S. Dhanabalan
Singapore
“Mr Speaker, Sir, on a point of clarification. I said in my intervention on Tuesday that the general election is the right forum to determine the electorate's support because it puts the issue in a total and correct context.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, with hindsight, of course, we can be very wise. But since one of the three islands was excluded, it was a substantial reduction in the scope of works. The assessment then, which I agreed with, was that if you called for a re-tender, you would get a substantially reduced tender.”
“To the extent that we can, we should work with countries that have a common interest, to come together and form economic groupings targeted at trade liberalisation. We have started this process within ASEAN under the AFTA Scheme. Economic linkages in groupings like APEC are also growing in significance.”
“Mr Speaker, all these questions make a lot of sense when the events are finished, and you look back. But the officer looking at the case at that time had to deal with the facts as they were at that time.”
“ASEAN countries agreed to publish all the Inclusions and Exclusions lists, as well as the full list of actual tariff reductions. The ASEAN Secretariat had since followed up and released, as scheduled, on 1st November 1993, the publications showing these lists.”
“Kallang Theatre was closed for five months in 1992 for cyclical maintenance and upgrading costing $3 million. This included a major upgrading of the toilets, recarpeting the auditorium, rewiring and repainting.”
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“The choice of a design would depend very much on what it will cost to build it. So you cannot separate the design from what it will cost to build it. How do you choose which is the best design without knowing what it will cost to construct the tunnel according to that design? So it is not unusual to do what PWD has done. It may not be very common in Singapore but in other countries it is quite often done. You set out what you want in broad terms. As I said, broad parameters are laid out and then the contractors design according to those parameters and bid.”
“Design-and-build is not the normal way of doing things. Normally, PWD will design and then call for bids. But where jobs are very large and complicated, there are reasons for calling design- and-build tenders. If the PWD were to design this, then it will have to confine itself to the expertise available within the PWD, and tunnels and long complicated jobs like this are not jobs that PWD undertakes all the time. It is not like building schools or building normal roads or expressways. To have confined ourselves to the expertise available within the PWD would not have been good. International contractors who have done this job elsewhere have the expertise and I think it was right that we tried to tap the knowledge and expertise that was available from these international contractors. While it is not normal, it is not unusual to ask for design-and-build tenders.”
“It is a very complicated job, involving two very long tunnels starting all the way from Clemenceau Avenue down under the Singapore River and emerging in Chin Swee Road. It is a project that cannot be parcelled into smaller lots because you cannot say so many feet of the tunnel should be awarded to one contractor and so many feet to another contractor because there are great problems of management, making sure that all the contractors work in tandem. It is for this reason that the PWD decided that the whole contract should be awarded to one contractor. There are local contractors who will bid. There are also joint ventures between local and foreign contractors who are bidding for this job. If we were to confine this only to local contractors, we may be selling ourselves short.”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, the Ministry released a press statement explaining why tenders for the Central Expressway had to be recalled. I thought that statement was quite clear and comprehensive. As that statement explained, this particular tender was a design-and-build type of tender. In other words, the contractor had to submit within broad parameters his design of this particular project and then indicate what it would cost to build this particular tunnel of his design. The tenders had many qualifications and assumptions and conditions which the PWD found unacceptable and made it difficult for the PWD to compare one tender with another tender. And in spite of repeated attempts to get clarification, none of the tenderers submitted a fully conforming tender. In the initial stages, of course, all the tender prices were kept confidential and when the Tender Evaluation Committee went through the tenders, they were not satisfied with all the clarifications that they obtained. They were not satisfied that the changes that the tenderers made in the course of the clarification were fair and reasonable changes. The Government therefore decided to recall the tenders from all the original eight tenderers who bid for the job and made it clear to them what the clarifications were that they had to incorporate in their tender and they were also told about the original tenders, all the eight, so that they knew exactly where they stood. When the tenders come in, they will be evaluated and the successful one will be awarded the tender. As to whether this tender can be confined to local contractors only, I am afraid that will not be possible. This is a very large tender. It is expected to cost more than $300 million.”
“I will take note of his comment but I just want to make one point. It does not mean that if you see a low-rise development in the city it is uneconomic use of the land. You must look at the area as a whole, and in planning you do have high-rise and low-rise development. You cannot have high-rise everywhere. So where you have a mix, you may think that certain areas are not being put to economic use. But it is necessary that we have this mix in order to have a good living environment.”
“I am not very clear what the Member for Punggol has in mind, but I can say this. That urban development plans are reviewed constantly, not just every five years. They are constantly updated in the light of latest knowledge, latest needs and so on. For example, the plans to preserve Tanjong Pagar and certain parts of China Town and the other areas that I have mentioned, were not the result of a five-year review, but a constant review. The present situation is one where we think we should proceed with these preservation plans. We do not prepare a plan and we say, "Well, we will follow the plan for five years and then review it in five years." No. There is a constant review and it may be, what you say, a rolling review every year. That is what the present situation is.”
“The question of pricing of flats is one of the subjects which has been dealt with by the Committee chaired by the First Deputy Prime Minister. As I said, we hope to come out with the report sometime in the middle of the year. I have also noted the comments made by various Members on the change of names. I want to thank the Member for Nee Soon for explaining to me what zhujiao means. I always thought zhujiao was the Mandarin pronunciation of Tek kah and I thought it still meant under the shade of a bamboo tree. I am now told that it is pig's leg. It is most unpoetic compared to the meaning of the original name. But I will take their views and comments into account and look at the subject again. But I cannot give any undertaking at the present moment that these names will revert to the old names. I can give the undertaking that I will give it serious consideration.”
“There are some parcels of land in the city, for example, which revert to the Government. After 99 years they are reverted to the Government. They cost zero. Does it mean that flats which are built on that land should have land valued at zero? Obviously not. So land has got to be valued at market rates. The people who buy the homes will know clearly what is the extent to which they are being subsidized. Subsidy does not mean just anything that is sold below cost. I am sure that when people talk of friendship prices or even if Members were to sell one of their homes that they have to a sibling, brother or sister, below market price, they would consider that as a big favour even though it may be above cost. What you compare is, what can you get for the land today for the use that you want to put it to. The present system of accounting in the Housing Board makes that very clear. Housing Board does not retain the land that is acquired. All land that is acquired is in the Government account. As and when Housing Board wants to develop housing, it applies and purchases the land at market price. The fixing of the sale price of the flats is a different exercise, based upon what people can afford. But we hope over the years to move the prices closer and closer to what the market price should be. The Member for Punggol also asked whether it would not be more economical or make more economic sense to knock down old SIT blocks, especially in the city, and redevelop them. Yes, that is, in fact, part of the programme of relocation, to make better use of the land. There are low- rise blocks which can be knocked down and more high-rise flats can be built and to bring in younger and higher income groups into the city.”
