master Plan. But the Master Plan does not just talk about re-zoning to higher density, it also takes into account and discusses with the relevant Government agencies, eg, LTA, what will these additional increased densities mean for traffic. Specifically, to answer his question about Amber and Katong, the transportation infrastructure has taken into account these new developments. It is still being planned, so it is not in place yet.”
“Sir, in any concept planning, except Concept Plan Review Exercise, one of the key parameters is what are we planning for and how many people are we planning for. In 2006, for the first time, we held a mid-term review of the Concept Plan. We adopted a planning parameter, in other words, we started off with the question: "What if we had to plan for so many people in this year, what would the outcome be?" So, in the case of the 2006 planning exercise, we used the population figure of 6.5 million people for year "X" – 50 years hence – which in that case would have been 2056. In this case, we have kept to the same planning parameter of 6.5 million. But now we are becoming more aware of the demographics, in other words, within the 6.5 million, the number of elderly, the breakdown between citizens and non-citizens, etc. These are some of the new considerations. But the population planning parameter remains unchanged.”
“Key infrastructures such as the drainage, lake system, the land forms, the road works, have been completed. Tree planting has started. In fact, tree nursery has also been established and the two conservatories are being constructed right now. 12.45 pm Apart from the Gardens by the Bay, residents can also look forward to new and rejuvenated regional parks over the next two years, these include new parks in Punggol, Bishan, Sembawang and Yishun. Our parks will be more accessible as we expand the Park Connector network. This is the Park Connector network that I think many Members have used either for cycling, jogging, roller-blading, etc. And this year we will launch the Northern Explorer Park Connector loop which will serve residents living in Marsiling, Woodlands, Sembawang and Yishun. Mr Chairman, Sir, allow me to end my remarks with a short video clip to share with Members what a wonderful home we have and what we look forward to in the next few years – a beautiful home in a garden. [Video clip shown to hon. Members.] Constructive productivity”
“These are places that have become very popular among Singaporeans and tourists and more such improvement projects are in the pipeline. Over at Upper Serangoon Road, pedestrians also enjoy wider walkways and large landscaping. The Member of Parliament for the area, Ms Cynthia Phua and her grassroots members have suggested installing storyboard markers and sculptures to depict the rich local history in the area and URA would be taking up those suggestions. In Geylang Serai, we will commence works this year on a new pedestrian mall which will provide space for community events like the popular Hari Raya bazaar. Ms Irene Ng also asked for more parks and recreational areas. We will do just that. Woodlands Waterfront will be completed later this year. Punggol Promenade and the Labrador Nature and Coastal Walk will be completed within the next two years. When the Labrador Nature and Coastal Walk is ready, we can link that up with the Southern Ridges Walk where we cross from the Southern Ridges, go down Alexandra Road, walk along this Labrador Nature Walk and eventually reach Vivo City. Sir, our vision of Singapore as a city in the garden is also taking shape fast. The 54-hectare Gardens by the Bay at Marina South will offer Singaporeans a new experience of urban greenery. Two cooled conservatories will showcase plants and flowers from the tropical Montane and Mediterranean regions. Super trees that are nine to 16 storeys tall will feature vertical gardens with large foliage and tropical blooms on them. Concerts and shows would be held in the Garden City setting for Singaporeans to enjoy. The construction of the Gardens by the Bay is on track. It is expected to open by the end of 2011.”
