ST fails to mention that author of its article on HDB flats being affordable sits on HDB board
March 3rd, 2010 | 
Author: Written by Our Correspondent
Last Saturday, the Straits Times published a highly debatable commentary written by two NUS professors Tu Yong and Yu Shi Ming on HDB flats still being affordable in Singapore:
The aim of the article is to show that HDB flats are still affordable in Singapore by making comparisons to housing prices in Hong Kong, London and Sydney.
One of TR columnists Ng Kok Lim had written an article rebutting the points mentioned in it to reach the conclusion that there is no empirical evidence to suggest that public housing is affordable in Singapore by any standard. (read article here)
Though Straits Times included a footnote at the bottom of the article that both authors are from the Department of Real Estate, National University of Singapore, it omitted the fact that Professor Yu Shi Ming sits on the board of HDB and is a grassroots leader of West Coast as well. (source: HDB Infoweb)
Surely readers ought to know this important fact and be allowed to assess the merits of the article independently on their own after taking Professor Yu’s relationship with HDB into consideration?
Is this another honest mistake or a deliberate omission on the part of the Straits Times? Either way, it does not reflect well on the credibility and professionalism of the paper.
Minister for Communications, Information and Arts Rear-Admiral Lui Tuck Yew said not too long ago that the mainstream media remains a “trusted” source of news in Singapore.
We leave it to readers to judge for themselves if they can really trust the Singapore media.
Posted in Headlines
64 Responses to “ST fails to mention that author of its article on HDB flats being affordable sits on HDB board”
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Sell durian sure say durian nice, where got credibility.
I have not buy shitty time for almost a decade. Internet will obselete these white elephant and it is green.
Self praise is the ultimate disgrace.
Just think of a stock analyst making a pitch for the shares of a company but omitting to declare his relationship with the company (e.g. a shareholder). Definitely leads to questions on impartiality and vested interests.
PAP Cronies, Shitty Times, MediaCrown are all on the same front, United Against Singaporeans.
VOTE THEM OUT. VOTE PAP OUT.
S’pore media not for me really, shitty times radio tv was abandoned long time ago … rather watching tv or listening radio from neighbour country
Great investigative journalism!
How can the MSM omitted an important fact !! This is totally unacceptable !!!
If the local mainstream media has credibility and professionalism, its international press freedom rankings will not be so pathetic.
A bunch of idiots is afraid to reveal another bunch of idiots.
But however, you can sense that they are the same bunch of idiots even without TR investigation.
Prof Yu should identify himself b4 he speaks.
ST should identify Prof Yu b4 they write.
Otherwise, its like a cover-up with intention to mislead ST readers.
If ST is so desperate to cheat on information, readers can donate that 90 cents to ST instead/
Our mainstream media is 100% controlled by PAP and can only sing PAP tune. Those working in the media are the disgrace of society who have no principles except trying to do things that please their master in order to keep their high paying job !
Collaboration!
Conspiracy!
Is the lowest breed with planned intention to cheat.
Strange, wonder why the Fleet Commander, HQ Fleet Joseph Leong is in the board. I am not familiar with this kind of stuff for company directorship, but a current serving commander in the Navy? Hmm…. Even the chairman of EM Svcs is an ex-army officer. Did anyone mentioned cronies earlier?
Local papers provides a trusted source of material for wrapping vegetables in the wet market, and making paper cones when buying Kacang Putih.
//■Disgrace on Wed, 3rd Mar 2010 12:40 am
“Self praise is the ultimate disgrace”
There are similarity between Professor and Pirate?
They both begin with letter “P”.
They all received the same training from Japanese Imperial Intelligence Military Camp.
Close school tie die hard.
Wow.
No wonder my friends quit SPH lol.
ST readers and fellow Singaporeans were caught between Profeesor Yu and ST.
Both Not worth a cent?
Watch the first 5 minutes of One Nation Under Lee and you’ll know the stench of our local media: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17qhGIwyGj0
When the govt needs to use tricks to convince you, you know how low they have sunk.
If you still place your bets with them thinking you will win, I say you think again.
What a revelation – it speaks volumes of the integrity and responsilitiy of the local media.
absolutely unacceptable journalism.
disgusting!
When many are grieving over the inflated price of HDB flats, some idiots from the board (well done to TR for exposing the identity) still carry on to insist that flat is affordable. If these people are not going to admit their incompetence or mistake, at least shut their mouth up so that we’ll hate them a little less.
Those idiots at Shitty Times are living in the dark age. Are they still thinking that Shitty Times is still the ONLT medium in Sinkapore where Sinkaporeans can gather information?
How childish and navive can they get thinking that All Sinkapoeans will continue to be hookwinked by their wayanga and lies.
Absolutely speechless!
OMG! Thanks for highlighting this fact!!
That’s despicable what The ST did! I am going in to write in to complain.
You know what’s the best part? They actually like to pretend and boast that they are a “reliable” newspaper.
Of course, I’m sure the Government can rely on ST to cover up their crap every single time.