“The market value is determined by professional valuers based upon a comparison with market values of residential land in the private sector, but of course adjustments are made for the peculiarities of the particular parcel of land which is the subject of the sale. So Government sells the land to HDB at market value, and that is what goes into the cost of sales for HDB's flats which are sold. The principles followed in valuation are well established principles which all valuers are aware of and there is nothing hidden about it. If the land is heavily squattered, squatters will have to be cleared, they have to be resettled - all those costs are imputed into the land cost. But since acquisition is on 1973 values under the present law, in most cases, of course, the land cost, including all clearance costs, will be less than the present market value. But the Government has the responsibility to ensure that land is used for the good and for the benefit of the economy and society as a whole. Land has many competing uses from different Ministries. And it is right and proper that land for housing should be valued at what land is valued for housing in the private sector, or close to it, as I said, with the adjustments which valuers are always aware of. The Housing Board, of course, sells the flats at affordable prices and these affordable prices are well below the cost of the flat, construction cost plus land cost and all the other costs. The difference is the subsidy. It is not possible to say that the land value in a particular block should be only the cost to the Government and not the market value. Because if we were to adopt that approach, then the Housing Board would not be operating a public housing programme but a big State lottery because land values vary.”
“But what can be improved is how contractors are allowed into the scheme or how they are selected for the scheme. I think a more competitive system can be introduced. Instead of pre-selection, maybe there can be some sort of a tender system. I can think, for example, of con- tractors who are involved in road construction. Although we do not have a core contractor scheme, but tenders are awarded on a term basis without specifying exactly where the work has to be done and contracts are awarded on the basis of quantities on a term basis so that the contractor can invest in equipment knowing that he will have enough jobs for maybe the next three years. Some similar system can be introduced and this is being looked into by the Ministry so that we can preserve the basic thrust of the core contracting scheme but improve the way in which contractors are selected for the scheme. The improved method would ensure that there is a competitive element and not a pre-selection based on criteria which are difficult to justify. So the scheme as a whole, as I said, will continue but we will improve the scheme, and that is what the Ministry is considering at the present moment. The Member for Punggol also asked whether the Committee on Public Housing chaired by the First Deputy Prime Minister will look into various other aspects of public housing and he raised, in particular, the question of land value. Perhaps I should explain a little bit about how the land value for public housing is determined. Under the present system, all land that is acquired by the Government is in the Government's account. And when the Housing Board wants a particular piece of land, it then applies to the Government and buys the piece of land, and that piece of land is sold to the HDB at market value.”
“This item under Note 14 covers only those costs attributable to the dwelling units that were sold. As I said, it includes not just the construction cost but also the land cost, infrastructural cost and all other costs which are directly attributable, in terms of administration overheads, to the sale of flats. And there the subsidy is quite apparent. The Member for Punggol raised the subject of core contractors and asked whether an open tender system would not result in a more competitive situation which will make our construction industry better able to export their services. I think Members will be aware that the core contracting scheme was introduced in a period when we could not persuade enough local contractors to bid for Housing Board jobs. Because of the very rapid increase in prices, contractors were not prepared to commit themselves by bidding for jobs which may take two to three years to build, and they did not know what the cost situation would be during the period of construction. The other main reason for the introduction of the core contracting scheme was to give contractors sufficient jobs over a period of time to enable them to invest in equipment and undertake training of their workers. The argument was that if contractors live from job to job and each job was 12 to 18 months, they had little incentive to invest in equipment or in training because, after the job is over, they would probably not have another job to carry on. So in order to assure them a continuous load, this scheme was introduced. I think the basic thrust of the scheme is still valid. We must have a scheme that will enable contractors to plan over a period of maybe three to five years.”
“Therefore, there is a deficit of $1 billion, and that is the subsidy for the flats sold in the year dealt with by these accounts for the year ending March 1986. That is clear enough I think. But as to what type of flats are subsidized and to what degree, certainly the HDB has those figures. Perhaps in the next annual report they should give those figures. But it could be a little misleading. A 4-room flat in Ang Mo Kio could cost different from a 4-room flat in Bishan, or a 4-room flat in Hougang or Bedok or something in the city. Then you will have to lay out zone by zone. It can be quite voluminous. But perhaps some broad classifications can be given to enable people to judge for themselves the degree of subsidy that they enjoy. I think there should be absolutely no doubt. If you look at all the various items, sale of flats, service and conservancy, the amount that the HDB collects either through sales or through service and conservancy charges, is much less than what the HDB incurs. I am surprised that the Member is still not clear that there is a subsidy. But if he has any specific questions to raise I shall be very pleased to further clarify. He also raised the point on Note 14, whether the cost of sales includes other facilities like commercial facilities, industrial buildings, and so on and so forth. He said that he could not find anywhere in the HDB's accounts these items reflected. If he looks at the balance sheet of the HDB's accounts, he will find Fixed Assets of $18 billion. That is where all the other assets of the HDB, the rental flats, the shops, the markets, the industrial buildings are all included. That is where they are and they are not reflected here under Cost of Sales for Sale of Flats.”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, I think there was some misunderstanding yesterday when I answered the questions raised on the HDB accounts. I said that the HDB cannot publish accounts in a manner where anybody can pick up the accounts and find out exactly how much his 3-room flat in Block 107 in Bishan costs, because it is just not practical to publish such details. But I said that the accounts quite clearly show that there is a subsidy and I explained what the subsidy is all about. The Member for Paya Lebar raised, in particular, a number of points about the notes to the accounts. He raised some queries on Note 14 which deals with sale of flats. There he read to us the proceeds of sale, which is $2.766 billion, and the cost of sale which is $4.113 billion, the cost vastly exceeding the proceeds of sale. This cost of sales includes the construction cost, the land cost, overheads in administration, infrastructural cost and interest during construction. It has one item there which is covered in Note 11 of the accounts which the Member also referred to, which is the amount relating to flats which are not yet sold, in stock. It is $311 million. The flats in stock cost more than their realisable value and that will be quite clear, even from Note 14. "Realisable proceeds of sale exceed the cost of sales." So the cost of the flats in stock which are not yet sold exceeds what the HDB estimates as the realisable value under current selling prices. That difference in normal accounting practice should be attributed to cost of sales. But that is only $311 million. So even if we take that out, you will see that as against the proceeds of sale of $2.766 billion, the cost of sales is $3.8 billion approximately.”
