Nazi guard Demjanjuk to stand trial in Germany

Reuters, 30 November 2009

John Demjanjuk, an 89-year-old former Nazi camp guard, is due to stand trial today on charges of helping to force 27,900 Jews into gas chambers in 1943.

Demjanjuk is expected to appear in a wheelchair before a packed court in the southern city of Munich at what is likely to be Germany’s last major trial from the Nazi era.

German state prosecutors believe Demjanjuk, who was top of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre’s list of most-wanted war criminals, assisted in murders at the Sobibor death camp, in what is now Poland, where at least 250,000 Jews were murdered.

Jewish groups and victims’ families say it is never too late for justice to be done and that the case is symbolic.

“We should not make the mistake of thinking that a case against one war criminal is a case against just one man,” said Rabbi Marvin Hier, Dean of the Wiesenthal Centre in Los Angeles.

“When the bell tolls for John Demjanjuk, it is also tolling for every other war criminal. Even if it just gives them sleepless nights,” he told Reuters.

Demjanjuk, who was born in Ukraine and fought in the Red Army before being captured by the Nazis and recruited as a camp guard, was extradited in May from the United States.

He emigrated to the United States in 1951, becoming a naturalised citizen in 1958, and worked in the auto industry.

He denies he was involved in the Holocaust and his family insists he is too frail to stand trail.

Demjanjuk’s son said his father had been in hospital for five days in the last week to undergo a range of tests and had a blood transfusion due to a bone marrow disease.

“They are forcing the trial to go forward regardless of my father’s condition,” John Demjanjuk Jr told Reuters in a statement.

LIFE BEHIND BARS?

Due to his weak condition, the hearings will be restricted to two 90-minute sessions per day. His lawyer, Guenther Maull, said Demjanjuk was in constant pain and suffered from periods of mental absence.

The trial, expected to last until May, is due to start at 0900 GMT and sessions have been scheduled for three days from Monday for this week. Over 200 journalists have been accredited.

If all goes to plan, the prosecution will read the charges today and Demjanjuk, who could be sentenced to spend the rest of his life behind bars, will have the chance to respond. Prosecutors plan to show the court documents, including an identity card, to prove he was at Sobibor and they will call about 20 witnesses.

While the case has attracted enormous global interest, many Germans would prefer to draw a line under the Nazi past and focus on a Germany’s new-found role on the world stage.

Although he has acknowledged being at other camps, Demjanjuk has denied he was in Sobibor, which prosecutors say was run by 20-30 Nazi SS members and up to 150 former Soviet war prisoners.

In the Sobibor gas chambers, Jews died in 20 to 30 minutes after inhaling a toxic mix of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, say prosecutors, who argue that Demjanjuk was at the camp for about six months in 1943. — Reuters

Republished from Reuters on 30 November 2009

Unemployment rate among residents go up to 5.9 per cent

Written by Our Correspondent

The unemployment rate for Singapore residents hit 5.9 per cent in June this year, up from 4 per cent a year ago.

The rise was felt across all occupations and industries, according to the Labour Force Survey carried out in mid-2009 by the Ministry of Manpower’s Research and Statistics Department, which released the key findings on Monday morning.

For some strange reasons, the Ministry has grouped citizens and PRs together under the “resident” category meaning that the figures for unemployment rate among Singapore citizens remains a mystery.

According to Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng, there were over 20,000 new citizens and 90,000 PRs last year.

In total, there are about 530,000 PRs in Singapore. It is not known if the inclusion of PRs in the “resident” category has helped to depress the unemployment figures to make it more “respectable”.

If PRs are taken out of the equation, the unemployment rate among Singapore citizens may be higher than 5.9 per cent.

The survey also found that among those in employment, the median income stabilised after rising significantly over the preceding two years.

It was not revealed the if the income of the high or low income group had risen the most.

Singapore has the highest income gap among developed countries after Hong Kong.

While the median wages of ordinary Singaporeans have not increased by much, the cost of living has sky-rocketed in the last few years, particularly that of public housing.

