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Tag: Khaw Boon Wan

  • Battle For Sembawang GRC Shapes Up

    Battle For Sembawang GRC Shapes Up

    The battle for Sembawang GRC is shaping up.

    The People’s Action Party (PAP) slate of candidates is starting to take shape in the five-MP GRC that was substantially affected by new electoral boundaries last week, and its MPs have begun working the new ground.

    Party chairman Khaw Boon Wan yesterday said he and his team were reaching out to the 53,177 new voters added to Sembawang GRC from areas that were under Nee Soon GRC, while “handing over” the areas with 61,061 voters that have been carved away to the new Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC.

    In the 2011 General Election, Sembawang GRC saw a contest between the PAP team and a Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) team.

    he PAP won 63.9 per cent of the vote against the SDP, whose slate included academics James Gomez and John Tan.

    The SDP confirmed it will again contest the GRC at the coming general election. But party leaders have yet to name their slate for the GRC.

    With the boundary changes, two members of PAP’s current team in the GRC – Senior Parliamentary Secretary Hawazi Daipi and first-term MP Ong Teng Koon – will see their wards go to Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC, said Mr Khaw, who is the National Development Minister.

    But Dr Lim Wee Kiak, a two-term MP in Nee Soon GRC’s Canberra ward, will join Sembawang GRC.

    This leaves a spot open in Sembawang GRC. But Mr Khaw would not confirm if lawyer Amrin Amin, 35, a PAP new face spotted in the GRC, will join his team.

    But he added: “He’s in my group. He’s proactive. I need a Malay after (the) carving out of Marsiling.”

    The two other MPs in the Sembawang GRC team are Ms Ellen Lee and Mr Vikram Nair.

    Mr Khaw gave the likely line-up for his GRC – and partially for Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC – to The Straits Times when he met Nee Soon GRC MP Lee Bee Wah at a coffee shop in Yishun Avenue 11.

    His disclosure reinforced a point that PAP organising secretary and Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen made at a SingHealth Nurses’ Day event yesterday: that the party would disclose its slate of candidates early, probably well ahead of Nomination Day.

    At the meeting between Mr Khaw and Ms Lee, she briefed him about the 51 blocks that were being transferred to Sembawang GRC following the boundary changes.

    Mr Khaw said boundary changes have the greatest impact on the PAP, and in some cases are “quite drastic … We’ve invested time. Now, new relations have to be forged”.

    Losing Marsiling, which has a predominantly elderly population, Mr Khaw said, will lower the median age for Sembawang GRC and bring it nearer to the national median age of just over 40 years.

    Yesterday, SDP members went on a walkabout in Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, and party activist Paul Tambyah said it would return to the areas it contested in 2011 – including Sembawang – “because the residents know who we are”.

    “We have been going back there over the years… on a regular basis, so these are a natural fit for us.”

    That opposition parties aim to contest all 89 seats at the next general election, is a prospect relished by first-term Tanjong Pagar GRC MP Chia Shi-Lu.

    Speaking to reporters at an event yesterday, he said that he and his fellow GRC MPs were at a “disadvantage” as theirs was the only uncontested constituency in 2011.

    As the GRC, previously helmed by the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, has no history of contests to indicate how it would do in the face of a challenge, “we actually have to work harder than most others”, he added.

    This is why the team campaigned in 2011, going door to door and meeting residents, as if they were facing a real election.

    “We take nothing for granted because of this unknown element, which I suppose spurs us to work even harder,” he said.

    The Singaporeans First party and Democratic Progressive Party are keen on Tanjong Pagar GRC.

    But the SDP, which said in January that it was also considering Tanjong Pagar, confirmed yesterday that it would not target the GRC.

    Said Professor Tambyah, who was accompanied by SDP chief Chee Soon Juan and party activists: “Many people in Tanjong Pagar are very keen to vote but, at the same time, there are many other parties that have expressed interest.”

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • 3000+ Punggol Residents Fed-Up With Their BTO Flats

    3000+ Punggol Residents Fed-Up With Their BTO Flats

    In Parliament yesterday (13 Jul), Minister of State for National Development Desmond Lee, who is the son of former PAP cabinet minister Lee Yock Suan, told the House that the quality of BTO flats undertaken by HDB has actually improved.

    He cited the CONQUAS score which measures the quality of buildings, showing that the quality of BTO flats has improved 13% from a score of 79 in 2003 to 89 in 2014.

    The quality of the flats has not been compromised despite a ramping up of BTO projects over the last 4 years, Mr Lee claimed. “It (quality) continues to rise and is comparable to that in private developments,” he said.