“The Member also made the point about lack of attention being paid to hawker stalls that have been empty for a long long time and that HDB seems to be more concerned dealing with petty problems such as hawkers encroaching on to passageways. Of course, the inspectors who go round the markets to deal with the way in which hawkers conduct their business are different from those who deal with allocation. But I must say this. There are many markets which have vacant stalls. And these stalls remain vacant not because the HDB does not want to rent them out. Ask yourself, "Why should HDB want to maintain these vacant stalls?" It does not make sense. They want to rent them out. But the problem is that every time they try to let them out, hawker stall applicants do not want these stalls. They say the market has got insufficient business, or is poorly located, or for various reasons they do not want the stalls in these markets. So we are aware of it. I myself have vacant stalls in my own constituency, as well as in adjacent constituencies. Every time somebody says he wants a market stall, I say, "Are you interested in this market?" Some of them say yes. But after they go and make enquiries, they come back and say, "No. I don't want." Everybody wants a market that is well situated, that has got plenty of business. That is not possible. So it is not for want of trying. It is just that there are markets which are poorly located or which do not have sufficient business and you cannot attract stallholders to take up stalls in these markets. I think I have covered all the points brought up by Members. If they want any more clarification, I should be pleased to deal with them.”
“Usually such blocks have so few units that it does not make sense, economic sense, to install lifts. But I understand that there are some old blocks which are five storeys. I am told there are none which are seven storeys but I am prepared to be enlightened on this. But there are some five-storey blocks which, strictly speaking under the guidelines, should not have been allowed without lifts. Where these blocks are rental blocks, they may be part of a redevelopment exercise. But where they are purchased, of course, the problem is a little more complicated. People who bought these flats knew clearly that they were flats without lifts. And to install lifts wouldreally mean serving people only on the fifth floor because that is the extra floor. I am afraid that in these cases they have to live with the inconvenience. But where people have grown old or become crippled or incapacitated in some way and they find it difficult to climb stairs and they want to sell their flats or give up their rental flats to move to flats at lower levels, HDB will always consider such requests sympathetically. Special consideration is given to allocating ground floor flats to people who obviously cannot climb staircases. The problem, of course, is those who are young and fit and active today, may not be so 10, 20, 30 years from now. Even in the case of the high-rise blocks, the lifts do not stop on every floor. So if you happen to live on a floor that is two or three floors above the lift landing, you still have to climb a few flights of steps. It is for this reason that I mentioned that in the design of new flats, special consideration will be given to the needs of an ageing population.”
“This centre was built as a resettlement centre to rehouse fruit and vegetable wholesalers from the central area, and it was very essential that they had to be resettled because they were a major source of pollution to the rivers as well as, of course, causing other problems such as traffic congestion. So there was no possibility of leaving them where they were. In the relocation, of course, HDB attempted to make sure that they have as many facilities as possible to carry out their trade efficiently. But if they are facing competition - from what I understand to be really illegal wholesale operators who operate from roadsides - then I think I will ask my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, to send his inspectors out and be more rigorous in dealing with this problem. Incidentally if we go out and deal with them, I hope Members will not come and make appeals here that we should be more lenient with them. In the Wholesale Centre the operators are provided with quite an array of facilities which they did not have in their old place. They have cold rooms, auction areas, special loading/unloading bays, carparks, as well as parking lots for their lorries. HDB will continue to monitor the situation and see whether there is a need to upgrade the infrastructural facilities in the Centre. But whatever the HDB can do, ultimately the fact cannot be escaped that the viability of the operation must be dependent upon the business acumen of the wholesalers themselves. The Member for Henderson raised the question of lifts in low-rise flats. The general policy, both in HDB and private development, is that you can have buildings up to four storeys without lifts. They are designed as walk-up flats.”
“Some of the names that have already been changed, to change them now back to the old names would cause confusion. But I generally subscribe and I think Housing Board is aware that we ought to preserve the old names. In some areas the development is so great and so many features are created in the landscape that it makes sense to discard some old name and put in a new name. For example, Bedok Reservoir, which was not there is now there and it makes sense to call the road there Bedok Reservoir Road rather than the old Peng Ann Road which I think only those who live there would know and the likelihood is that those who lived there are not living there any more. They have been resettled elsewhere. The HDB will continue to liaise closely with the Street Naming Committee and the Street Naming Committee has been given some indication of what the present policy in this matter is going to be. The Member for Pasir Panjang raised a point about Pine Grove residents who want to upgrade from smaller HUDC flats to bigger HDB flats. The HDB has already explained why it is not buying back HUDC flats. This policy also applies to those residents who wish to upgrade to HDB flats. Incidentally, I have always thought people upgrade from HDB flat to HUDC flat. But obviously there are some areas where HUDC residents consider themselves as upgrading when they move into HDB flats. If a resident in Pine Grove estate wants to upgrade to a larger flat, he can apply now to purchase a bigger flat from HDB. He is required to sell his existing flat within two years upon allocation of his new flat to a buyer of his own choice. The Member also spoke at some length about the Wholesale Centre in Pasir Panjang.”
“As regards the other parts of the construction industry - the equipment and material suppliers and so on - fortunately, since the major part of our construction equipment as well as building materials are imported, the impact of the downturn is not as great as it would have been if all these had been manufactured locally. I would now like to take some of the other points brought up by various Members. The Member for Siglap made a very valid point about our neglect of preservation of old areas in the past, that we were too quick to knock down the old and to build the new. Fortunately, we have become more conscious of late and, as Members are aware, there are areas in Chinatown, in Little India, in Geylang which are now subjects of preservation. But it is unfortunate that some older buildings which we should have preserved are not with us any more. I can think of, for example, the Arcade building in Collyer Quay. Really, under present standards and under the present approach, it is a building that should be preserved. But that is one price that we have to pay for rapid development but I hope we are getting wiser in this respect. As to the change of names, yes, I also have been very confused sometimes with names that I have never heard of before. But the Housing Board will follow a policy of preserving old names, not just names which are non-Chinese but also dialect names, because some of these names have strong historical meaning for Singapore. Children who read the history of Singapore may see the words "Nee Soon". If you read it in Chinese you would know it is "Yishun". But if you read it in English, not many would connect "Nee Soon" with "Yishun". It is important that we preserve some of these names so that our future generation will know the origin of these names.”