“Singaporeans can look forward to many improvements in our cityscape and their immediate neighbourhoods. Developments are not just in downtown but also in the heartlands as well. Let me highlight plans for the downtown. By the middle of this year, the Marina Bay Promenade will be open. Singaporeans will be able to enjoy a 3.5-kilometre stroll, starting from our first Ark Park, next to the Marina Bay floating platform, over the double Helix Bridge and onto the waterfront promenade fronting the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort. This stroll will end at the Marina Bay's financial centre where phase one of the project will be completed this year. We will also invest more in the software programming to activate key areas in our city. I think it is very clear to us that just hardware alone will not do. URA has planned a series of events called the Marina Bay Invitations 2010 to inject buzz and excitement into the Bay. This includes a mass walkathon and carnival, an urban light festival as well as the annual Marina Bay Singapore Countdown. Besides Marina Bay, concrete improvements will be made to other places in Singapore. Ms Irene Ng asked how we can enhance our heritage areas. For her information, URA has conserved some 7,000 buildings since 1989 and identified 15 areas that are socially significant. Many of these places have been physically enhanced under URA's Active, Liveable and Endearing (ALIVE) community programme which upgrades waterfront areas, enhance community spaces and improve amenities in these familiar places. Some examples of these projects completed under ALIVE by URA – together with other agencies like PUB – include the Changi Point Coastal Walk, the Southern Ridges, Siglap Village.”
“It is not just a hardware response that we should be looking at but also software enhancements, meaning how do we allow the elderly to age in the homes that they already own and this, again, Mr Lim Boon Heng's Committee on Ageing is looking at it, together with the Ministry of National Development, MCYS and MOH. In response to Ms Irene Ng's comment about safeguarding nature areas, I would like to assure her that we will continue to safeguard nature areas in the Concept Plan. We are not blessed with the crystal blue waters of Koh Samui but we do have nature areas that we want to preserve and what precious little we have, we will look after for our future generations. NParks will step up public education on biodiversity conservation. This year is the International Year of Biodiversity (IYOB) and NParks will be rolling out a series of programmes in conjunction with the IYOB. Sir, ultimately, quality of living is subjective. As part of the Concept Plan process, we will consult the public on how we can enhance the quality of living in Singapore. We will certainly take note of Ms Irene Ng's suggestions on developing our islands but land constraint is a reality for us. Through innovative land use such as developing eco-links to serve as Park Connectors, animals can move from one part of the reserve to another. It also helps to enhance biodiversity. In this way we can marry recreation as well as conservation objectives. But we will inevitably have to make tradeoffs at each stage of our development between conservation and development among housing needs, leisure needs, industry needs. These are the tradeoffs we need to make to ensure that we develop in a more sustainable way. Sir, 2010 will be a milestone year in the remaking of our city.”
“But we will also be studying new ways to build downwards, to use underground space and synergise new underground spaces with the space above ground and the surrounding developments – the underground Science City at Kent Ridge is one example of what we can do. In parallel, we will examine new strategies under the Concept Plan Review to improve the quality of living in Singapore. This Review will take into account our changing demographic profile and it will ensure that there are adequate social facilities – housing, leisure, healthcare, etc, to support our future population. In this regard, I want to address specifically Dr Fatimah Lateef's question about retirement village. She has asked this several times. I want to point out that we do have our own version of a retirement village. It is not the sprawling retirement villages that we see in USA or Australia but it is our version. HDB has built "studio apartments". Our studio apartments cater to the housing needs of the elderly and there are provisions for social amenities, VWOs, etc, in the vicinity that help to look after the social and medical needs of the elderly. At the same time, in response to requests from some developers, we released the site at Jalan Jurong Kechil which can be triggered for a private retirement housing development. This site has not yet been triggered and there have been proposals to extend the lease of this site from 30 years to 60 years which we are considering. Let me just add that we are unique in that a large segment of our population own their homes. Eighty per cent own HDB flats and others own private properties.”