The price of HDB resale flats hit a record high in June this year, fueled partly by the influx of PRs into the market. An Indonesian PR forked out $653,000 for a 4-room HDB flat in Queenstown when he could have easily afforded a condominium.

The Manpower Ministry said the employment rate of older residents aged 55 to 64 remained at the record high of 57.2 per cent reached in 2008.

This may be attributed to the fact that many Singaporeans have to continue working beyond their retirement age in order to support themselves.

The government has provided few social welfare benefits for Singaporeans on the ground that it will create a “crutch” mentality.

Singaporeans are encouraged to work for as long as their health permits and to start their families young so that they will have children to take care of them when the grow old.

For those who are unable to work and have no children or relatives to support them, they are put on “Public Assistance” scheme which pay them a monthly living allowance of $330 a month.

When asked by PAP MP Dr Lily Neo a few years ago to increase the allowance which is then only $290 a month, Minister for Community, Youth and Sports Dr Vivian retorted:

“How much do you want? Do you want three meals in a hawker centre, food court or restaurant?”

Dr Vivian has recently unveiled a $10-million dollars mega Community Integration Fund to make the new citizens feel “welcomed” in Singapore.

The Ministry should consider breaking down the national unemployment rate into three categories: locals, new citizens and PRs to better reflect the situation on the ground.

Only then will Singaporeans know if PRs and new citizens are indeed “snatching” away their “rice-bowls” as is widely perceived.

Related articles:

>> Cosmetic changes made to immigration policy

>> SM Goh: New immigrants needed to make up population shortfall

>> PAP ministers hailed contributions of foreigners

>> SM Goh expressed support for Zhang Yuanyuan

>> State media: citizens have more rights over PRs

>> Zhang Yuanyuan got her Singapore PR in only 2 months

>> Official reply from government on the Zhang Yuanyuan fiasco

>> Singapore PRC PR proclaimed loyalty to China publicly

>> PRC resident hung China flag to celebrate its National Day

>> PRC student in Singapore wants more scholarships for foreigners

>> PRC prostitutes solicit for customers on Singapore’s cyberspace

>> ERA: 40 per cent of resale flats buyers are PRs

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Archbishop John Chew urges Anglicans to unite against “alternative values” like homosexuality

Written by Our Correspondent

Singapore’s head of the Anglican Church, Archbishop John Chew has implored his followers to unite against “alternative values” such as homosexuality, rampant materialism and religious extremism which are fast eroding “mainstream values”, especially in the west.

He noted in a sermon to about 10,000 people during the Church’s centenary service at Suntec City that the lack of consensus on mainstream values had resulted in the spread of ‘alternative’, ‘fringe’ and ‘fundamentalistic’ values.

Echoing the government’s call for Singaporeans to have more children, the Archbishop also spoke on the importance of procreation within the family

“If Singaporeans do not produce enough babies, the danger is that the mainstream population, its socio-cultural norms and ethos, will dwindle and diminish down the generations…..The breaking down of families, and the changing of classical family norms, makes all this more aggravated,” he said.

In March this year, a group of Christian women steeplejacked and took control of feminist NGO AWARE ostensibly on the grounds that it was promoting “alternative” lifestyles like homosexuality.

Their plan backfired and they were subsequently voted out of office in an EGM called by the AWARE old guards.

The AWARE saga prompted Prime Minister Lee to urge Singaporeans to be tolerant towards those with different values and beliefs during his National Day Rally.

Under Section 377A of Singapore penal code, sexual intercourse between males is a crime punishable by a jail term though nobody were ever prosecuted under the law.

The move to decriminalize homosexuality has met with stiff opposition from conservative Christians in recent years such as former NMP Professor Thio-Li Ann and her mother Thio Su Mein, the self-proclaimed “feminist mentor” who is the mastermind behind the AWARE takeover.

During a recent “new media breakfast” at Kim Yan Church, Prof Thio urged Christians to speak up and contribute actively to secular society.

