Lee Kuan Yew: We have to keep our house clean. No one else will do it for us.
No political system in any country is immune from corruption. Can Singapore always remain clean? In 2005, at the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute’s World Ethics and Integrity Forum, Mr Lee Kuan Yew said that corruption is incipient in every society. It eats into any system, regardless of the philosophy or ideology. Corruption must be continuously […]
The Online Citizen strikes again – spreading falsehood about Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong!
Recently, the National Trades Union Congress held its annual May Day Rally to celebrate workers in Singapore. Present at the event were union leaders and political office holders – the likes of Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. DPM Wong gave a speech at May Day Rally 2023, addressing the […]
WP Louis Chua is queried on his opposing positions on housing affordability
Recently, it emerged that WP MP Louis Chua’s professional position on public housing differs from his party position. The WP MP has consistently maintained his party’s position that public housing is unaffordable. Yet, in his capacity as a research analyst, he wrote that housing affordability remained healthy. In an exchange in Parliament on Wednesday (Apr […]
Did the PAP mischaracterise the WP’s working paper on lease decay? An English test will answer this question.
Before COVID-19 in 2020, HDB resale prices had been going down, down and down. In fact, prices had fallen for six consecutive years. Analysts at that time were divided over whether prices would continue to fall in 2019. You can watch the video here: Against this backdrop, the Workers’ Party published their Working Paper […]
Does a single poverty line help you to identify who are the poor who really need help?
The Workers’ Party Jamus Lim renewed his party call for an official poverty line. He called for the establishment of a committee of government representatives, civil society leaders and academic experts to decide what the poverty line should be, and for all government assistance and policies to then be pegged to this threshold. Back in […]
Singapore is actually a socialist system in many ways in taking care of its people: K Shanmugam
While the economy of Singapore is capitalist, Singapore is actually socialistic in its policies, Minister for Law and Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam said in an interview with the South China Morning Post. “Because from the time you’re born, you get money for being born, and long before you go to school. And then […]
Fresh Start Housing Scheme: a home to call their own
After 8 years living in a rental flat, Madam Zaidah Ismail, 57, finally has a place to call her own – a flat with a flexi lease agreement. Life after her divorce was tough. Mdm Zaidah had to contend with breast cancer while putting in long hours as a security guard. She jumped at the […]
Leong Mun Wai’s suggestion to remove land costs will leave homeowners bleeding
In a Facebook post, Leong Mun Wai concedes that BTOs are indeed subsidised. He also agrees that the pricing of BTOs should take into account locational factors. He wants prices to be lowered further, and to achieve this, he wants land costs to be disregarded. However, one cannot factor in locational factors while ignoring land […]
Is your BTO less affordable today? Let’s dive into the math for the answer.
If we compare the prices of HDB flats today with the prices of HDB flats built 20 or 30 years ago, of course prices have gone up. But so has income. The rise in the prices of HDB flats are in line with income growth. The question is: is the BTO less affordable today? Let’s dive […]
99-year lease is only way to recycle land for future generations to buy BTOs
Today, over 80% of Singaporeans live in public housing. Compared to public housing in most parts of the world, our HDB flats and home ownership model is the exception rather than the norm. Singapore’s housing policies have been uniquely successful. We are the only major city in the world where nearly every young couple getting […]