“In fact, only last night I was talking to an architect who told me that the days when architectural graduates could join and expect a partnership in four or five years are gone. This applies not only to the engineering and architectural profession but to all the professions and to graduates as a whole. In a period of very rapid growth, people found themselves being promoted rapidly and we had in Singapore many who were like the proverbial MBAs from Harvard who, upon graduation, expected to get a corner room on a high floor and be labelled as Vice-Presidents. I think those days are gone. Advance will be slow. Much will depend upon actual practical experience and we have to get used to a more stable and slower growth. As I said, this will have its impact on the architectural and engineering profession. So the relatively more junior architects and engineers will find themselves doing jobs which for some time now people have considered as being the responsibility of technicians and lower level personnel. This process of adjustment of the role of the professionals in terms of adapting themselves to slower growth will be painful for some of our professionals but it is a necessary process for the industry if it is to become a more healthy industry in the longer run. I would not like to leave the impression that it is all gloom. There is some light at the end of the tunnel. In a survey conducted by the Construction Industry Development Board in July 1986 covering 526 consultancy and construction firms, 62% of the consultancy firms and 77% of the construction firms surveyed indicated that they are unlikely to reduce their staffing levels further. But of course this would be no consolation for those coming into the job market in the coming years.”
“This is still small compared to levels of 20-30% that is commonly found in developed countries. So there is some scope for expansion here. In the area of export markets, local contractors have been fairly successful but obviously they still have a long way to go. As I said yesterday, the area that requires most improvement in our construction sector is the area of project and construction management and it is only when this improves that we will be able to become competitive in the export market. The Construction Industry Development Board will continue to monitor the sector and identify potential for growth in new areas and conduct continuous dialogue with the industry to help the industry. The Member for Clementi also made the point that we ought to be very concerned with the glut, as he put it, in trained manpower. Of course, the reduction of activity in the sector is no indicator of the real surplus because, as I said, many of the workers involved in the industry were foreigners, especially at the tradesmen level and at the unskilled level. The surplus of skilled workers will be less than is indicated by the downturn in the industry as a whole. So far as the professionals are concerned, that is the architects and engineers, the industry used to face a shortage of this personnel. The result was that the type of work which is normally done by these professionals in other countries was done by technicians and other personnel of lower levels. The result of this of course was that fresh graduates in engineering and architecture found themselves being promoted or being given important jobs and responsibilities far in advance of their counterparts in the more developed countries where construction has reached a stable level.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, when we adjourned yesterday, I was replying to the Member for Clementi on the remarks that he made about the construction industry and I agreed with him that the industry is going through difficult times and that if we are realistic we cannot expect to see the industry recover to its peak levels in 1982 and 1983. In 1983, the industry had $9.6 billion worth of jobs awarded by the public and private sectors. This volume fell by 25% to $7 billion in 1984 and further declined by another 30% to $4.8 billion in 1985. Of course, the slowdown in the industry also meant a loss in jobs. In 1984, 18,000 jobs were lost and in 1985, 48,000 jobs were lost. Fortunately, most of the workers who were retrenched were work permit holders or employment pass holders so that the brunt of the impact of the downturn was felt by the foreign workers. The industry will continue to decline and it is expected to stay at a level of around $2-3 billion a year. This means that at the expected levels in the immediate years only a third of the construction capacity will be employed. Even though the public sector is accelerating some of its projects, especially road construction and some of the infrastructural projects, the fact remains that we cannot go back to the peak and the industry will undergo a shake-out with weaker firms closing down and stronger firms cutting costs and employment. The Construction Industry Development Board is of course well aware of this problem. It has tried to identify new areas and potentials for the industry, such as the maintenance and retrofitting sector and the export market. Total construction maintenance and renovation expenditure is about 8% of the total construction activity.”
“We have had many foreign contractors who have come to Singapore to bid for jobs and have obtained large jobs. They do not bring their own workers. They just bring a team of managers and they use local subcontractors and local workers to do the job. This is an area where we have a long way to go - construction management and project management. This is one kind of expertise that we can sell. We cannot hope to go to other countries and build buildings or roads using ---”
“But when it will be done, I cannot tell you because we have to see the experience in the present three Town Councils. The Member for Clementi is not here but he raised a number of points about the construction sector. It should be clear to all of us that the construction sector cannot reach the peak that it reached two years ago and that the construction sector as a whole must learn to operate at much lower levels than in the past. Of course, this does mean that we will have to look at our manpower problems. The Construction Industry Development Board is seized with this problem. But I am not too sure whether the fact that the total level of construction activity has come down will necessarily mean that a great proportion of the technicians and professionals that we have trained will find themselves redundant. The type of construction, though at a lower level in terms of units, will be of a much higher standard. Take the Housing Board as an example. Although they will be building less flats in the coming years, the flats will require much greater input of professional and technical knowledge and expertise because these flats are of a better design. That means more work. Retrofitting, ie, converting old buildings and upgrading them, very often involves more professional work than building something from scratch. So we cannot just look at the downturn in the construction sector and apply that same percentage downturn and project that our manpower will be unemployed to the same extent. But there is a problem. I think we should not delude ourselves that our construction industry is not going to go through difficult times. But there is one area that the construction industry can really build up, and that is, in the area of construction management and project management.”
“How the Town Council will fund itself, what kind of facilities in the town will be given to the Town Council, whether the car parks, for example, will be given, are all matters which have to be studied further. I myself am approaching this with a very open mind. We must have the fundamental principle, the fundamental aims of Town Council clearly in mind. The aim is not for the Government and HDB and see how much we can keep for ourselves and how little we can give to the people. No. The fundamental aim is to enable people to manage their own surroundings and make the kind of difficult decisions that have to be made which are now being made by the HDB and which people who do not agree with can grumble loudly about. But when they make their own decisions, then they have to defend and live with their decisions. The Member for Kebun Baru made a very important point - one of the key problem areas for the Town Council is how to get the residents involved and how to organize them and bring them into the management of their own towns. The Members of Parliament as well as the grassroots leaders will have to really apply themselves and learn through a very difficult process how to do this. The question that was raised about Pine Grove is whether it will be part of a Town Council and which part will it be. The general policy is that ultimately all public housing areas and perhaps even those areas which do not have much public housing will form themselves into groups which they will manage on their own. We think that three constituencies is an ideal size but we will have to learn through experience. Pine Grove and the constituency in which Pine Grove is, which is Pasir Panjang, will have to be put together with some surrounding constituencies to form a Town Council.”