“While the Government plans for land use and infrastructure at the macro level, I think Members rightly pointed out that we should also not lose sight of the micro level and so we should leverage on the market to allocate scarce land resources to the most productive uses. We have studied ways to inject greater flexibility into land zoning so that our land use system can be more responsive to the changing needs of our economy. Here, I hasten to add that we have to do so in a very targeted way because land zoning is still relevant and it is still an important aspect of our land use policies because it helps to protect the amenities of the residents and the landowners in the area. It also ensures that we have sufficient and adequate land to meet various needs in the future, including industrial needs. We will also study new ways to create land and space. We have reclaimed land over the last 40, 50 years. There is still scope to reclaim land. But there is a physical limit to how much land we can reclaim due to the availability of sea space and also to the technical constraints of reclamation. The same consideration applies to floating structures. There have been some suggestions that we should make more use of floating structures. But scarcity of sea space as much as scarcity of land space means that we do not have as much flexibility in this area. What we can do is try to build as much as possible upwards and this we have done. When the last Concept Plan Review was made 10 years ago, there was already a suggestion that we should increase our plot ratios and build more developments upwards.”
“We have an integrated planning system. This is a very holistic system that involves all Government agencies and it guides the staging of land as well as the infrastructure development. MND and URA have embarked on the Concept Plan 2011 Review. We do a Concept Plan Review every 10 years, so the next one is 2010 Concept Plan Review and this Review will chart our land use strategies over the next 40 to 50 years – 2050 and beyond. The developments that we see around us today, whether it is Changi Airport, the MRT network, Marina Bay, all these are developments that we enjoy today because of the work that went into previous Concept Plan Reviews. Similarly, the Concept Plan 2011 Review will highlight certain areas of growth and certain areas for development that we will see in the next 20, 30, 40 years. Our objectives for Concept Plan 2011 are very simple. We want to support growth but, at the same time, we want to maintain a quality living environment. Under the Review, we will develop strategies to increase land productivity to support future growth. This was one of the recommendations of the ESC. It means intensifying land use as well as rejuvenating existing land, make better, make productive use of existing land for higher values. In response to ESC's recommendation, we will study the development of a new waterfront city at Tanjong Pagar and Pulau Brani. But this will only take place after 2027 when the lease for the port of land – which PSA currently holds – runs out and PSA moves out. We will then identify opportunities to rejuvenate mature industrial estates as well.”
“Its new Continuing Education and Training (CET) campus that is targeted to complete by the end of 2013 will also be located there. The relocation of Government agencies will free up prime office space in the city to meet private sector demand. By 2015, we expect the current supply of one million square metres of office space in the pipeline would have been taken up. These relocations will be timely and will help to free up more space for the private sector. 12.30 pm Thirdly, we will make the supply of land more responsive to the market with three improvements to the reserve list system. First, with immediate effect, we will reduce the deposit required from successful applicants of reserve list sites from 5% to 3% of the minimum bid, subject to a cap of $5 million to reduce the cashflow burden to successful applicants. Second, we will henceforth consider releasing a reserve list for sale immediately if there is more than one party that submits a minimum bid that is close to the Government's reserve price for the site within a reasonable period. As Members may know, prior to this, a site is released for sale only if a developer submits a minimum bid which is equal to or higher than the reserve price. Third, we will make available a larger supply and wider variety of sites in the reserve list in the second half 2010 to give developers more choice. The second half 2010 Government's land sales will be announced somewhere towards the end of June. Let me now touch on the Concept Plan 2011. Several Members, including Mr Teo Ser Luck, Mr Liang Eng Hwa, Ms Jessica Tan and Mr Lim Biow Chuan asked how we can tackle the land constraints and growth and still make sure that the infrastructure that we provide enables our population to enjoy a good standard of living.”
