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trulysingapore
Joined: 23 Oct 2009
Posts: 16
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 Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 7:10 am Post subject: HDB deserves praise |
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I refer to the letter “HDB deserves praise” dated 10 Oct 2009.
In his letter, Dr Lee urged Singaporeans to be thankful and to not forget what HDB has done for us. But the gargantuan problem Dr Lee refererred to occurred four decades ago. Why should we continue to pay tribute to an organisation that no longer serves the needs of the people as it did four decades ago? If we adopt this attitude, wouldn’t we be condoning current bad practices on the basis of past good performances?
Take the case of TT Durai. No amount of good work he has done in the past can prevent him from going to jail for the misdeeds that he subsequently committed. Take too, the recent case of Dr Martin Huang, who has to answer for the medical malpractice he was found to be guilty of regardless of the good work he has done in the past. Similarly, if Dr Lee is ever found to be guilty of whatever medical malpractices, he can be rest assured that the law of this country will not be thankful or remember the good work he has done in the past.
Dr Lee compares a HDB to a condominium and concludes that the HDB is cheap. So if the prices of HDB and condominium both increase by a million dollars overnight, Dr Lee will still think that the HDB is affordable. His thinking betrays the ignorance that is unbecoming of a medical doctor.
He can only blindly quote Mr Mah’s findings but he doesn’t even suspect let alone question the validity of Mr Mah’s findings. Unless Dr Lee sells his house now and moves to the second floor of an HDB, he is not qualified to criticise those who do not wish to stay on a low floor.
All in all, I would say no thanks to an ill thought letter from Dr Lee that contributes absolutely nothing to this discussion. |
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Old man harry
Joined: 22 May 2006
Posts: 2261
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| Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 8:45 pm Post subject: |
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| Why waste your time on what the Chinese Communists called the "running dog" of the PAP. Obviously, he belongs to ivory tower group. Such people don't understand the suffering of the lower level. |
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code22x
Joined: 03 Feb 2004
Posts: 1235
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| Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2009 3:31 pm Post subject: |
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| Obviously, many people do not know about the housing problems in other countries/cities for lower income. That is real suffering comparing to Singapore. |
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Old man harry
Joined: 22 May 2006
Posts: 2261
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| Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 12:53 am Post subject: |
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| code22x wrote: | | Obviously, many people do not know about the housing problems in other countries/cities for lower income. That is real suffering comparing to Singapore. |
Yes, you are right but the fact is 15% of HDB owners have trouble keeping up payments while another 50% are bonded to the flats for life.
They may live in slums but they are not slaves to their houses for life unlike our wonderful pigeon holes. |
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code22x
Joined: 03 Feb 2004
Posts: 1235
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| Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 7:25 am Post subject: |
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| Old man harry wrote: | Yes, you are right but the fact is 15% of HDB owners have trouble keeping up payments while another 50% are bonded to the flats for life.
They may live in slums but they are not slaves to their houses for life unlike our wonderful pigeon holes. |
Old man, so you did not know that even slums have to pay rent? If the govt did not collect, someone else IS COLLECTING.... Nowhere is free unless there is not structure....but means that no protection & assets.
In Singapore, they are not bonded for life. They buy very cheap flats and pay for it instead of rent, and gets and asset when they retire....what other option would you have proposed for these low income earners? |
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Old man harry
Joined: 22 May 2006
Posts: 2261
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| Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 7:45 pm Post subject: |
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| code22x wrote: | | Old man harry wrote: | Yes, you are right but the fact is 15% of HDB owners have trouble keeping up payments while another 50% are bonded to the flats for life.
They may live in slums but they are not slaves to their houses for life unlike our wonderful pigeon holes. |
Old man, so you did not know that even slums have to pay rent? If the govt did not collect, someone else IS COLLECTING.... Nowhere is free unless there is not structure....but means that no protection & assets.
In Singapore, they are not bonded for life. They buy very cheap flats and pay for it instead of rent, and gets and asset when they retire....what other option would you have proposed for these low income earners? |
Many of the slums don't pay rent. They are free squatters.