“The cost of sales of flats is all those costs directly attributable to the dwelling unit, not the shops, the parks, the stadium and so on. Of course, the cost of land is included in the cost of sale. As to whether HDB has a breakdown of this cost of sale into land and construction costs, certainly it has and, as I said, if the Member writes to me I will be prepared to give the answer. If there are any general points on the accounts, the Member can raise them again and I will try and answer his questions. Now can I take the subject of Town Councils. Yes, this is a very important innovation in Singapore because, as the Member for Kebun Baru pointed out, it involves the people in the management of their immediate surroundings. As I said, they must learn to make the kind of decisions that everybody has to make to allocate scarce resources. They must plan what they want for their area. Of course, the experience that we have had so far is just over six months and we have not really discovered all the problems that there will be in implementing this concept. The regular maintenance of flats and the cyclical maintenance is just one part of the Town Council's responsibilities although it is a major part. But the building of a community, not just the maintenance of the physical buildings, is a very important part of the Town Council's functions because you can build beautiful buildings, lay out nice parks, but a community is more than just a conglomeration of buildings and parks. It is people interacting, learning to live together, learning to make decisions for themselves. In the intial stages, of course, the present system of subsidies will continue. But, as I said just now, HDB is working towards a system of zero subsidy for these various maintenance items.”
“I do not think I should answer the question now. You can raise it later. As for the accounts of the Housing Board, the Member for Paya Lebar would have noticed that the total Government subsidy is shown but I think the Member wants a lot of details. It is not that the Housing Board does not have these details. Obviously, when the Housing Board costs the flats now, it will know how much a 3-room or 4-room or 5-room flat costs in particular areas. But I question whether the accounts should show such great detail that any member of the public can expect to open the accounts and find out exactly how much his own flat costs. These, after all, are the accounts of the Board as a whole. The Member has raised a whole series of questions on the accounts which frankly I am in no position to answer. I know broadly the principles that were adopted, and the most important principle here is that land is now valued at market price. In the costing of the sale of flats, in answer to a point raised by the Member for Paya Lebar, land is included at the price at which HDB pays the Government. As to the other points whether I can give a breakdown in terms of materials and labour, how much was paid to Environment and what are the manpower costs, I am afraid I cannot give them. If the Member wants to pursue this, he can write to me and I will try and give as much of the information as possible. The other important change in these accounts is that HDB is now able, as the Notes show, to know what is the cost of the various developments that it undertakes - not only the flats but the shops, the car parks and so on. He also asked a series of questions on Note 14, whether the cost of sales of flats included other non-residential items. Speaking from memory, it does not.”
“I am glad that the PWD gave the Member for Nee Soon and his community leaders a briefing on the expressway system in Singapore. I will certainly ask the other departments in the Ministry to brief Members when there are major pro- jects so that the community leaders are kept completely informed.”
“Whether this relocation and redevelopment can take place area by area rather than block by block is something that I will ask the Housing Board to look into. One of the problems about selecting a whole constituency or whole area or neighbourhood and clearing all the people out is that many of the older people who live in these blocks do not want to move too far from where they are now. If you were to select a whole area and knock down all the blocks, this would mean that the older people who have got used to living there and who have friends in the area may be very disorientated when they move out. In fact, the pressure is for the old people to live as close as possible to the existing area. There are some problems here. We should adopt a very flexible approach because what we are doing is something new. It is important that we study our experience all the time and make adjustments in the light of experience. I will, as I said, ask HDB to consider whether whole zones and areas should not be cleared. Perhaps I can now take the item about acquisition of land. The Member for Nee Soon brought up the point about more consultation with the local community on plans for the community. I am not sure whether there can be consultation in the sense that we want the approval of the local community because the community may not be able to appreciate the larger interest in terms of defence or of any other important subject. But one thing I would agree with him entirely and, that is, it is important that when there is a major project in a constituency, the community leaders and of course the MP should be kept informed long before the project is implemented so that they know what is coming.”
“After all, this is the one factor that we are really short of. The Member asked whether in the development of new towns there is a conceptual design and plan. Certainly there is, and the new towns will be of a better standard than the older towns. A number of questions were raised on the accounts. Maybe I can take them together. The Member for Leng Kee has a number of reservations about the town council concept, especially because he thinks that the older estates with higher maintenance costs, less facilities and more rental flats, will have a greater burden of maintaining the community at a satisfactory level. People compare with what is happening in other constituencies. I agree with him that the older estates do have a problem and many of these old estates have flats which were built to meet a particular need at a particular time. Many of them are 1-room flats. Some of them even had 1-room old generation or 1-room communal flats. I think most of those have been knocked down. But even the 1-room improved flat is not up to the standard and expectations of people today. This is the reason why the HDB has embarked on a relocation programme to move people out of these old 1-room and 2-room flats, knock down these blocks and redevelop the area thus freed. And when we redevelop, of course, the flats will be of the latest design. It will bring in new young people and they will help to provide leadership as well as improve the general business environment of the area. One of the complaints that shopkeepers and markets make about these old areas is that the purchasing power in the old areas has gone down. So we have to bring in new people.”
“I am not sure whether forming more statutory bodies will solve the problem because the statutory bodies will still be under the Ministry and the Ministry will still have to be responsible, although statutory bodies do have advantages. But I can think of one area which, from the point of view of proper utilization of land in Singapore, should not be in the Ministry of National Development. I refer to the Planning Department which determines what kind of use different pieces of land or parcels of land should be put to. The Ministry of National Development is one of the largest users of land in Singapore; probably next only to the Ministry of Defence. Roads, housing, parks, all come under the Ministry of National Development. I do not think myself that it is good management practice to have the largest user of land also in charge of allocating the land. This subject has been under consideration by the Government, and although no decision has been taken, I think the ideal solution will be to have the Planning Department in another Ministry so that all the various Ministries who need land for various purposes will have to satisfy this other independent Ministry that theirs is the best use of the land. Well, maybe it can be in the Prime Minister's Office. I do not know, but certainly it should not be in the Ministry that is the largest user of land. As to whether some of the other functions can be hived off, I am not certain at the present moment. But I can certainly think of this one area. I think this will make for a better Singapore because each Ministry that wants to use the land will have to convince the authority or Ministry in charge of allocation of land that its use is the most economic use of the land. As I said, this will improve land utilization.”
“All these moves are necessary as we mature as a society and as our residents become more independent and more self-reliant. The point has been made that people depend too much on the Government. Well, they have to depend upon themselves and they have to learn for themselves that there are many areas in life where they have to exercise choice and where there are trade-offs. You cannot have everything. If you want to have one thing, you have got to forgo something else. They have to learn to make this choice themselves. They must make rational and economic choices, given our scarce national resources. The whole of the public housing policy is currently being reviewed by a Ministerial Committee on Public Housing which is chaired by the First Deputy Prime Minister. This review by this Committee will be completed by about June this year and the findings of this Review Committee will set the future directions of public housing in Singapore. I would now like to take some of the other points raised by various Members. The Member for Punggol quite rightly made the point that the Ministry of National Development is a very big Ministry covering a multitude of functions. I think Members would remember the days when it covered even more functions when many of the functions of the Ministry of the Environment were part of the Ministry of National Development. But even after hiving off these functions, the Ministry is still a very large Ministry, dealing with very serious and important problems as well as maybe not so serious and not so important problems.”
