$2mil EC Penthouse: Does MND or HDB exercise oversight over developers?

Dear friends,

My opinion about the recent fiasco about the $2.05mil EC Penthouse is published in the Straits Times Forum today( Click here).

Part of the information in the letter was from this post from TR Emeritus ( click here)

The original letter is as follows:

Dear Editor

The recent sale of a 4349 sq ft Executive condominium (EC) penthouse for $2.05 million has raised many questions that need to be answered.

The Executive Condominium (EC) scheme was introduced in 1997 to cater to “sandwich class” Singaporeans who have exceeded HDB’s income ceiling yet have difficulty affording private housing.

 According to HDB’s website, the eligibility criteria for EC’s include being Singaporean and being part of a family nucleus. More significantly, the average gross monthly household income must not exceed S$12,000.

 The EC in question is CityLife@Tampines, a joint venture by 3 developers, Creative Investments (40%), subsidiary of Amara Holdings Ltd, Singxpress Property Development (30%) and Kay Lim Realty (30%). This JV successfully bid $233.5 million for the land when the tender closed on 10 May 2012.

According to the commonly used Affordability ratio ie price of house ($2.05million) over the annual income ($144000) the Price-to-Income Ratio, ie Affordability Ratio is 14.2. Most property analysts will classify this as not affordable.

The World Bank considers a ratio of 5 or under as affordable for local residents, while the United Nations have set the standard lower, at 3 .

The questions that immediately come to our minds include:

1. Does HDB, MND or any other government agencies (ie regulators) exercise any control over how the developers’ design and build the EC’s? If not, why?

2. Did regulators approve Citylife’s plan for these penthouse units? If so, are EC penthouses justified? If not, did Citylife contravene any rules?

3. Do the regulators feel that Citylife’s developers fulfilled the spirit of the EC scheme? If not, what are the consequences for Citylife?

What irked me even more was when the same developers, when interviewed at the launch of Citylife, claimed that they would continue to build more penthouses for future EC projects! This was surely an act of impunity nearly akin to raising a middle finger to an already incensed public!

Can the relevant authorities please comment?

Dr Huang Shoou Chyuan

Still getting used to Singapore's "New Normal"

Dear Friends,

Matters of the real world had prevented me from blogging recently- hence the extended hiatus.

Much has changed and although hardcore cynics will disagree, it is quite clear to me that there is a new normal in Singapore.

Younger political leaders have been given the reins of new ministries but it remains to be seen whether they will be able to implement policies that will placate the restless population who are disenfranchised and still blame the government for effects of the “growth at all cost” policies of previous years.

Break-downs of public amenities such as the MRT-partly the end-result of sub-standard maintenance regimes have increasingly caused government-linked companies to be put under close scrutiny and even forced changes in personnel and attitudes. Laissez faire capitalism could be a thing of the past.

The legal system also seems to be exerting its independence from the executive branch of the government – something that skeptics like me did not expect. Of course conspiracy theorists will continue to assert opinions that in the wider scheme of things, there is still no true independence of the judiciary. Let me state here that when I see a pink elephant -with a trunk and huge legs and and large smelly body and it’s pink, I will acknowledge a pink elephant rather than a mouse in disguise.

I am glad that we have judges like Judge Pillai who are willing to use common sense ( and a sharp legal mind) to make rulings that benefit Singapore in the long run. I also acknowledge lawyer M Ravi and Mdm Vellama Marie Muthu for doing all of Singapore a great service. ( see Link here)

Thank you Judge, Ravi and Mdm V.

Dr Huang Shoou Chyuan

Reflections on National Day and Nurses' Day

Reflections on Singapore’s National Day and Nurses’ Day : Strength in diversity

It is timely and poignant to reflect about National Day (9^th Aug)  and Nurses’ Day (1^st Aug) together as these are, to me, inextricably inter-twined.

I sense disparate forces and interests threatening to tear the Singapore fabric apart at the seams even as we debate immigration policies and it may be useful to look at the nurses in our hospitals for an analogy.

Nurses’ Day

In all public and private hospitals, although there is a core of Singaporean-born nurses, it is no exaggeration to say that without foreign born nurses (many of whom have taken up Singapore citizenship), it is impossible to maintain the high standard of care that many of us have taken for granted.

Nurses (local and foreign-born) are unheralded heroes that ensure doctors’ orders are carried out to the exact schedule and dosage; they are the first to alert doctors when your pulse or skin tone signals an impending complication; their warm touch assure you when you lay on the trolley on the way to the operating suite and their caring eyes tell you that you are not alone when you are battling your way back to health.

It matters less that these nurses speak Queen’s English (none do) or versions laced with Singlish, Tagalog, Burmese or  Putonghua but more that they conduct themselves as professionals as befit modern-day Florence Nightingales.

National Day

Even as Singapore celebrates its 47th year of nationhood, let us not forget that Singaporeans are not all born in Singapore. In the early years, Singaporeans hailed from British Malaya, India and Ceylon and China. (My late father was from China and my mother is a Chinese born in Hawaii). More recent naturalized Singaporeans have also come from our other ASEAN neighbors.

Even as Singapore rolls back its open-door immigration policy in response to electoral setbacks to the ruling party, let us remember those foreigners who have chosen to stay, who have decided to be one of “us” by putting their shoulders to the wheel. They should not be made to feel ostracized or that they are the cause of all of Singapore’s woes.

All Singaporeans should have the generosity of heart to help them integrate just as many of our forefathers have been helped.

Just as foreign-born nurses have been a blessing for our healthcare system, diversity of Singaporeans should be viewed in a positive light and welcomed.

Integration will take time and may even be painful, more so for these foreigners who live and work amongst us, often in fear.  

Wishing all a Happy National Day,

Dr Huang Shoou Chyuan