It was also revealed that an internet news portal, Singanews will be set up and run by a few trained journalists to provide Singaporeans with an “alternative” viewpoint.

The site is owned by Singa Communications which is helmed by ex-ST journalist Matthew Yap.

The company was incorporated in July this year, but so far nothing has been heard about Singnews which has yet to be launched.

Ejected from Singapore

By Ben Bland from The Guardian

Unfriendly reporters are jailed, assaulted or assassinated by the governments of Burma, Iran and Sri Lanka. Singapore, with pretensions to being a global “media hub”, prefers tools of repression that are more subtle, yet have the same chilling effect on free speech. After a year as an accredited correspondent in the southeast Asian city-state, I was unexpectedly told last month that my employment visa would not be renewed.

The government refused to disclose its reasons despite repeated requests and an appeal from the British High Commission. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a New York-based press freedom group, condemned the decision, saying that it “shows the Singapore government’s intolerance of independent and critical reporting”. CPJ added that I was merely “the latest on a long list of foreign journalists who have been targeted by the government for their news coverage”.

Although I reported on some sensitive issues such as rising crime, the ageing population and business links with Burma, I did not break any of the taboos that normally lead to a government reprisal – namely criticising Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s founding father, or his son, the prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong. International publications that dare to hold Singapore’s ruling caste to account tend to find themselves on the wrong side of a costly libel suit. In recent years, the Economist, the International Herald Tribune, the Wall Street Journal and, most recently, the soon-to-close Far Eastern Economic Review have all been forced to pay out hundreds of thousands of pounds in damages to the Lee family.

While the international press is silenced through the courts, Singaporean journalists are cowed by the government’s ownership of key stakes in all the country’s daily newspapers and news broadcasters. The insidious practice of self-censorship is all-pervasive. One senior editor at a major international newspaper in Asia admitted that he line-edits every single story about Singapore for fear of upsetting the powers-that-be.

A veteran foreign correspondent in Singapore insisted that it was possible to criticise the government “if one takes a subtle rather than confrontational approach and focuses on policy issues rather than personalities”. But, fearful of jeopardising his employment visa, he was not prepared to speak on the record. – The Guardian

Republished from The Guardian on 30 November 2009

Gan Kim Yong: bonus for civil servants is “modest”

Written by Our Correspondent

Manpower Minister Mr Gan Kim Yong highlighted the “modest” one-off year-end payment of 0.25 month, capped at S$750 for civil servants as an example for employers to reward workers who have performed well.

“I think we all understand that the economic outlook for next year still remains uncertain. In fact, that is what we already expected. For those that can afford (it), with very positive business outlook, they should consider giving some recognition, which could take the form of a one-time payment,” he said.

The government has been urging companies to restore the pay cuts for workers who have made “sacrifices” during the economic downturn last year.

While civil servants are still entitled to a 13th month bonus, some in the private sector are not receiving any bonuses as well.

Even with the expected 22 per cent reduction in salaries, Singapore’s ministers remain the highest paid in the world.

Mr Gan himself is expected to take home around $1.5 million dollars a year or $125,000 a month.

The median wage of an average Singapore worker is only $4,500 monthly.

It is not known if companies will be heeding the government’s call to increase the wages of their workers.

There are no independent unions to fight for the interests of Singapore workers.

Most unions in Singapore are under the direct or indirect control of NTUC, a quasi-government organization always headed by a cabinet minister.

According to official statistics, the median wages of the lower income group has increased only marginally in the last decade which coincides with a high inflow of foreigners and widening income gap.

MM Lee Kuan Yew said recently that he is not concerned with the widening income gap between the rich and the poor as long jobs are being created for Singaporeans.