“HDB is considering the sale of shops and, I think, in the first place we will start with the sale of new shops. This will cause the least disruption. And after we have some experience from the sale of new shops, then we can go on to sell the older shops. In the case of markets, here again, the social and environmental changes have resulted in more people being prepared to go to mini-supermarkets and the like. So HDB has already discontinued the building of wet markets. In place of wet markets, dry markets will be built as dry markets promote greater efficiency and better utilization of space as well as of labour. In estate management, town councils will be progressively extended to as many constituencies as possible. But this is a big subject and we can talk about this in the course of debate more in detail. People will have to learn to make choices with the amount of money that they are prepared to spend on maintenance. At present, Housing Board flats are maintained by the HDB and the service and conservancy charges are not sufficient to maintain not only the routine requirements of the flats let alone the periodic cyclical maintenance. HDB will have to move to a system towards zero subsidy of services and conservancy charges except for the very poor. HDB will also have to consider discontinuing non-essential services to residents and moving towards market rates for the provision of essential services. I was very surprised to learn, during the course of the briefings to me, that residents could call the HDB to change the washers in their water taps or deal with certain electrical faults within their homes. I think this is not an area in which the HDB should be involved. There are enough private plumbers and electricians to deal with the demand for such services.”
“I have already mentioned that, in the case of industrial buildings, the Housing and Development Board is already considering hiving off these operations of construction and management of industrial buildings to the Jurong Town Corporation, so that the Housing and Development Board can concentrate on public housing and the Jurong Town Corporation on industrial buildings. A new allocation system for the sale of HDB flats is also being considered to bring the system more in line with market practices. At present all it takes is maybe an hour or two for somebody to register for a flat. And all it requires is a letter from the applicant to switch from one zone to another zone. This takes just a few minutes to write and to post. But the HDB takes three to four years to build a flat from the time they identify the area, acquire the land, clear the land, construct and allocate. HDB has been going thus far on the basis of applications to assess demand for different types of flats and the areas in which the flats are in demand. I think this procedure has to change. We cannot continue to follow a practice that made sense when there was tremendous housing shortage. We are not in that position and we have to change this procedure. It is also more necessary now that we do not have such a backlog that HDB should be able to gauge demand more accurately. When you have a tremendous backlog, you do not worry about demand. You are concerned with supply. Now that we have, as I said, broken the back of the housing problem, it is important for HDB to pay greater attention to accurate estimation of demand. I also mentioned that HDB should concentrate on housing. This means that shops and other commercial buildings should as far as possible be hived off.”
“And not only will these flats be of higher quality but we intend to put in the kind of facilities necessary to improve the social and physical environment in the new towns and in the new estates. Over and above that, we also have a programme to rejuvenate the old estates. This programme again will engage the HDB officials to a great extent. Our population is also changing. The Member for Leng Kee pointed out that not only our flats are getting old but the people are also getting old. And an ageing population means that HDB's designs will have to be improved to give greater accessibility to the elderly, a point made by the Member for Henderson in very graphic terms. He talked about old people and pregnant women and young children not being able to climb staircases. It is also necessary for the HDB to introduce incentives to encourage our young to live with their aged parents. We intend to do more in this respect, more in terms of incentives for them to live together. Then, of course, in line with the Government's effort to check falling birth rates, the HDB will introduce some new housing incentives to encourage families who can afford to have a third-child. We will also have to review HDB's policies, rules and regulations. The Member for Siglap raised the point whether HDB is reviewing this. Yes, rules, policies, regulations are constantly under review - not only to remove rules which are not relevant anymore but also to bring these rules and regulations closer to the practice in the private sector. Some of the Board's functions which are not in line with long-term public housing objectives will have to be hived off to either the private sector or to other authorities.”
“One of the reasons why Tokyo and the Japanese are not short of good people has never been able to really plan and develop is because of the tremendous problems they have in land acquisition. In a main street like the Ginza you can find a wonderful new building next to a very narrow two-storey building. And the owner of the two-storey building just refuses to give up because land is sacrosanct and he has a right to hold on to his land and he will not give it up. Whole roads, whole airports, have been held up. So I think we must not forget that the primary success of our housing programme must be attributed to the political will of the Government to put in place the kind of land acquisition, laws and procedures and processes that have enabled the HDB to proceed to do the actual construction. Of course, our strong economic performance, the cooperation of the residents, the people, all these have made public housing on the scale that we have possible. The HDB, of course, cannot just look upon its past and rest on its laurels and assume that past practice will be relevant for the future. So it will have to set its future directions taking into account the political, social, economic and environmental changes. And we have set a target for the HDB that by the year 1999 we should have a nation with full home ownership. Having broken the back of the housing problem, HDB's building programme will have to be scaled down. In the coming years, I expect HDB to build around 20,000 flats a year. But this does not mean that the architects and the planners in HDB will have less to do. This lesser number of flats will be of a much higher quality and will require even more work on the part of the architects, planners and other technicians.”
“But also by virtue of the fact that HDB covers such a wide area, it is to be expected that there will be areas which are not completely to the satisfaction of the users or of the residents. But one must see the functions and the achievements of the Government through the HDB in proper perspective, and not allow dissatisfaction with particular aspects to cloud and distort the total perspective. In the beginning, of course, HDB concentrated on building as many flats as possible. And I must say that since speed and numbers were the most important factors, quality and design of the flats in the initial building phase were not really up to what Singaporeans want today. Because of rising aspirations and standard of living, the quality and design of flats over the years have improved. Of course, the success of our housing programme can be attributed to a number of favourable circumstances. The most important I would say is the Government's philosophy on land acquisition. Our public housing programme has succeeded not only because we have good architects and good engineers, but most important, the Government has had the political will to put in place a land acquisition programme and a land acquisition procedure which enabled the Government to buy/acquire pieces of land, amalgamate the pieces together, resettle the people on these lands and then redevelop the vacated lands. If the Government had followed accepted practice elsewhere on land acquisition, we would not have the success in public housing that we have today. The best architects and the best engineers and the best town planners in the world cannot achieve what we have achieved if the land had not been made available to them.”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, as usual under this Head, a whole host of items have been raised from very general questions of broad principle to very speci- fic and particular inquiries about a particular piece of land next to a drain. Sir, as expected too, a number of points have been made about HDB. This is not surprising because, as a number of Members have stated, when we have 80% of the population living in HDB flats, it is not surprising that HDB and the Ministry of National Development attract so much attention. So I thought that I should take this opportunity to just say a few brief words on some broad areas that are now engaging the attention of the HDB and the Ministry officials on the subject of public housing. Then I will go on to deal with some of the detailed items raised by Members. First of all, I think Members are probably already aware that the HDB manages close to 600,000 flats, 580,000 flats to be exact. This is a very large number. It houses 85% of the population of Singapore. Since the start of the home ownership scheme in 1964, some 440,000 flats have been sold. But in addition to building all these dwellings, there are a lot of other facilities that the HDB builds which may not be apparent to everybody. In the building of new towns, land is set aside for schools. In some cases, even the schools were built in the past. Sports complexes are built and handed over to the Singapore Sports Council. Community centres; places of worship, eg, mosques are designed and built by HDB for MUIS; shops, industrial premises, parks and all the other infrastructure necessary to make a new town a community. I think by any standard this is a tremendous achievement.”