    He said that the majority of complaints with regard to the defects in new BTO flats are about “surface imperfections” such as hairline cracks on walls, scratches on timber floor, or uneven tile joints.

    “Such imperfections are mostly within acceptable industry norms and these are also common in private developments. They can and should be rectified quickly by the contractors, and do not affect the structural integrity or safety of the building.”

    Mr Lee argued that sometimes, it’s due to “differences in the understanding of what constitutes a defect”.

    “For example, some owners have given feedback on colour inconsistencies for floors with timber finishes. As timber is a natural product, it is not possible to achieve a perfectly homogenous look,” he said.

    Mr Lee assured the House that HDB has “zero tolerance” for defects which may compromise structural or safety standards.

    “Flooding” at Punggol Waterway Terraces BTO flats

    Just when Mr Lee tried to assure the House that BTO flats from HDB are of “high quality”, residents at the new Punggol Waterway Terraces BTO flats posted comments today (14 Jul) on their resident Facebook group, Punggol Waterway Terraces I [Link], complaining about rain water seeping into their flats from last night’s heavy downpour. Not only that, lift alarm was triggered waking everyone up.

    Resident, Johnny Chiang of Blk 308A wrote the following letter to their PAP MP Janil Puthucheary highlighting the problems the residents are facing with their BTO flats:

    Sir, I trust that everything is good and well on your side. It is with a heavy heart I Pen this issue on behalf of 3000+ residents because very obviously – Everything is NOT going well for the residents of Waterway Terraces 1.

    Apart from the previous issues including the 4 pipes placed awkwardly etc which we did not get much resolution from.

    Last night’s heavy downpour had caused several issues for many of us.

    At approx 2 am rain started pouring in and it seeped into the homes of many of our residents.

    This was accompanied by the ringing of lift alarm which woke most residents up. The Fire brigade were activated by our residents because we had to ensure if it was a no duff situation then help was rendered.

    Yes I agree that when mother nature decides to make her point, there isnt much anybody can do. But it also sets many of us wondering why many of our homes came with so much flaws.

    BSC has not been the best source of resolutions.

    I tag you here on social media on considerations for your administrators, because if we were to all write in, you would receive tons of the same email.

    For one, I do not believe in 200 emails to make a point across and sincerely seek your understanding on our intentions and voices together with much frustrations.

    I now invite all the affected residents to post their images and videos of the happenings last night and request that your good self, Our Honourable MP respond with your opinions.

    Yours sincerely

    Johnny Chiang
    On behalf of my neighbours of blk 308A
    And residents affected by the issues

    Other residents also joined in the discussion in their Facebook group:

    Fabian Lau: Alarm nt happen once already..twice since move in..first one is alarm twice..2am and 3am..last night just lighting and tio alarm..what alarm is that,if 100% move in i dont know what resident will say..this alarm really got problem and linked with wwt2…as for quality wise..the balcony door lock is not good will open itself when u lock other side ever though u lock both side..but i just close one eye..bsc is useless and just bear with it ..i guess all window is not heavy rain proof..just that few unit last night due to wind direction kanna..if next time wind direction change another side..new set of resident complain the window problem..water sit in etc …

    Jason Li: Home means the last stronghold for us. No matter how it looks, protecting us from wind and rain is the most basic functionality

    Jo Lene: Johnny Chiang thanks for voicing out for us. I have not move into my unit yet but I’m starting to worry about the “not rain proof” Windows n balcony doors… I saw videos n photos of the rain this morning, it was really scary that the rain can just sip in like that…

    Zeoane Goh: house living room n service bay slightly flooded. Cleaned up till 230am! :0 Rain was super big and big wind. Water seeped into living room thru the roller door at balcony.

    Xue Fang: Our living room, common rooms and master bed room were all affected as well…. can you imagine waking up with rain droplets on your face? Seriously, what premium price we paid to deserve this? Fire alarm goes off in the middle of the night and lasted for a while while we clean up the mess…. what a nightmare!

    Eric Loh: Pissed off with the lvl of work and still dare to say in news everything is up to standard in news. What the hell is hdb doing. I doing to support my buddy Johnny Chiang but honestly i don’t think janil puthhcheary will bother. I have come to a point which i have given up hope on all this people which so call said they will “help us”. Dont find reasons for ur mistake, find a solution please. No one in wwt1 which paid 300 over thousand excluding intereste will be happy about it.

    Candee Tan: Have anyone consider taking this to the media??