“URA also releases property market information to the public regularly. There is ample supply of private housing in the pipeline to meet demand over the next one to two years. Buyers need not rush into the market. Mr Liang also asked about further steps to pre-empt en bloc fevers. As he knows, this is under the purview of the Ministry of Law (MinLaw). MinLaw has been reviewing existing en bloc legislation and taken into account the feedback and the suggestions from the public. Any changes to en bloc rules will be made by MinLaw in due course. We will also continue to ensure that we have an adequate supply of commercial space in terms of both quantity as well as mix to support the ESC's objective which is to nurture a diverse eco-system of enterprises. In previous years, in the Committee of Supply, I had mentioned that we are planning to develop new growth areas in Jurong Gateway, Paya Lebar Central and also the Kallang Riverside. Despite the downturn, we have pressed on with infrastructure works and more sites at these areas will be progressively released for sale for development from this year onwards. Together with the grade "A" office spaces in the Central Business District (CBD), they will offer commercial firms more choice in business locations. We will further catalyse growth at Jurong Gateway and Paya Lebar Central by relocating several Government agencies out of the central area to Jurong as well as Paya Lebar. My Ministry, the Ministry of National Development, and our statutory boards, AVA and BCA, will move to Jurong Gateway by 2015. The Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources and its statutory boards, PUB and NEA, are also planning to join us in Jurong. The Workforce Development Agency (WDA) will move to Paya Lebar Central.”
“I also remember Mr Hri Kumar asking for more severe measures to deter speculation. Let me say that we do not intend to introduce more measures for now but we will monitor the market closely. And if there are signs that the market will over-heat again, we are ready to introduce additional measures to stabilise the market. Dr Amy Khor asked a specific question about what she calls "Mickey Mouse" units, extra small units. My view is that, beyond ensuring market stability, we should let market forces determine prices and also the type of unit sizes that they want to develop. But I do agree that the headlines about these units' high price per square foot (psf) are indeed misleading. I would suggest that we do more to educate consumers not to take such headlines at face value. The second area of land use planning I want to emphasise is adequate land supply. We will ensure that there is an adequate supply of land to support economic growth. Mr Liang asked about foreign property buyers and also about whether the Government can provide more property market information. Singapore is a key city in growing Asia. I think it is understandable and natural and, indeed, not a bad thing that there is foreign interest in private residential properties here. But having said that, properties in Singapore will still remain largely in the hands of Singaporeans. Singapore residents last year accounted for close to 90% of all private property housing transactions. In the public housing market, the bulk of it is owned and occupied by Singaporeans. The Government will continue to ensure that there is adequate supply of private housing to meet the needs of both locals and foreigners through the Government Land Sales Programme which we announce twice a year.”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, I thank Members for their questions on land use planning. First of all, Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked about our land use planning policies. I would like to assure him that the Ministry of National Development's land use policies will be geared towards supporting the economic recovery which has just started and also the ESC's recommendations to build a distinctive global city for all. First of all, we will continue to maintain a stable property market which will underpin the economic recovery. Mr Liang asked what are the indicators or fundamentals that Government looks at to determine if the property market is bubbly. We do look at several indicators including price increases, transactions, sub-sales, and so on. We do not have a specific set of indicators or trigger points that say that we should do certain things when some things happen. We are not on auto-pilot, in that sense. It is not only looking at indicators but having a sense of judgment as to what is likely to happen in the months going forward. As a result of that monitoring, we assessed that there was a high risk that a property bubble would be forming. In February, we introduced two measures to temper sentiments in the market. One was the decrease in the Loan to Value (LTV) ratio and the second was the imposition of a seller stamp duty. Why did we do this? Because in January, price increases had been strong and also the transactions were also at a high and the risk of over-heating was high. A property correspondent in Zaobao named Wu Hui Min put it this way: it is far better to take the liang cha (or cooling tea) now rather to take the tui shou yao (or aspirin) later on when the market is over-heated. Mr Chiam had asked for more measures to curb property prices.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to report that the Committee of Supply has made further progress on the Estimates of Expenditure for the financial year 2010/2011, and ask leave to sit again on Monday, 8th March 2010.”
“But, again, I welcome any good ideas from Members of this House on how we can actually build more flats of their choice. There is a limited resource, which is land. There is limited budget. We will build within these limits to fulfil our commitment, which is to make sure that young Singaporeans have a flat. But to have a flat of their choice – that part is not so easy to achieve. When people say that they have not been able to get a flat, I think what they mean is that they have not been able to get a flat that they would like to have. I think there is a difference between the two.”