“Basic economic conditions have not changed and we have to be constantly on our guard and have to be active in making sure that new protectionist measures are not introduced.”
“Another example that I am sure Members will remember was just a couple of weeks ago when ASEAN made representation to the European Community because there were proposals to increase the duty on vegetable oils and such new taxes on vegetable oils would have seriously affected Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia. So these are areas where ASEAN has been quite successful. I can mention quite a few others where we also negotiated with Japan on items ranging from boneless chicken which was of interest to Thailand to plywood for Indonesia, palm oil for Malaya and so on. In the case of Singapore, we also took up jointly the question of the JIS (Japan Industry Standard) mark which we thought was one way of imposing non-tariff protectionist measures against exports from Singapore to Japan. In all these areas we have been quite successful in making joint representations and getting the other country to look at our problem seriously. And in a number of cases we have been able to get them to concede to our concerns and either not impose a duty or proceed with whatever policy that they had intended. There is general agreement among the ASEAN countries that it is in this area of negotiations with Third countries that we can make most progress. Therefore, it is not surprising that every time we have a problem with a Third country, even though the problem may apply only to one or two ASEAN countries, all ASEAN countries have got together in order to make a joint representation. So I would say, in summary, that in combatting protectionism we have been on the whole fairly successful. But, of course, the fight is by no means over.”
“For example, in the Uruguay Round of the new round of multi-lateral trade negotiations, Singapore was the leader (the Chairman) and the Minister for Trade and Industry acted very effectively as the spokesman for ASEAN. On another matter, we took a joint approach in the Multi-Fibre Agreement. This is negotiations on textile, cotton and synthetic textile agreements with various countries, with the US, with the European Community, and so on. ASEAN took a joint approach and we made our concerns known to the other side jointly. I think this joint approach enabled the ASEAN countries to get much more out of these agreements than they would have if they had done the negotiations individually. The most famous example of ASEAN co-operation in rolling back protectionist policy was ASEAN's action against Australia on civil aviation. Some Members who have been here for some time may recollect that in the late 1970s there was this new Australian policy on international civil aviation which tried to protect or reserve traffic going out of Australia for Australian airlines. Singapore together with the ASEAN countries made a very strong stand against this policy, and we were successful in getting Australia to drop this policy. Of course, there were later examples. For example when New Zealand decided to graduate Brunei and Singapore from their GSP scheme, ASEAN again made a joint representation and we were successful in getting New Zealand to reinstate those products which affected Singapore and Brunei. Similarly in the case of the US, we have made joint representations whenever bills have been presented in Congress which affected the interests of the ASEAN countries.”
“I think the source of this perception that we are not very enthusiastic may go back to a refusal to a particular approach, and that was an approach by the Singapore Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry for financial support for them to send Singapore delegates to meetings of the private sector. In other words, they asked for financial support to meet their counterparts in the other countries. We turned down this request for good reason because these trade and industry organizations are not charities. They are made up of businesses and I assume that these businesses form these organizations for very good, sound business reasons. And the best test of the usefulness of any meeting or project is whether they are prepared to pay for it. I stand by the decision of the Ministry that we should not use public funds to finance trips to attend meetings by members of the Chambers of Commerce. So that could be the source of this perception that we are not very enthusiastic or very supportive. But I can assure the Member for Geylang Serai that that is not so, and that in all our policies we have made it a point to try and bring in the private sector as much as possible to participate in ASEAN projects of co-operation. The other point that the Member raised was that he wanted an assessment of ASEAN co-operation, especially in the area of fighting protectionist trends in the developed countries. If we look at various areas of ASEAN economic co-operation, we would note that it is in the area of joint approach to third countries on protectionist measures that ASEAN has been most active and most successful. Apart from that, of course, generally on trade matters in negotiating with third countries, ASEAN has been quite active.”
“Sir, I agree with the Member for Geylang Serai that it is very important in ASEAN to encourage what we call the NGOs (non-Government Organizations) to also have close relationships whether in the business, cultural or other areas. In fact, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been very active in encouraging participation of the private sector in ASEAN co-operation, not only in co-operation between the different private bodies but also in tapping the views, opinions and knowledge in the private sector in official co-operation projects. We supported the proposal, for example, to invite the ASEAN Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ASEAN CCI) to present the private sector's views on ASEAN's economic co-operation at the ASEAN Economic Ministers' meetings. In Singapore, of course, that includes our own Chambers of Commerce. Businesses, private business organizations like the Chambers have played an active part in presenting their views to the various economic committees of ASEAN, such as the Committee on Trade and Tourism, Committee on Industry, Minerals, Energy, and so on. In the case of the Committee on Trade and Tourism, Singapore is the Chairman, and we have given full attention to the Chambers of Commerce's preferences as well as their views on certain specific industries like industries covering chemical products and subjects such as the ASEAN Preferential Trading Arrangement. It is not true that we do not encourage. The perception is wrong. We want them to play a part and, in fact, we have also helped them to establish contacts with their counterparts - the other Chambers of Commerce in Australia, European Community, Japan, and so on. We have a good working relationship.”