    Benny Ong: If we go on holidays, and another storm comes along while we’re away with electrical appliances on the floor, the house is at Super high risk of catching fire!

    Jenny Yang: OMG, I just happily got my keys last week, but now I am so disapointed. Stupid project, should ask them to compensate us for instaling windows at our balcony. Hi Johnny, appreciate your precious voices, hope they will do something about it. Thank you so much.

    Li Elle: water bubbling at the rails of 2 common bedrooms connected balcony, sip into our timber wood slightly too.

    At 13:52pm today (14 Jul), MP Puthucheary finally responded. He said he had contacted HDB and the town council:

    This is not the first time news of defects in Punggol Waterway Terraces surface. Last month, sociopolitical site The Online Citizen reported [Link] a BTO flat owner of Punggol Waterway Terraces, Adrian Chong, complained that the contractors who were supposed to fix the reported defects in his flat, ended up creating even more defects.

    Mr Chong noted that his parquet flooring got worse after the contractors tried to rectify some defects. A defective pipe was left unchanged. New defects kept appearing each day as the contractors tried to resolve old problems.

    “There are some defects which pictures won’t be able to tell much, like loosening of the rubber tracks for the sliding doors at the balcony and service yards.” said Mr Chong.

    “Considering the amount we paid for the flat, we did not expect to see such bad defects or bad workmanship. Water pressure of the tap, shower head and toilet flushing were also weak. Timber skirting around the house were also painted with white paint making it looked so cheapskate,” lamented Mr Chong on the quality of the furnishings.

    The defects were submitted to the building service centre set up by the building contractor, and Mr Chong was given an appointment to have a joint inspection with the supervisor to highlight and go through the defects.

    However, Mr Chong faced difficulties in getting the contractors to do a decent job without incurring new defects as they tried to rectify existing ones.

    “As working personnel, we do not have the luxury of time to keep going down to the unit to rectify the defects and monitor them. They (the contractors) delayed our renovation plans as we cannot start our renovation without having them to rectify the existing defects first.”

    He added that as a flat owner, the minimum expectations are to provide his family a unit that is free from defects and good enough to live in comfortably.

    This is especially so considering the fact that at Punggol Waterway Terraces, a 3-room flat ranges from $186,000 to $237,000 while a 5-room flat costs between $374,000 and $458,000.

    Other netizens wonder why older HDB flats did not seem to have so many problems.

    In any case, it’s not known what MP Puthucheary, HDB or the Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council will do about the flooding issue. Pass the buck down to the foreign workers to fix?

     

    Source: www.tremeritus.com

  • A DBSS Ceiling For Khaw Boon Wan To Explain

    A DBSS Ceiling For Khaw Boon Wan To Explain

    As The Online Citizen (TOC) reported on Sunday, the Minister of National Development will be questioned about the poor quality of recent flats, especially those under the Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS), and also those under the Build-To-Order (BTO) programme. (See here.)

    The minister in charge, Khaw Boon Wan, has said little about the many complaints which homeowners have raised so far.

    Besides the by now infamously narrow corridors at Pasir Ris ONE, for example, buyers were also unhappy over an entire slew of defects found in their flats – including leaking pipes, badly located water heaters, hollow tiles in their bathroom walls, scratched tiles, tiles with different shades of colours, windows which are nor properly installed, and so on.

    At Pasir Ris ONE, one of the most obvious and conspicuous anomaly seems to be the ceiling at the ground floors.

    The “gas vent” runs through the ceiling along the corridors, together with what looked like gas pipes, all seemingly put together in haste, and left exposed.

    The “gas vent” looks like an after-thought thing. The developer seems to have forgotten about the gas vent, and then just plonk it up there, hold it up with a few screws and that’s it.

    It is a wonder that such designs have been approved by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) or the Housing and Development Board (HDB).

    TOC visited the DBSS development about a week ago and took a short clip of it.

    Perhaps Mr Khaw will explain why such a design is allowed by the authorities.

     

    Source: www.theonlinecitizen.com

  • HDB Flats For Even Rich Kids’ Children?

    HDB Flats For Even Rich Kids’ Children?

    It’s difficult for a heartland born-and-bred Singaporean like me to imagine, but there are apparently people in Singapore who have never lived in, or even stepped into, a Housing Board flat.

    When I was discussing property purchases with a group of friends, one of my girlfriends confessed she would not buy a HDB flat because she wouldn’t feel safe in one. She grew up in private property and her first purchase was a condominium.

    I got to thinking about this issue, following reports that National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan wants to make it easier for all couples, including high-earning ones, to own and live in a HDB built-to-order (BTO) flat.