新加坡人的政治观

作者： 66 (09 July 2007)

某日，老先生回到家，很兴奋地说有一个新加坡人给他讲了一个政治笑话，这在新加坡可说是超级小概率事件哦，几乎像中奖一样。原来闲聊时老先生跟新加坡同事说新加坡应该学习中国城市购物区的做法，把车水马龙过街不便又空气浑浊的“购物天堂”乌节路 (Orchard Road) 改成步行街。

一个新加坡同事说，很好啊，你给小布什写封信吧。老先生愣了半天，问道：“为什么要给小布什写信呢？”那个新加坡人说道：“因为小布什说什么李显龙就做什么。”随即马上“消毒”：“这可是我们私底下说的玩笑啊。”老先生大为惊讶，哦，原来新加坡人也有“政治观”啊。

平时午餐时间中国人唾沫横飞古今中外国际国内形势一把抓，新加坡人完全插不上嘴听着味如嚼蜡，多半心里想，这跟我有什么屁关系。渐渐自组小集体，去谈论哪里的东西好吃，周末去哪里找乐子，假期去哪里旅行等等。新加坡作家吴韦材介绍朋友到北京做生意，也发生了同样的状况。

见面酒席仿佛成了中国人的政治研讨会，反而对“项目”本身似乎毫无兴趣。那个可怜的新加坡人完全说不上话，回来跟老友抱怨中国人浮夸散漫，毫不务实。那伙中国人却对他说，你们新加坡人仿佛井底之蛙，无趣的紧。

这就是新加坡百姓，他们的生活紧紧围绕着“讨生活”和“享受生活”而进行。那些挺悬乎的事比如“国际战略格局”等等，不会浪费他的半点时间。这是那些个政府精英分子操心的事，于我何干？

这也是新加坡政府希望人民达到的“认识高度”。政治这件事嘛，我们搞定就好了，你们老老实实做工就好。其实，在一个老百姓不需要理会“政治”这回事的国度里，这不就是“天下大治”了吗？反之则多半是天下大乱，看看那些老百姓都纠缠于政治的地方，如文革的大陆，今日的台湾，就知道这道理了。

新加坡领导人把新加坡形容为一条小船，其核心要义是，掌舵的人只能少数，其他人要齐心协力听指挥，这小船才能在凶猛的大海中生存，要是每个人都有自己的主意，甚至只是嚷嚷几下，恐怕船就得沉。所以，除了那些从小就露了“尖尖角”，（小学三年级就开始挑选出“天才儿童”）十八岁就被送到牛津剑桥哈佛麻省特意栽培的精英以外，（所以在新加坡从小学开始每一次考试都很关键哦。）其他的人都明白，你要做的，只是一颗“快乐的螺丝钉”。

当然，历史证明，对于整体的人民，你只能让他们信服，而不可能长期靠威吓来统治。新加坡实现了华人世界从未有过的公认“奇迹”：“清洁的环境”和“廉洁的政府”。当然，最关键的，还是经济的发展，只要老百姓自己日子好过，他们对政府是否真的廉洁这回事不一定真的叫劲。李光耀的人民行动党最有力的利器，还是 “经济成功”。因为人民相信投票给人民行动党才能保持稳定优裕的生活。

可是，总有些人对那几个掌舵的人有些看法，所以，新加坡的国会里，还是有两个反对党议员的。在某些时候，人民行动党几乎流失接近百分之四十的选票。那些一直支持反对党（民主联盟）议员詹时忠和工人党议员刘程强的选区人民，的确是很勇敢。因为他们会因此丧失社区翻新等等福利。（金额高达八千万和一亿多新元呢）新加坡政府也会“公器私用”呢，用国家资源为政党谋 利。

不过，为了巩固政权好为人民服务，搞些不出人命的手段，李光耀不以为意，起码他没把人家丢进大牢。他的常用手法是亲自出马，状告某某人诽谤他和其他政府要员，当然了，证据还是要有的，新加坡好像还没那么黑暗。

詹 时忠刘程强品行端正，言语谨慎，所以能一直连任国会议员，另外一些人物可就没那么走运。工人党前党魁印度族律师惹耶勒南被控诽谤成立，前后罚款一百五十万 新元导致破产，老头现在在街边售卖自己控诉李光耀的书《新加坡的杀手》，无人理睬。民主党秘书长徐顺全被控诽谤成立，罚款几十万至破产，在街边卖党报筹款，两元一份。政府也在某个公园设立了“演说角”，不过要先注册，前总理吴作栋说：“效果很好，因为没几个人用。”

