January 27, 2010 by admin
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Written by Our Correspondent
At least three opposition parties have expressed their interest
to contest in Tampines GRC in the next general election helmed by
National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan who is becoming an
increasingly reviled figure in Singapore due to his failure to curb
the sky-rocketing prices of HDB flats which is causing tremendous
hardships to ordinary Singaporeans, especially first time home
buyers.
According to a Straits Times report today, the National
Solidarity Party, Singapore Democratic Party and Reform Party may
be contesting in Tampines GRC though the latter’s Secretary-General
Kenneth Jeyaretnam declined to comment further when contacted this
week.
Leaders from the opposition believe that rising unhappiness on
the ground over the hike in the prices of public housing will give
them a chance against the incumbents led by Mah Bow Tan.
Mr Mah first took part in the 1984 elections when he lost
unexpectedly to SDP’s Mr Chiam See Tong in Potong Pasir. He
subsequently entered Parliament in 1988 via Tampines GRC where he
had held ever since.
Under his charge, the prices of HDB flats have rocketed over the
last few years, contributed partly by inadequate number of new
flats being built in the face of rising demand fueled by mass
immigration during the same period of time.
Though Singapore was supposedly to be in recession in 2009, the
prices of resale flats increased by 8.2 per cent with median COVs
doubling to $24,000.
New launches for Build-to-order (BTO) flats are grossly
over-subscribed, an indication of how severe the housing shortage
crisis is.
Instead of acknowledging his mistakes and seek to rectify them,
Mr Mah lashed out at first-time home buyers for being “choosy” and
asked them to be “realistic”. He later admitted that he was
“caught off guard” by the spike in prices as well.
Despite evidence suggesting otherwise, Mr Mah is adamant that
HDB flats remain “affordable” to Singaporean and urge “Singaporeans
to play their part by buying a home within their means.”
Quoting the affordability benchmark of 30 per cent used
frequently by HDB to show that HDB flats remain affordable to
ordinary Singaporeans, Mr Mah said a family with a monthly
income of $3,000 can buy a flat worth up to $250,000 and spend only
30 per cent of their income every month on the mortgage.
“Similarly, a family with a monthly income of $4,000 can
afford to buy a new flat worth up to $333,000 without spending more
than 30 per cent a month on the mortgage. This means they can
comfortably buy any of the flats offered in the latest BTO projects
this month,” he added.
However, Mr Mah fails to take into account the bank interest
rates and inflation over the years which will lead eventually to
the family spending more than 30 per cent of their monthly income
on the mortgage.
Furthermore, after depleting their entire CPF for these
over-priced 99-year leasehold HDB flats, they will have little or
no savings left for their retirement.
It appears that Mr Mah and his colleagues are unable to
comprehend the hardships and sufferings of ordinary Singaporeans,
especially first-time home buyers who are under great stress to
afford a roof over their heads.
Besides Mr Mah, his colleagues are equally unsympathetic towards
the genuine concerns of Singaporeans. Ms Grace Fu, the Senior
Minister of State for National Development claimed that rising
prices of HDB flats help to “create wealth” for Singaporeans.
Law Minister Shanmugam said he had a “hunch” that Singaporeans
are the “culprits” for the predicament they find themselves in
today.
While many Singaporeans are unhappy with Mr Mah, it is unlikely
they will cast their vote for the opposition if they field a weak
team there without any concrete plan for the nation.
Political anaylst Eugene Tan told Straits Times in an interview
that “it would be a ‘narrow and self-limiting’ strategy for any
opposition party to pick an electoral ward based on the minister’s
portfolio.”
“It will have some effect only if housing is a problem with
Tampines GRC voters, thus making it ‘a useful lightning rod. To
make the ‘national issue’ strategy effective, opposition parties
have to raise the same issue across all constituencies they are
contesting and give concrete alternative proposals,” he
added.
The rising costs of public housing linked together with the
relentless influx of foreigner will be the single most important
issue in the next general election.
The opposition has to come together under a common
umbrella standing on a common platform with a common manifesto and
alternative vision for Singapore like Malaysia’s opposition
coalition Pakatan Rakyat to stand any chance of denying the PAP its
traditional two thirds majority in Parliament.
January 27, 2010 by admin
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By Sue-Ann Chia and Kor Kian Beng from Straits
Times
TAMPINES GRC is shaping up to be a hot spot in the next general
election, with at least three opposition parties keen to contest
the five-MP constituency.
What draws them is the People’s Action Party’s (PAP) anchor
minister helming the group representation constituency – National
Development Minister Mah Bow Tan.
Why? They are convinced there is some unhappiness on the ground
over housing and the contest would give them the opportunity to hit
out at housing policies, particularly the affordability of public
housing.
The first to stake its claim is the National Solidarity Party
(NSP) which considers Tampines GRC its turf as the party has
contested there four times, in the 2006, 2001, 1991 and 1988
polls.
The Reform Party had also declared its interest in the ward
publicly last year, though its secretary-general Kenneth Jeyaretnam
declined to comment further when contacted this week.
Instead, he said the party has been active in the north-western
areas of Hong Kah GRC and Choa Chu Kang.
The Straits Times understands that the Singapore Democratic
Party (SDP) has approached the NSP, saying it may be keen to
contest in Tampines GRC.
The Workers’ Party (WP) has been spotted in the area too.
When asked, the WP’s organising secretary Yaw Shin Leong pointed
out that Tampines GRC falls within ‘the north-eastern corridor’,
where the party has been active since the 2006 elections.
In fact, the party has been holding regular community walkabouts
and house-to-house visits in wards in the northern, north-eastern
and eastern areas, he said. They include constituencies such as
Aljunied GRC, Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, Tampines GRC and Hougang.
‘It’s not surprising if people think that we are eyeing Tampines
GRC,’ he added.
Mr Yaw said the WP will not contest the ward ‘unless there are
compelling strategic reasons like long-term party growth
expansion’, since the NSP has contested there before. Opposition
parties adhere to some form of a gentlemen’s agreement to prevent
three-cornered fights that would dilute their vote share.
The NSP’s Goh Meng Seng, who is likely to lead a team in
Tampines GRC, does not intend to budge. ‘By hook or by crook, we
will go to Tampines GRC,’ said Mr Goh, who was in the WP team in
Aljunied GRC in the 2006 elections.
He also sees value in taking on Mr Mah, who has been in Tampines
GRC since 1988, to highlight housing issues, such as rising HDB
flat prices and reverse mortgage of homes to provide seniors with a
stream of income in their retirement years.
‘HDB affects 80 per cent of Singaporeans. It is a key factor in
our life,’ said Mr Goh, 39, a businessman.
‘Voters must send a clear signal to the ruling party that they
want change or don’t want certain policies. They can do that only
with their votes.’
If it means booting out a minister, voters should not be afraid
to do so, he said, adding: ‘This is about extracting accountability
from the ruling party.’
Since Tampines GRC was formed in 1988, the NSP has contested it
at every election except in 1997, which saw the PAP team getting a
walkover.
Asked about the opposition challenge, Tampines GRC MP Ong Kian
Min said: ‘They are interested because this is a small and compact
space. With their limited resources, it helps when they don’t need
to spread out to cover the area.’
Read rest of article on
Straits Times