“But, in the meantime, we have tweaked the system. We have favoured the first-timers more than the second-timers. We have added one extra parameter, which is closeness to family by giving them additional tickets. We can tweak it a little bit more but, finally, it is still the number versus the queue. And the length of the queue really is not determined by the need, as I said, but by the attractiveness of the project, which brings me to the second point that the Member raised. He said let us look at more flats of choice and reduce the drop-out rate. Earlier, I went through an example in some detail. This applicant did not want a flat which is not next to his house. I cannot be building all new flats just next to each other's house. He did not want a flat which is next to a mosque, or next to anything that is inconvenient. It is not possible. In every space in Singapore, we will have to build a place of worship, rental flats, schools, whatever. So, what is a flat of their choice? Some have argued that we should not be building flats on the second floor, because nobody wants a second floor flat. So should we only build flats like some private condominiums do today, starting off from the fifth or six floors? The rest will be empty? Some others have suggested why not have community centres on the lower floors and flats on the higher floors. Basically, that means in land scarce Singapore, we have to allocate more land for public housing. Ultimately, my point is that there will be some flats which are not "ideal" and buyers will have to make their decision and trade off. We cannot promise everybody a flat of their choice. If we go on that basis, then I think the queue will be even longer.”
“Sir, on whether the BTO exercise is the best system, basically, I think what the Member is asking is instead of balloting, whether we should have another system. Essentially, it is back to this perennial issue about allocation of a scarce resource. You either ballot or you queue up, which is what we have done in the past. We used the queue system. Or we allocate by price, which is basically what the resale market does. The resale market is really allocating a scarce resource by price. Whoever pays the highest gets it. So these are the three ways. Going by price, obviously, is out of the question, because we are talking about subsidised public housing. Going by queue, we have done it before. We have done that. Applicants join the queue. The first one in the queue will get it. The last one in the queue will have to wait. Say, if there are 5,000 people in the queue and 500 or 1,000 flats available, then they have got to wait. The balloting system is not ideal but I think it is a fair one. It allows us to allocate this scarce resource in a way which is equitable. Some people have suggested that we should go on the basis of need – in other words, who need it more should get it. The problem with that is – who determines need? The first one comes to us and says, "I've just got married. I want to have a house. I need it more." Another guy says, "I've been married for five years and I don't have a house to stay. I need it more." And when we add up all these people with legitimate needs, we find the queue is back again, and then we are back to square one – how do we allocate a scarce resource? So, if the Member or anybody else has any ideas for a better system to allocate this scarce resource, I would be very happy to consider.”
“Sir, we even accede to requests before they are made. That is how efficient the Ministry is! Yes, we will review the 50% and see whether it is too high. The idea really is to leave some cash behind for the person who is selling the flat for whatever use. Using 100% totally would have been the ideal thing to do, but I think it would be too draconian. The question is whether 50% is too high or too low. We will see after we have implemented the scheme. Is it net? Yes, it is. It is net of cost, net of stamp fees, net of legal fees, etc. Young couples – fiance/fiancee scheme – yes, we did have interim rental housing. The problem with that, of course, is that we have to set the rental pretty high. It cannot be at $30, just like the subsidised rental scheme. So, instead of that scheme, we have decided that we will let them buy in the market and allow them to sell when their new flat is ready. In other words, they do not have to satisfy the minimum occupation period. It is equivalent to buying a flat for three years or so, and then sell it. If they make a profit after three years, good luck to them.”
“Yes, we do have a computation. We roughly estimate that the demand for flats is met between half to two-third by resale flats and the rest by new flats. Half to two-third depending on the market. The market is high, the ratio comes down; if the market is low, the ratio goes up. Yes, we will always factor in a certain amount of that demand to be met by resale flats, precisely for the reason that the Member mentioned, that we do not build a new flat for every couple or family that wants a flat because, otherwise, there will be a glut. I want to assure the Member that this is part of our planning philosophy.”