Sept 15, 2005
$60,000 to close shop? Some would rather not
Today is the deadline for 193 HDB shopkeepers to decide if they
want to wind up their businesses and retire with a cash payout, or
get help to move. Most tenants can't wait for the chance to collect
the $60,000 - part of a help package for struggling HDB shopkeepers
- and retire. But for some, the well-intended scheme is giving them
grief instead: they could be forced to close shop even if business
is perfectly fine. Daryl Loo reports.
RESTAURATEUR Tan Swee Peng has had sleepless nights for the last
three months.
Since finding out in June that the shops in his block were selected
for restructuring, he has worried that his restaurant will be
forced to shut down.
He has spent more than $200,000 on renovations, furniture and
equipment, and has been in business for only three months.
Mr Tan is one of 193 tenants given the option to quit under the
Housing Board's pilot Restructuring Programme for Shops (RPS). The
programme is part of the HDB's help package for shopkeepers
announced in March, as about 2,500 of the 6,600 shops it rents out
'are not doing well'.
Bukit Batok mini-mart owner Ang Ah Keng, 45, has been worried too
as three of the five shops in her block have already decided to
wind up.
Unaware that her block would be picked for restructuring, she
rented her shop from the HDB in May, and started business in July
after spending about $100,000 on renovations and stock.
'I wish they could have let us know earlier,' she said. 'My body
couldn't stop shaking when I heard the news, and I've been worrying
about it since then.'
MPs interviewed felt that while the HDB's aim to help struggling
shopkeepers is laudable, it should also be flexible enough to
consider those left worse off by the scheme.
The HDB picked 193 outlets in Toa Payoh, Clementi, Bedok, Bukit
Merah, Bukit Batok, Kallang/Whampoa and Woodlands for a trial run
of its programme.
On June 16, it gave the tenants three months to decide on the
offer, and another three to vacate if they vote to quit. When more
than half the shop units in a block vote to go, everyone has to
pack up.
The vacated shops will be converted into void decks, or given over
to social and community uses.
Shopkeepers who want to retire will receive $60,000 from the
Government. Those who want to keep going get a $10,000 removal
allowance, to help them set up shop elsewhere. They also get two
months rent-free at their new HDB premises.
But this is little consolation for Mr Tan.
'All my family members - my sisters, brother-in-law, and my wife -
invested their savings in this business. If we're forced to move,
there's no way we can recoup the loss,' he lamented.
'We just hope the HDB will consider letting us stay on in this
place.'
But Retail Promotion Centre general manager Chng Hoon Hoon said
tenants like Mr Tan were told by the HDB when signing leases that
the shops could be affected by future redevelopment or
clearance.
He said leaving a few shops open while others vacate is a poor
option as it will make the block even more unattractive.
Hong Kah GRC MP Amy Khor agreed that leaving some shops open may
not be the best solution. 'It is not commercially viable to have
pockets of vacant shops in a block, as it might cause a low-traffic
area to decline even further.'
However, she intends to appeal to the HDB on behalf of Madam Ang,
whose Bukit Batok shop is in her constituency. Dr Khor wants her to
be able to remain in business for longer than three months.
'This is a trial, and the HDB has to be willing to be more flexible
on how it wants to implement it,' said the MP.
Madam Cynthia Phua, an MP for Aljunied GRC, felt the HDB should
step in to help out in exceptional cases, such as when a tenant had
rented a shop recently.
'After all, the HDB was the one that assigned these shops. It could
give the affected shopkeepers more compensation to cope with the
relocation, or give them a longer time to keep operating before
they need to vacate,' she said.
But both Dr Khor and Madam Phua said the programme will ultimately
benefit most of the shopkeepers.
'Overall, the programme is a good one, especially for the older
shopkeepers,' said Madam Phua. 'On getting the $60,000, they can
buy a studio apartment and retire comfortably.'
Mr Lim Ah See, 65, who has been running a sundries shop in
Woodlands since 1974, agrees with her.
Business has been poor for five years, he said, and at least 10 of
the 16 shopkeepers in his block have voted to go.
'I'm still deciding how to clear all the stock in my shop. But once
all that is done, I just want to wind up and retire.'