    In a live radio talk show on Chinese-language station Capital 95.8FM, he is reported to have said: “If you ask for my personal opinion … I generally prefer to give every Singaporean couple a chance of living in HDB.

    “You may come from, say, an upper-income group. You do not need an HDB flat. But I feel that it’s good for … almost all Singaporeans to have a chance of living in HDB for five years, and interact with the community.”

    He added: “It’s part and parcel of the Singaporean way of life. It’s just like males go for National Service … If we can give them this opportunity of staying in HDB towns, I think there are more positives than negatives.”

    His remarks were made in the context of raising the income ceiling for HDB flats, which he said could happen by Sept.

    Now, a married couple with a joint monthly income of up to $10,000 can buy a subsidised, new HDB flat. It was raised from $8,000 in 2011.

    This isn’t the first time Mr Khaw made such a comment. In an exclusive interview with The Straits Times in April 2013, he had broached the idea of scrapping the income ceiling to allow even couples with very high incomes to own HDB flats, as living in HDB flats would give people more chances to interact with others of different races and incomes. But the lower-income households ones would still get bigger housing grants.

    Mr Khaw said then: “If a rich man’s kid wants to apply for a BTO flat, provided he stays the five-year minimum occupation period, there’s nothing wrong with that to me”.

    My reaction both times was bemusement.

    For most Singaporeans, HDB living is part and parcel of being Singaporean. Most live in HDB estates. Those of us who grew up in one, and moved on to private property, will probably always hanker after the bustle of HDB life.

    You see all the BMW-driving businessmen in long-sleeved shirts wiping away beads of sweat as they wolf down their bak chor mee or mee goreng at their favourite HDB coffeeshop and hawker centre, and you see the looks of blissful content on the well-dressed women as they buy their cheap laundry baskets or pick up kitchen utensils at the household sundry shop, and you know you can take the boy or girl out of the HDB estate, but you can’t take the HDB out of the boy or girl.

    So the idea that a special policy is needed to encourage people to live in and interact with HDB residents will appear slightly surreal to some. On my Facebook, a friend commented that she felt insulted, as though HDB residents were creatures in a zoo that the rich are being encouraged to visit to see.

    I empathise with that comment. It’s like having a special policy to encourage those who live with a permanent bubble around their heads to take their heads out of the bubble and breathe normal air like the rest of us.

    Breathing normal air is the default, and should be so. But I can see that if segments of our population have become so used to living in that bubble of air, it would take concerted policy action to persuade them to try normal air for a change.

    The truth is that Singapore society is stratifying. Whereas many of today’s middle-aged professionals grew up in HDB flats, it’s probably the case that more of today’s 20-something year old professionals and managers grew up in private housing. So the idea of having them live in and experience HDB life, isn’t a bad one. From the point of view of social cohesion, it makes sense.

    In Singapore, public housing caters to the majority of the population – 80 per cent of Singapore resident households live in HDB flats. The idea is precisely that we would all grow up in mixed neighbourhoods that jumble up people of different races, different income groups, and different socioeconomic status.

    So it makes sense to encourage the small minority who never had a chance to do that when they were growing up, and encourage them to do so in their young adulthood.

    I often wonder how many of today’s young Administrative Service civil servants, and the smart youngsters who enter the banks, the legal profession, and even the media, have lived in HDB flats, and if they have empathy for the average Singaporean who does. These people are future leaders and decision-makers.

    If too many of them come from privileged families, they would never have experienced poverty, or suffered from want or anxiety over money problems. But if they had a friend in school or in their neighbourhood who did, and were close enough a confidant to share vicariously in the friend’s struggles, their worldview will be more rounded than the wealthy child who lives with, plays with and goes to school with only other wealthy children.

    If raising the income ceiling to allow more young couples to live in HDB flats can help reduce the social gap that can exist between the privileged and the masses, then there are reasons to do so.

    I know some readers will argue that HDB flats should be reserved for the lower-income. Let the high-income earners who want to live in HDB estates buy flats on the resale market.

    But the fact is that, with 80 per cent living in HDB estates, HDB flat owners already include the high-income. Increasingly, the subsidised HDB flat is being viewed as the birthright of every Singaporean couple. The HDB gravy train gives them a ticket to an affordable first home – and a firm step up the ladder of financial success, if they are lucky enough enough to make hundreds of thousands of dollars subsequently by selling it on the open market.

