Uproar against rental housing is a joke
Posted: February 9, 2010 by fievel in Labels: Housing, politics, SingaporeIt appears there is a hot new issue going around kopitiams regarding our beleaguered Mah Bow Tan and his housing policies. This time, it is regarding the issue of sudden decisions to build blocks of rental flats in Tampines and Pasir Ris for housing the growing army of homeless families of Singapore.
[refer: Straits Times: Uproar over new rental flats]
Apparently, HDB owners of adjacent blocks in these selected sites have gone to their respective MPs and HDB to protest against 2 issues;
1) HDB did not consult the surrounding residents before beginning work on building these rental flats
2) They have several concerns about having a block of homeless Singaporeans living next to their homes
What kind of jokers do we have among our midst?
Do they know what it means to be living in a HDB flat? It is public, subsidized housing! (though these days I beg to differ on the definition of 'subsidized')
Can these people get real please? Do they know that they are also renting their flats from HDB, except they did so with a 99 year or less lease? The homeless are just like any of us, except their finances have been caught short and they are in a homeless, or rather, long-term-rental-less plight. Please do grow some empathy!
If they are concerned that their HDB prices will be adversely affected by having another block so near to theirs, I think that is another ridiculous claim. Almost 90% of flats are going to have no clear open space next to them eventually, in fact, it is so certain that you should never purchase a flat with a nice plot of empty land next to it. You can only be more assured of your existing open spaces if you own a private property, or else get a new government who doesn't intend to squeeze 85% of the 6.5 million citizens into HDB pockets.
And since when has HDB or our government bodies ever consulted the citizens before? Why are these guys crying foul only now? Did PAP consult the citizens when they decided to hike their ministerial salaries to obscene levels in 2006? No. Did they consult you when they decided to build the casinos? No. Did they consult you when they decided to increase our population to 6.5 million? No. A big fat NO. So stop pretending to be so surprised. (Somehow I think the joke is really on these fellas since they were the ones who voted Mah Bow Tan into Tampines in the first place.)
One particular thought fleeted across my mind as I read about this piece of news - why are there so many homeless citizens all of a sudden? Where are they living right now as these blocks are being built? It can't be they are all from Angsana home in Buangkok or Sembawang park's tents....maybe they are preparing to evict the citizens who have been falling behind on their HDB mortgages in recent years? Who knows?
All in all, I think we need a new Minister for National Development to take over Mah. Somebody with fresh perspectives and not just fancy spectacles. Somebody with a vision to proactively create a better life for our citizens through his/her work and not just someone defensive and always in denial of real problems.
YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT, HE URGENTLY NEEDS TO BE REPLACED AS HE HAS LOST VISION. TO MAKE IT EASIER ON HIM SELF, THE OCCUPANTS ARE BEING OVERCHARGED NOW. GREED HAS CREPT IN THROUGH LOSE OF VISION!