“胡萝卜加棒棒”的政策，成功地塑造了勤劳而柔顺的新加坡人民，听着一干精英份子的指挥，新加坡这条小船已经高效率运转了四十年。可是，世道好像又变了。

“创意经济”开始露出当道的意思。以前螺丝钉们只要乖乖做些机械动作就行，现在好像每个螺丝钉都得会动自己的脑筋才能保证“经济成功”的延续。所以，现在新加坡政府正在搅动脑汁，要把他们的乖乖机械螺丝钉们变成“乖乖会跳舞的小精灵”呢

来源： http://yunyunyunzhou2000.spaces.live.com

抓着含糊民主观念作文章

作者：《中国时报》

她应该是新加坡政府的无情批评者、坚决反对者，她自认如此，许多新加坡人也视她为如此，西方媒体记者更将她当作稀有的反政府人士。她就是新加坡知名作家─林宝音 (Catherine Lim)。

两个多月前，《国际前锋论坛报(International Herald Tribune)》曾刊登题为「一位浪漫作家猛戳新加坡大家长制」的长篇文章，介绍林宝音如何勇敢批评新加坡政治制度乃至「大家长」李光耀。

感觉上，林宝音无异于穿着盔甲的唐吉诃德，骑着瘦驴手持长矛，英勇冲向那个巨大的、正在旋转的风车。

真实的情况却是，她提到新加坡政府时，竟毫无矫饰地说：「我认为是世界上最好的政府。」对于理当是她批评的对象，经常被西方媒体描述为握权不放、幕后主导新加坡政治的李光耀，她说：「我钦佩他，他是真正有见识的政治家。」

那么，她究竟反对什么？

林宝音说：「新加坡政府还有改善的空间，改善我所谓的『人民行动党（执政党）治理模式』，即制衡权应该属于人民，实行真正的民主开放，毕竟民主政治是人类所能拥有的最好制度。」

林宝音不认为西方的民主制度可以照搬，也不希望新加坡变成菲律宾、台湾，她说：「一定可以找出一些方法，例如，我们应该允许街头示威。」。

林宝音称自己为「意外的作家」、「意外的政治评论家」，因为这两个身分都并非她刻意追求。

一九九四年，吴作栋刚接任总理，「吴作栋是个很好、很绅士的人，但已卸任的李光耀，却像株巨大菩提树，笼罩新加坡，我在旁观察，看有什么不同，结果一切如昔。」

于是林宝音写了第一篇评论，指称新加坡百姓很感谢政府所做一切，却不喜欢这些领导人。这个观点让当年很少听到反对声音的新加坡人大为惊讶，甚至被形容为「凯瑟琳．林（林宝音的英文名）事件」。

在一个专制国家进行批评，难道不会受到政府的压制或骚扰？林宝音说：「没有，从来没有。」在林宝音的观念里，新加坡政府这么好，但如果不作改变，廿、卅年后，危机就会出现。

「人民行动党已治理新加坡四十多年，好像也没出现什么危机。」林宝音含混地回答：「但不管一个政府多有效率，在政治上若不能更纯熟细致，人民迟早会弃离，新加坡就会崩溃。」

也许这就是新加坡反政府声音的困难之处。这个政府太负责、太有效率、把人民照顾得太好，反对者几乎找不到着力点，只能抓着含糊的民主观念作文章。

来源：http://news.chinatimes.com

An analysis of Singapore’s property market this year

By Khalil Adis

[Khalil Adis a former editor of Property Report. He now writes for Property Report, Property Guru and Temasek Review]

2009 has been a roller-coaster ride for Singapore’s private property market and 2010 will be an equally challenging year for the HDB resale market.

A topsy-turvy year

2009 has so far been a year of paradox for Singapore’s private property market which first recorded the worst fall in history in property price index in the first quarter of 2009 followed by a stunning V-shaped recovery with the sharpest increase in a decade in the third quarter.