    But opening up the floodgates this way will inevitably lead to demands from other groups to be given the same access to HDB subsidised flats. Mature couples who missed out on buying HDB flats earlier will also want to be allowed to buy subsidised flats. And singles will demand more leeway to benefit from housing subsidies too.

    The arguments about the social benefits of having every Singaporean experience HDB living applies equally to them.

     

    Source: http://business.asiaone.com

  • Heng Swee Keat To Lead Task Force Probing Complaints By Residents Of DBSS Development Centrale 8

    Heng Swee Keat To Lead Task Force Probing Complaints By Residents Of DBSS Development Centrale 8

    Following a petition signed by owners of more than half of the units at Centrale 8, a taskforce surpervised by Tampines GRC Member of Parliament Heng Swee Keat will be formed to look into the residents’ grouses.

    Buyers of almost 400 of the 708 units in the Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) project had endorsed the petition to extend their year-long warranty. They also want compensation for alleged “inferior quality of materials” used and poor design that compromises their space, safety and privacy.

    Tampines Town Council chairman Baey Yam Keng told TODAY that Mr Heng had asked him to reply on his behalf, after residents emailed their petition last Friday (June 19) to the project’s developer, Sim Lian Group, and looped in the Housing and Development Board (HDB), Ministry of National Development and Tampines MPs.

    Mr Baey said the task force will be led by senior grassroots leaders, with Mr Heng supervising the team personally. The task force could include representatives from Sim Lian, HDB, the Building and Construction Authority and the town council.

    “We want to help residents by bringing the relevant people together so that we can all talk things over together,” he said.

    “Once we get the composition settled I think we should have the first meeting as soon as we can, because the residents are anxious.”

    Mr Baey added that the outcome “would have to be a balance between the wishes of the residents as well as the contractual obligations of the developers”.

    A developer has to rectify any defect in the units within a year after handing over the keys, but residents are worried other defects may surface after that. They are creating a document to highlight issues faced, and will be presenting it to the task force. They hope to have a dialogue by early July.

    In 2011, Centrale 8 made the headlines for the wrong reasons after its developer asked for S$880,000 for the five-room units – a record indicative asking price which was on par with the cost of suburban condominium units. This prompted a public outcry which led Sim Lian to slash the asking price to S$778,000. As the controversy brewed, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan weighed in and said that consumers who thought the prices were too high should give the flats a miss. Soon after, the Government announced the DBS scheme was under review and subsequently, the sale of land for DBSS projects was suspended.

    According to earlier reports, Centrale 8 homeowners were upset about defects such as faulty locks, cracked tiles and burst water pipes.

    But they told TODAY they have bigger issues with the design of their homes and estate. For example, some toilet windows face the common corridor, which means windows cannot be opened. The entrance to the estate as well as the carpark meet at a cross junction, increasing chances of accidents, said residents, who are calling for another entrance and exit to be created.

    A resident who wanted to be known as Mr Cher said the main power switch for the aircon compressor is located outside the flat. “If I want to turn it off, I have to climb out onto the (aircon) ledge, which is very dangerous,” he said.

    Another resident, Ms Evelyn Soo, 46, found sanitary pipes taking up usable space in the service yard. When she told Sim Lian about it, the developer responded that the location of the pipes was “to meet with (PUB’s) requirement”.

    TODAY understands the national water agency sent a strongly-worded email to the developer calling such statements “wrong and misleading” as PUB “does not mandate that sanitary stacks be located at the service courtyard or AC (aircon) ledge of residential units”.

    Sim Lian clarified that the sanitary stack pipes located in the service yards of some unit types are there to meet PUB’s technical requirement, which states that the length of a discharge pipe connecting to the discharge stack pipe cannot exceed its maximum length of 2.5m.

    The developer also said it is common for architects to place sanitary stack pipes in wet areas including bathrooms, service yards or the aircon ledges of residential units.

    Another resident, who declined to be named, cited another “very awkward” design element where his main gate opens from the right, while the main door opens from left. Half of the master bedroom door protrudes into bedroom space when open. “We paid a premium price but we never got the premium value,” he said.

    A Sim Lian spokesman confirmed it has received the residents’ petition and “will continue to attend to their concerns on a one-to-one basis”.

    The developer said it remains committed to rectifying reported defects in accordance with the Sale and Purchase Agreement and will “also review subsequent requests for rectification works on a case-by-case basis” after the year-long Defects Liability Period expires.

    Sim Lian is working with HDB, Tampines Citizens’ Consultative Committee, Tampines Town Council, the People’s Association Residents’ Committee and grassroots representatives to facilitate the process.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com