Shame Shame..
liu liu xiao
Prof Yu Shi Ming is under ROM website list as below:
Grassroot Leader
West Coast CC
Email: sdeyusm@nus.edu.sg or rstyusm@nus.edu.sg
http://www.singaporebrides.com/forumboard/messages/539/405015.html
if this Yu guy’s thought processes is exactly like how the logic of that article runs, now we know how we got to this state.
i’ve never seen such an orange apple pear comparison before. astounding. fruit market. professor, did you say he was?
Disgusting but….expected.
Contradiction of interest; good revelation! I no longer trust local media, always wonder how local news reporters can get by the propagandas. TR please do not sink to that level.
What happened to the LKY standard of ethics?
These two academics should go down to the hdb heartlands and chat with the citizens there and clarify the issue of “affordability”
Thanks TR. Good piece of work. Very useful and helpful for the fight.
Lying by omission.
come on guys, not telling you everything does not necessarily mean ST has the intention to mislead.
maybe not enough space to print…but ST knows we are a bunch of smart people who can always find things out on our own…
In the age of internet, got to open. ST not learnt this yet.
Gd work TR.
NUS-GRAD on Wed, 3rd Mar 2010 7:48 am
Shame Shame..
liu liu xiao
LOL!!!!
How about a tongue-in-cheek reply on behalf of the Shitty Times :
“We wish to respect that the articles written by these writers are entirely based on their own personal opinions and any relevant information omitted is unintentional.
However any attempt to link HDB to the writers is mischievous and we reserve the right to sue anybody just like our previous suit case with TT Durai.”
NUS professors ? We can only expect the NUS’s world ranking to go down again if these professors represent the standard of NUS. No wonder NUS is only capable of manufacturing droid and moron due to these inept “YES-man” professors who bootlick the incumbent party and brainwash the student with their nonsense. World clown indeed.
Thanks TR!
That’s what I like about you guys – able to dig up info which will never be revealed by our main stream media. This ommission of mentioning the author sitting on HDB Board is a complete farce! ST knows that the moment it mentioned it, the value of that article immediately goes to zero.
It’s almost akin to a snake oil salesman peddling his own brand of snake oil to the audience.
good post, thank you!
There is no such thing as ‘conflict of interest’ in their dictionary anymore. MM can put his son as PM and Daughter in law to take charge of our national reserves and yet no one dare to say a word, but instead you have these shameless MSM and spineless MPs singing his praises, inspite of one failed policy after another. If we continue to give them a blank cheque, our future is quite bleak indeed. Good Job TR! Keep up the pressure. Lets see how long more MSM can spin stories.
If 30 years loan makes Housing affordable, thus when it becomes unaffordable, all you have to do is extend the housing loan to 50 years and wahlah it becomes affordable again.
This makes the quantum monthly repayment small thus affordable.
IS THIS AFFORDABLITY?
screen captured: http://i48.tinypic.com/ekhzc7.jpg
they can say anything and expect us to accept those are the facts?
Wah, like that oso can get award ? What kind of paper is this ?
Oh..I forgot its call “Shit Times”.
Thank GOD we have Temasek Review to expose the blatant conflict of interests by our so called morally superior, whiter-than-white PAP, the prostitute “credible” press which does not do their homework and neglected to point out this serious breach.
And they want to be called a “Credible Press”??????
Prostitute Press is more like it!
Prof Tu does not sound like a local…
Is he anther one of the “foreign talents” trying to wax lyricals about our system?
good job TR. now try penning a letter to the forum pages in Straits Times to let its readers know this. probably only a few percentage of them know of the existence of this website.
Thank you TR for exposing this!
trust based on trust??
Shameless!
While I agree that disclosure is important, I find it ironic that you guys are taking ST to task for not disclosing who their writers are when this very article is written by “Our Correspondent”.
@al
a lot of online publications do not have writer credits when it comes to news reports. including some SPH sites like asiaone.
i wonder how much he is paid for sitting on HDB board
> Most apt description of Straits Times by former Singapore Chief Minister David Marshall:
“PAP bootlickers, running dogs and poor prostitutes”
> Most apt Internet nicknames for Singapore Mainstream Media:
Straits Times: SHIT Times; Snake Times; Crooked Times; PAP Times; State Times.
MediaCorp TV: MediaCOCK TV; MediaCORPSE TV.
Yeah, I agree. Knowing who the writer is makes a big difference to the article.
That said who is “Our Correspondent” that wrote this story and many other stories on TR? Hopefully TR can practice what it preaches.
@kris But asiaone takes its stories from other sph papers or wire agencies, not original content, right?
And this article sounds like a commentary, just like the one it’s talking about in ST. Other online publications like malaysiakini name their writers when they do op/eds.
When PAP falls, we will go after the grass looters.
Perhaps there are MPs here in TR mocking and criticising their own party policies under protection.
By the 2 Professors’ income most things in Red Dot are affordable of course!
Don’t forget LKY once said:”Every man has a price.”
Which is to say both Professors’ Integrity or Conscience are also affordable to LKY of course!!
I detest insincerity and dishonesty.
What’s wrong? Shouldn’t you guys focus on the article rather than the writer? Isn’t that what TR always preaches to us?