“These visits are informal in nature with no structured agenda or discussions but over a period of time these visits will enable leaders of both countries to develop personal contacts, keep in touch with developments in each other's country and evolve over a period of time the same kind of relationship that now exists between the Prime Minister and President Suharto. I am satisfied with the progress so far in this respect. More can be done and more will be done. On the last point about the move to Raffles City, I will leave it to the Second Minister to deal with it. The Second Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr Wong Kan Seng): Mr Chairman, as I said this morning, the Supreme Court is going to increase the number of court rooms and the quickest way for it to do so would be to find a building adjacent to it. It will take some time for the Supreme Court to build a new building to accommodate new court rooms. So we have decided to make way for the Supreme Court and since we only have very short notice to move out, the fastest way would be to look for existing available office space. We have considered the Treasury Building but the Treasury Building floor space costs more than the Raffles City's floor space. So we decided to move to Raffles City. I agree with the Member for Chong Boon that we should have our own distinctive building, a separate building for MFA. But that would take time and definitely we would look into that when the time comes.”
“We must be aware of this policy of theirs and look for the substance and if we look and search for the substance in all these moves, I am afraid that we will have to conclude that it is very difficult to see any real positive steps, and that all this flurry of activity is part of a PR exercise. The Member also raised the question of our relations with Indonesia. He quite rightly made the point that the present very good cordial and warm relations between Singapore and Indonesia are based very much on the personal excellent relationship between our Prime Minister and President Suharto. This very good personal relationship, understanding and appreciation of each other's interests and position did not come about overnight. It has taken more than 15 years to arrive at this happy state where although we may have differences, we have not allowed these differences to generate distrust or hostility. The two leaders have met frequently and have a clear understanding of each country's aspirations and problems. We are well aware that we cannot allow the relationship between our two countries to rest solely on the personal relationship between our two leaders who, as the Member for Chong Boon has mentioned, are both getting on in years. The Foreign Ministry has for some time had a programme to encourage and bring about closer personal relations between the new leaders, ie, the younger generation leaders, in both countries. The First Deputy Prime Minister and the Second Deputy Prime Minister have led separate delegations of Ministers and Members of Parliament to Indonesia. More such visits are in the pipeline. These visits are not intended to discuss any specific issue. They do not go with an agenda or with a shopping list.”
“The press has, in fact, reported that Mr Ngyuen Co Thach, the Vietnamese Foreign Minister had said that Vietnam and the Soviet Union are in complete agreement on the Cambodian issue. Nothing that Mr Shevardnadze has said so far indicates that there is a shift in the Soviet position. As the Member for Chong Boon mentioned, there has been a flurry of activities. Not only Mr Shevardnadze's visit but also the visit by Mr Natwar Singh, the Minister of State for External Affairs of India. Mr Natwar Singh made clear that he was not bringing any new proposals and that he merely wanted to share India's impressions of Vietnam's position on the Cambodian problem and he made it very clear that there was no signficance beyond that. In the case of Shevardnadze, I have already mentioned that his discussion with my colleague in Indonesia again did not indicate any shift in the Soviet Union's position. Basically, Vietnamese policy has not changed. They are aware that they cannot get the world to accept what they have done in Cambodia. What they would like to do now is to get the world to lose interest in Cambodia. One way to get as many countries of the world to lose interest or not to be actively involved in supporting ASEAN is to create the impression that there is an active dialogue and movement towards a solution on this problem. And in this, I must say that they have set about their job with great subtlety. They have used their friends like the Soviet Union and others who are well-intentioned to create the impression that there is a dialogue and that there are moves between ASEAN and Vietnam to finding a solution. And the more they can succeed in creating this impression, the greater their success in getting others to disengage themselves from active support for ASEAN.”
“Sir, I would like to take the first three points raised by the Member for Chong Boon covering general foreign policy. Then I will allow my Second Minister for Foreign Affairs to deal with the last item regarding the move to Raffles City. Sir, the Member for Chong Boon spoke about the new initiative taken by the Soviet Union as set out in Mr Gorbachev's speech in Vladivostok in July 1986 which clearly indicated that the Soviet Union wanted to project itself and be recognized as a power in the Pacific area. It is clear that the Soviet Union is already well poised to do this because it has access to bases in Vietnam and it has the military muscle to enable it to project itself in political terms. Therefore, it has taken new initiatives to improve its relations with China and also has made moves to improve its relations with the countries of ASEAN and the other Pacific countries. But in spite of the good intention mentioned in the speech and in subsequent moves, the fact remains that in substance there has been little change. The Soviet Union is well aware that in order to improve relations with ASEAN it must seriously address the problem of Cambodia or Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia, and to-date there is no real evidence that the Soviet Union is doing so. There is still no recognition by the Soviet Union, through its actions, that this is a serious obstacle for improved relations between the Soviet Union and the members of ASEAN. Sweet words have been said during Mr Shevardnadze's visit to Bangkok but as soon as he got to Hanoi at the end of his trip through Indonesia and Australia, he reiterated in fact, the traditional Vietnamese position and fully backed Vietnam in its cause in Cambodia.”
“Please answer the question put to you. An hon. Member: Head of a political party and you don't want to be Prime Minister?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the HDB Joint Selection Scheme of flat enables parents and a married child to purchase two units of flats to stay near each other. Allocation is determined by the lower of the two registration numbers. Thus the family with the higher number enjoys priority in allocation. Due to the limited supply of flats in the Inner Suburban and Urban Zones, there is a long waiting list of public applicants in these zones. If we add the joint selection priority scheme to the other priority schemes, non-priority applicants will have to wait even longer for allocation. Joint family household applicants for HDB flats are therefore confined to New Town and Outer Suburban Zones. Flats in the Inner Suburban and Urban Zones will continue to be in short supply because of the limited availability of land for public housing in these zones. The Housing and Development Board will not therefore change in the foreseeable future the above rule concerning joint selection of flats. EDUCATION OF DISABLED CHILDREN (Special programme) 3. Dr S. Vasoo asked the Minister for Education what plans his Ministry has to strengthen the special education programme for disabled children under the promotion of excellence in education.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in general it is the policy not to move people out long before the land is required. But where it comes to reclamation, although on plan it may appear that the site is not affected by reclamation, it is difficult to do reclamation in the surrounding area without affecting the particular site. So I would say, in general, we will try our best not to move people out of sites which are not immediately required. JOINT FAMILY HOUSEHOLD APPLICATIONS FOR HDB FLATS (Rationale for confinement to New Towns) 2. Dr S. Vasoo asked the Minister for National Development (a) if he will explain the rationale for confining joint family household applications for Housing and Development Board flats to New Towns; and (b) whether such a requirement will be reviewed in terms of its relevance.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the New Town is planned to be built about the year 2000. It will be planned to take advantage of its proximity to the sea for scenic and recreational purposes. Some private housing near the northern part of the New Town will also be retained to blend in with the public housing development. The reclaimed land near the water edge will be maintained as open spaces for recreation and a portion at the present location of Coney Island will be prepared as a beach for swimmers.”