The first quarter witnessed the price index dropping 14.1 percent quarter-on-quarter.

However, just two quarters later, the private residential market posted a 15.8 percent increase, data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s (URA) showed.

According to the URA’s data, prices of non-landed private residential properties increased by 15.2 percent in the core central region, 18.5 percent in the rest of central region and 16.1 percent in the outside central region in the third quarter.

In comparison, prices of non-landed private homes decreased by 5.2 percent, 4.4 percent and 2.3 percent in the core central region, rest of central region and outside central region respectively in the second quarter.

This sharp V-shaped recovery has prompted fears that a property bubble was forming and that property prices in Singapore have become too inflated driven by low interest rates.

So in September, the Singapore government took measures to cool down the property market by making it harder for homebuyers to defer payments by removing the Interest Absorption Scheme (IAS) and Interest-Only Housing Loans (IOL) and releasing more land.

Before the intervention, property showrooms were filled with agents armed with blank cheques acting on behalf of speculators.

This has resulted in escalating property prices, which has put genuine homeowners at a disadvantage.

Property firm DTZ notes that the price hikes since the second quarter of 2009 has resulted in diminishing buying power of Housing Development Board (HDB) upgraders.

The proportion of purchasers with HDB addresses has declined to 37 percent in the third quarter of 2009, from the recent peak of 56 percent in the first quarter.

Anti-speculative measures have worked

The escalating prices, driven by speculators, are a cause for concern as recent data from the Ministry for Trade and Industry (MTI) shows that Singapore is just fresh out of a recession.

Analysts say removing the IAS and IOL schemes will bring stability to the property market, in line with the country’s economic growth.

“The measures are aimed at stabilising the market and not letting prices runaway from the reality of an economic downturn. Any rise in prices should commensurate with the rate of economic expansion,” says Donald Han, managing director for Cushman & Wakefield Singapore.

Two months later, analysts agree that the government’s anti-speculative measures have worked to some extent.

“The government’s strong stand on the need for anti-speculation, coupled with its prompt and immediate response to the rapidly heating market (IAS removal and land release), is what has brought sanity to the property market by weeding out speculators and cautioning would-be private home owners,” says chief executive officer for PropNex, Mohamed Ismail.

“The effect of the anti-speculation measures is targeted more at the buyers in the non-prime market who typically rely more financing to own a private residential property. The removal of Interest Absorption Scheme and Interest Only Loans also forced these buyers to be more prudent in their purchases as they are no longer allowed to defer their loan repayment. The reassurance of ample supply as provided by the government’s injection of sites into the first half of 2010 confirmed list, under the government land sales programme, has also softened the run-up effect,” says Dr Chua Yang Liang, head of research for Jones Lang LaSalle for Southeast Asia.

Subsales down

According to Jones Lang LaSalle, the overall monthly volume of purchases for October 2009 has declined by 29 percent from 1, 143 units in September to 811 units.

This is the third contraction since August 09 and also the second lowest sales volume achieved for the first ten months of 2009 since January 09 when 108 units were sold.

Jones Lang LaSalle also notes that this measure has resulted in a decrease in subsales – a measure of how much speculation there is in the property market.

“ The recent announcement of measures to curb speculative behaviour seems to have taken effect as seen in the subsales market. Proportion of subsales level has fallen to 7.9 percent in October from the 12 percent recorded in September,” says Dr Chua.

However, analysts say it is too early to tell if some measures, such as the interest-absorption scheme (IAS), should be restored,

“The IAS removal only played a small part of the government measures. But even as such, we do not think it is necessary for IAS restoration within the next one year,” says Mohamed Ismail.

Falling rentals

While property prices were escalating in the third quarter, rentals continued to decline in the same period.

According to the URA, the rental price index for private property has dropped 2.2 percent in the third quarter.

“The rental price index has dropped 20.4 percent to its current third quarter level of 129.3, and its recent decline of 2.2 percent is actually its lowest decline in four quarters,” says Mohamed Ismail.