What protection does the HDB dwellers get? If you fail to pay your instalments, your flat is still reliable to be repossessed. If you fail to S & C charges, you will be sent to enjoy Government built palace in Changi.
You don't believe me, ask your Town Council for confirmation.
A 3 room flat costing $200K, you call it cheap. A 5 room flat costing $350K is even cheaper. A single terrace with 2 bedrooms low cost housing in Malaysia costs only MR30k. Of course, like ours it is subsidised. But our subsidy is the manipulation of the land cost. Originally bought at $20 per sq. foot, it is transferred to HDB at $250 per sq. foot and billed at the same cost to HDB buyer.
Mind you, the plot is a single storey whereas ours are shared by 20 to 40 buyers. But if you divide $250 per square foot among 25 storey block individually sharing one plot of land, the cost per square foot should be only $10 (250 divide by 25). Instead, they are charged $250 per square foot.
$200K can buy you a nice semi-detached landed in Malaysia and a bungalow in Philippines. That is really cheap.
Please don't give the nonsense that if it is so cheap in Malaysia, why don't you migrate there. Singapore is our home and we must try to make it cheaper and better. |
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code22x
Joined: 03 Feb 2004
Posts: 1235
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| Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 8:45 pm Post subject: |
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| Old man harry wrote: | | Many of the slums don't pay rent. They are free squatters. |
Slums do pay rent, but squatters don't and are illegal....are you in right mind to compare Singapore HDBs and free squatters.
| Old man harry wrote: | What protection does the HDB dwellers get? If you fail to pay your instalments, your flat is still reliable to be repossessed. If you fail to S & C charges, you will be sent to enjoy Government built palace in Changi.
You don't believe me, ask your Town Council for confirmation.
A 3 room flat costing $200K, you call it cheap. A 5 room flat costing $350K is even cheaper. A single terrace with 2 bedrooms low cost housing in Malaysia costs only MR30k. Of course, like ours it is subsidised. But our subsidy is the manipulation of the land cost. Originally bought at $20 per sq. foot, it is transferred to HDB at $250 per sq. foot and billed at the same cost to HDB buyer.
Mind you, the plot is a single storey whereas ours are shared by 20 to 40 buyers. But if you divide $250 per square foot among 25 storey block individually sharing one plot of land, the cost per square foot should be only $10 (250 divide by 25). Instead, they are charged $250 per square foot.
$200K can buy you a nice semi-detached landed in Malaysia and a bungalow in Philippines. That is really cheap.
Please don't give the nonsense that if it is so cheap in Malaysia, why don't you migrate there. Singapore is our home and we must try to make it cheaper and better. |
If you are poor (really poor), there are cheaper options and rental too. The problem of not paying rental but is about jobs...if we all have jobs, then paying rent is not a problem. BTW, FYI to build a condo, the unit price for development is about $350 per sqf per unit. Of course HDB would be cheaper... did you know that? |
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Old man harry
Joined: 22 May 2006
Posts: 2261
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| Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 10:05 pm Post subject: |
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Of course, there are cheaper options....like squatting in the tents along East Coast and West Coast Parks where they don't pay rents and get free water from the public toilets. How long can they squat before they are drove away? Perhaps, you are not aware (like the elites of the PAP living in ivory tower) of the hundreds of destitutes squatting in tents and HDB void decks.
As for the rental flats, the HDB has made it so difficult for the poors to rent. That is not a very good option now.
With the recession, the employment rate is actually much higher the official one. The statsitics can always be doctored to bluff some of the people all the times. Finding employment is not easy nowaday.
Anyway, with a family of 5 to support living on a salary of $800.00 per month is hardly enough, even if you squat in the tent after deducting CPF, transport, utility, education, food, rental etc.
They are asking the workers to work cheaper, better and lower, when on the other hand the government is making everything dearer with the prices of food snowballing, HDB flats costing as much as the cheaper condo. With salary stagnated, this is hardly an ideal situation.
The average cost of a HDB flat is around $330 per square foot ($360K divide by 1100 square foot) which is not cheap by Goverment subsidised flat standard anyway in the world.
