TEMASEK REVIEW
Present Situation
Currently foreigners are allowed to purchase private
condominium housing freely in Singapore. While there are rules to
prevent the formation of racial enclaves in public housing, there
are no rules on the forming of foreigners’ enclaves when units in
private condominiums are sold. Recently there was suggestion to
extend this rule to foreign permanent residents who are buying into
resale HDB apartments.
Proposal
Similar rules should thus be promulgated to prevent
foreigners’ enclaves from forming when they buy into private
condominiums. In each private property launch, the Government
should approve a cap on the number of units to be sold to
foreigners, be they permanent residents or foreign investors.
Similarly, an additional condition can be added to the new rules to
limit the number of foreign buyers in each existing condominium
project. or precinct. In this way, we will avoid the formation of
foreigners’ enclaves in private residences.
Property Investment for Profit
This new ruling will also slow the flipping of housing
units for a quick profit after each property launch as approval now
has to be obtained before the sale can be transacted. Similarly,
sale of condominium units to a local investment house should also
be calibrated on an approved scale.
The current housing rules promulgated by the Singapore
Government such as doing away of the deferred payment scheme and
allocation of more 99-year leasehold land for housing development
has not resulted in the curbing of runaway prices unlike the
Chinese Government who are able to slow the runaway prices.
(Perhaps Singapore officials should be sent to Beijing for training
with their housing authority)
Fair and Honest Government
Rules made for public housing can be similarly enforced in
the private housing market so that the Government may be seen as
fair and honest. It is timely for such rules to be made before the
situation makes it difficult to extricate and the Singapore
Government can avoid spending millions of dollars launching new
campaigns on training and retraining of housing officials as well
as educating the public in the purchase of new homes.
Council Members for Private Condominiums
Besides new rules on the sale of housing
units to foreign buyers, rules should also be drawn up to allow
only Singapore citizens to hold office in residential councils or
committees under the Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act
2004. As council members have influence on the running of a
condominium and operation of facilities such as tennis courts,
saunas, fitness room, swimming pool, karaoke rooms, barbeque pits,
etc, it is important that only Singapore citizens be allowed to
hold appointments in such councils.
Council members who are citizens can transmit the desired
social mores and wholesome values to fellow residents in their
everyday interactions. It is more likely that citizen members can
lead the committee a little more vigorously during festive
celebrations such as National Day Celebration, Chinese New Year,
Deepavali, Hari Raya and Christmas. Is this the reason why so few
Singapore flags are flown to celebrate National Day in private
condominiums? Has MPs in each constituency thought deeply about the
erosion of such values in our social defence which is a core value
of our national defence?
Do we also get situations where councils do not allow
their residents to wash their cars in the carpark because car
washing is allowed only in petrol kiosk ‘back home’.
While values such as caring for one another, thrift and
hard work are definitely a plus for our all-round development,
certain manifestations should not be allowed to take root otherwise
our people, especially the young may grow up thinking they are
living in an enclave in a foreign land.
Gilbert Tan