Analysts note that rentals were declining, as landlords were willing to drop their rents during the recession.

“Rentals for private properties could be explained by the fact that in the bad economy, landlords were willing to lease out their property for lower prices. Given that rental agreements last for an extended period of time, we should see a lag in the recovery of the rental price index behind the more visible recovery of the property price index,” says Mohamed Ismail.

Therefore, the fourth quarter could see rentals going up in tandem with the recovering economy.

2010 and beyond

Going forward, analysts expect sales volume for private homes to ease, as there are fewer mass-market projects in the pipeline plus the government’s measures to cool the property market.

“Transaction volume in the non-landed segment is likely to contract by a further 10 to 20 percent due in part to the seasonal slow down and also the effect from the recent government announcements,” says Dr Chua.

Home prices are also likely to see some level of stabilisation with more moderate increase to more sustainable levels with less volatility.

This is because about 70 percent of the current buyers in recent residential launches choose the normal progress payment while the rest opted for the IAS.

However, analysts warned that the Singapore government could impose more measures to cool the property market should price continue escalating.

“Should housing price growth continue to surge ahead of economic fundamental despite these recent moral persuasion by the government to cool residential demand, further anti-speculative measures with a bigger bite could be introduced such as capital gains tax say for those who flip within a two year period of the first purchase,” says Dr Chua.

In October, the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) expressed concern that a speculative bubble could form, prompting them to take possible further measures, on top of the release of land announced recently for mass-market developments.

Although the government has yet to announce such possible measures, prospective homeowners should assess their financial position before taking a plunge in the private property market.

The HDB market outlook

Following public criticism that there was not enough supply of HDB flats in the market, Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan announced in parliament recently that the HDB will release 10, 000 to 12, 000 new flats every year for the next five years.

By releasing more supply however, the HDB is caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.

While releasing more flats will help quell the public’s frustration with the HDB, such measure will also bring down the value of HDB flats due to its market based pricing approach.

“Although HDB is slated to release a total of 13, 500 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats this year (by the end of 2009), an oversupply would only serve to dampen the asset value of a majority of Singaporeans who are dwelling in HDB flats,” says Mohamed Ismail.

Meanwhile, the HDB resale market will likely witness more transactions this year.

Acording to Propnex, there is a continual supply of resale flats which could potentially see 40, 000 transactions this year alone.

It adds that should the economy recover well, this could lead to greater demand in the HDB resale market due to a a greater number of Singaporeans being able to hold well-paying or stable jobs, or if there is a greater number of permanent residents in the market.

Such news mean Singaporeans should brace themselves for escalating prices in the resale market next year – just at a time when elections are coming.

The latest HDB Price Index (RPI) is now at a record high of 145.2 points – a growth of 3.6 percent over the previous quarter.

About the Author:

Khalil Adis was a former editor for Property Report magazine covering Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. During his course of work he has travelled to all three countries to cover their property markets extensively. He has also interviewed politicians like Singapore’s Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan, Kuala Lumpur’s Mayor Dato’ Ahmad Fuad Ismail and Malaysia’s Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Peter Chin. He now writes for Property Report, Property Guru and Temasek Review.

You can read more of Khalil’s articles on:

www.property-report.com and www.propertyguru.com.sg

Other articles by Khalil Adis:

>> Demand vs supply: so many applicants, but so few flats

>> Home affordability: HDB versus the public

Eunos residents protest against HDB’s lift upgrading programme

Written by Our Correspondent

Some Eunos residents have protested against HDB’s lift upgrading programme in their estate by crossing out all the four options given to them during a meeting over the weekend with HDB.

They are flat owners in Blocks 411, 415 and 417 in Eunos Road 5. The new lift shafts built as part of a lift upgrading programme last year ended up blocking their flats from sunlight and wind, making their homes dark and hot.

The residents had taken issue with the layout and location of the new lifts when the plan was first revealed in 2006.

Despite having numerous discussions with their MP Dr Ong Seh Hong, the impasse remains unresolved.