The problem with our ministers, everything must work in money mind. |
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Edalfa
Joined: 06 Dec 2004
Posts: 23
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| Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 11:48 am Post subject: |
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OK, quick question then. Slum or HDB, which one do u want ? you have the answer now
| Old man harry wrote: | | code22x wrote: | | Old man harry wrote: | Yes, you are right but the fact is 15% of HDB owners have trouble keeping up payments while another 50% are bonded to the flats for life.
They may live in slums but they are not slaves to their houses for life unlike our wonderful pigeon holes. |
Old man, so you did not know that even slums have to pay rent? If the govt did not collect, someone else IS COLLECTING.... Nowhere is free unless there is not structure....but means that no protection & assets.
In Singapore, they are not bonded for life. They buy very cheap flats and pay for it instead of rent, and gets and asset when they retire....what other option would you have proposed for these low income earners? |
Many of the slums don't pay rent. They are free squatters.
What protection does the HDB dwellers get? If you fail to pay your instalments, your flat is still reliable to be repossessed. If you fail to S & C charges, you will be sent to enjoy Government built palace in Changi.
You don't believe me, ask your Town Council for confirmation.
A 3 room flat costing $200K, you call it cheap. A 5 room flat costing $350K is even cheaper. A single terrace with 2 bedrooms low cost housing in Malaysia costs only MR30k. Of course, like ours it is subsidised. But our subsidy is the manipulation of the land cost. Originally bought at $20 per sq. foot, it is transferred to HDB at $250 per sq. foot and billed at the same cost to HDB buyer.
Mind you, the plot is a single storey whereas ours are shared by 20 to 40 buyers. But if you divide $250 per square foot among 25 storey block individually sharing one plot of land, the cost per square foot should be only $10 (250 divide by 25). Instead, they are charged $250 per square foot.
$200K can buy you a nice semi-detached landed in Malaysia and a bungalow in Philippines. That is really cheap.
Please don't give the nonsense that if it is so cheap in Malaysia, why don't you migrate there. Singapore is our home and we must try to make it cheaper and better. |
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Edalfa
Joined: 06 Dec 2004
Posts: 23
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| Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 11:51 am Post subject: |
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OK, quick question then. Slum or HDB, which one do u want ? you have the answer now
| Old man harry wrote: | | code22x wrote: | | Old man harry wrote: | Yes, you are right but the fact is 15% of HDB owners have trouble keeping up payments while another 50% are bonded to the flats for life.
They may live in slums but they are not slaves to their houses for life unlike our wonderful pigeon holes. |
Old man, so you did not know that even slums have to pay rent? If the govt did not collect, someone else IS COLLECTING.... Nowhere is free unless there is not structure....but means that no protection & assets.
In Singapore, they are not bonded for life. They buy very cheap flats and pay for it instead of rent, and gets and asset when they retire....what other option would you have proposed for these low income earners? |
Many of the slums don't pay rent. They are free squatters.
What protection does the HDB dwellers get? If you fail to pay your instalments, your flat is still reliable to be repossessed. If you fail to S & C charges, you will be sent to enjoy Government built palace in Changi.
You don't believe me, ask your Town Council for confirmation.
A 3 room flat costing $200K, you call it cheap. A 5 room flat costing $350K is even cheaper. A single terrace with 2 bedrooms low cost housing in Malaysia costs only MR30k. Of course, like ours it is subsidised. But our subsidy is the manipulation of the land cost. Originally bought at $20 per sq. foot, it is transferred to HDB at $250 per sq. foot and billed at the same cost to HDB buyer.
Mind you, the plot is a single storey whereas ours are shared by 20 to 40 buyers. But if you divide $250 per square foot among 25 storey block individually sharing one plot of land, the cost per square foot should be only $10 (250 divide by 25). Instead, they are charged $250 per square foot.
$200K can buy you a nice semi-detached landed in Malaysia and a bungalow in Philippines. That is really cheap.
Please don't give the nonsense that if it is so cheap in Malaysia, why don't you migrate there. Singapore is our home and we must try to make it cheaper and better. |
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