Dear Friends,
The SDA is heartened to hear of upcoming measures to improve the plight of displaced workers, as announced by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in his National Day Rally speech. We also welcome the increase in parental leave for families, though more can be done to address key issues as to why young Singaporeans find it difficult to start a family.
While these measures are a step in the right direction, the SDA remains concerned about accountability involving government spending, as well as the government’s half-heartedness in addressing the problem of sky-rocketing public housing costs.
Regarding public housing – the SDA has been calling for the government to scrap the BTO system, build HDB flats ahead of demand, and deliver new townships in ready-to-move-in condition. This can be done as the URA already has a masterplan in which areas have been zoned for public housing.
Such a move will cut waiting times for flats to around 2.5 years and temper the presently over-heated housing market, while preparing Singaporeans for future population growth – the government appears to be planning for a 6.9 million population by 2030 according to its 2013 White Paper.
Mr Wong mentioned very quickly in passing that the government will build more BTO flats ahead of demand. This statement in itself is odd since BTO stands for “Build-to-Order”. The HDB too has stated previously that is has built BTO flats ahead of demand, similarly without going into much detail.
Outside the Ivory Tower, young couples still face multiple rejections due to constricted supply of flats. And, when they do ballot successfully, still need to wait around 4 years to collect their keys – some have waited for close to 7 years. Even then, as Northshore residents in Punggol have pointed out, they are moving into a home which has scant transport options and poor internet reception, and must endure the constant drone of half-completed construction work in the surrounding areas.
This is why we urge Mr Wong to call a spade a spade – if he is sincere about solving Singapore’s public housing problem, then scrap the BTO scheme, and name, altogether, build ahead of demand, and truly work towards more affordable and accessible public housing.
In our manifesto, we have called on the government to cut extravagant spending on grandiose mega projects, make public the costs of such projects, and appoint an independent body to scrutinise such costs.
Mr Wong spoke about his big vision for Kallang Alive mega project, yet there has been no mention of the tax dollars going into the whole slate of developments. Just the Founders’ Memorial and NS Square projects alone will cost around $1 billion.
Lest we forget, the Sports Hub was built at a cost of $1.3 billion under a public-private partnership with SHPL. Eight years later, the government paid $2.3 billion to take over the ownership and management of the failed monolith – not including the $193 million paid every year to SHPL during this time.
Singaporeans deserve to know whether the government has spent prudently, or whether it will be squandering close to $1 million on just a trash collection area, like it has done in the past with the National Arts Council.
Every dollar saved is a dollar that can go towards improving the plight of working class Singaporeans and our squeezed-till-cannot-breathe middle-class. All of whom are struggling to cope with our current cost of living crisis, yet have to suffer more because of tax increases such as the GST and water tax hike.
Finally, the SDA urges Mr Wong to have a heart for the people. Granted, it may be difficult to undo years of poor policy planning by his predecessors, but this must be done to improve the quality of life of Common Singaporeans, so that Singapore remains our home and not degenerate into a playground for the wealthy.
Desmond Lim
Chairman
Singapore Democratic Alliance