HDB has proceeded to build the lifts with the new lift shafts becoming an eyesore in the vicinity. They are still uncompleted due to objection from the residents.

During a meeting last Saturday morning with HDB, some of the residents surrounded HDB’s deputy director of upgrading programmes management Chee Kheng Chye last Saturday morning, firing questions at him.

The questions included why the lift shaft was built blocking most of the front door and one bedroom unit, when in a brochure given out to residents, the lift shaft had appeared different on the floor plan. The diagram, explained Mr Chee, is schematic and not drawn to scale.

Residents said the suggested changes were too minor to make a real difference.

This is not the first time that HDB’s lift upgrading programme has become embroiled in controversy.

A wheelchair-bound man by the name of Ryman Lim wrote in to TODAY last week complaining that the design of the new lifts at his Clementi flat is not wheelchair-friendly at all as all residents still have to climb up or down a half-flight of stairs to get from the corridor to the lift.

He got a cool response from HDB when he tried to feedback his case to them:

“When I approached the HDB, I did not expect such an indifferent response from them. The HDB insisted that the residents voted for a lift landing of this design, and the vote was final, with no special consideration to be given to wheelchair-bound residents like myself,” he wrote.

[Source: TODAY's Voices, 5 November 2009]

The same deputy director Chee Kheng Chye replied three weeks later on 26 November 2009 that “there is a small number of blocks where direct lift access is not possible due to site or technical constraints.”

He ended his letter without offering any concrete help or support for the stranded resident:

“We empathize with Mr Lim’s situation, and seek his understanding on the LUP solution implemented for his block.”

[Source: TODAY's Voices, 26 November 2009]

Lift upgrading programme was introduced to rectify an earlier design flaw by HDB whose lifts do not stop on every level.

The upgrading will only go ahead if 80 per cent of the residents living in the precinct voted for it. For some strange reasons, few estates have rejected the lift upgrading programme so far.

The government will pay the bulk of the upgrading with the residents chipping in the rest, usually ranging from a few thousand dollars to more than ten thousand dollars.

The Lift upgrading programme is often used by the ruling party to threaten Singaporeans to vote for them during the elections.

Residents living in opposition-held wards like Hougang and Potong Pasir have been denied essential upgrading of their flats for many years until lately.

Singapore style democracy

Dear Mr Shanmugam,
 
I refer to your speech at the New York state bar association dialogue as reported by the Straits Times on 30th Oct 2009.
 
In your speech, you referred to American economist Bryan Caplan’s arguments that as a political entity, Singapore should be seen as a city and as far as cities go, America has its share of cities where one party has dominated over long periods of time, which in turn suggests that party dominance doesn’t imply the lack of democracy.
 
Another example would be Microsoft’s dominance of global computer operating systems.  People can choose not to use Microsoft, but they use Microsoft nonetheless.  Yet, some of Microsoft’s practices have resulted in anti-trust proceedings by the US Department of Justice as well as the European Commission with the latter succeeding in getting Microsoft to unbundle both Windows Media Player and Internet Explorer from Windows sold in Europe because the practice is deemed as anti-competitive and unfair.
 
Hence, it is not dominance per say but unfair dominance that we should be concerned with.  Does the mayor of Chicago go around telling its constituents that unless they vote for the Democrats, they will not get to enjoy nation wide housing retrofitting benefits?  Does the mayor of Chicago lump six districts into one mega-district to be voted as one?  Are all newspapers distributed in Chicago owned by just one company the shares of which belong largely to state linked companies?  You will not find these unfair practices in Chicago, San Francisco or New York.  You can only find them in Singapore.  Only the issue of tying voting to HDB flat upgrading has been addressed barely months ago.  Hence, Bryan Caplan’s assertion that pressure from the dominant party hardly matters is untrue.
 
While international observers have rated our government as one of the least corrupt, it should not escape their eyes that instead of taking money from under the table, they have resorted to taking money from above the table.  No other government in the world takes more money from above the table than our government.
 
 
Thank you
 
 
Ng Kok Lim

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