Spotlight on AHTC saga: in good faith and in bad faith
In the beginning, Singaporeans did not know that FMSS was owned by close affiliates of Workers’ Party (WP).Only WP and the Ministry of National Development (MND) knew these facts.But MND left them alone because, as then National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said, they allowed some latitude with regard to party affiliation because TCs are […]
Has the PAP’s success produced a people who is difficult to govern and satisfy?
Many cities in the world – including cities larger than Singapore – are part of a much larger country. Singapore is not just a city, it is also a country. It is a city-state with little land and no natural resources. This is why the challenges that we face are much bigger and not to be […]
PM Lee: Opposition ‘missing in action’ when it comes to thorny issues like repeal of Section 377A
At the People’s Action Party’s (PAP) biennial conference on 6 November 2022, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who is also Secretary-General of the PAP, called out the opposition for ‘lying low’ on thorny issues, and that it should take a clear stand for issues especially if it aims to win more seats in Parliament and […]
A close look at WP’s proposal to treat land sale proceeds as revenue for spending
The WP had proposed that land sale proceeds be treated as revenue for budget spending. They still do not recognise that land is a scarce asset in Singapore and protected as Past Reserves. In fact, the land is so scarce, Singapore had to reclaim land to build housing estates (Read here). One-quarter of Singapore is […]
Don’t try to second guess the Minister because your objective input matters greatly: Lawrence Wong to public officers
At the 2022 Annual Public Service Leadership Ceremony, DPM Lawrence Wong tells public officers not to second guess the Minister or try to propose something that they think the Government will find politically convenient to do. This is because the Government values their candid and forthright inputs. Their professional inputs matter greatly, the minister said. […]
Leong Sze Hian’s vain attempt to cast doubt on the Government’s good intention in the PG Package
Leong Sze Hian wrote an article published by TISG (Did the Singapore Govt overestimate the PGP package or under utilised the funds to assist seniors?) that was a stark display of ignorance and a vain attempt at casting doubt on the good intention of the PAP Government in introducing the package. In his hurry to […]
Singapore’s political contestation will continue, likely to intensify
Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong spoke at the annual public service leadership ceremony on November 1, 2022. In his opening speech, he highlighted that the Public Service played a pivotal role in keeping Singaporeans safe during the Covid-19 pandemic, from keeping borders, checkpoints, hospitals, and vaccination centers running smoothly to reaching out to households and businesses to […]
GST hike: will Singaporeans rise to the occasion with grit and determination?
At the IMAS-Bloomberg Investment Conference earlier this year (9 March), SM Tharman Shanmugaratnam talked about the ‘perfect long storm’ that the world has entered, shaped by a confluence of many factors. It is an era of profound uncertainty and fragility. The world has been facing rising prices caused by the pandemic recovery and then exacerbated […]
The suggestion that a government can arbitrarily decide on land value is a dangerous one
Let’s be clear. To begin with, the HDB does not price new flats based on costs, nor development or land costs. That much the Minister for National Development Desmond Lee has stressed. So the argument over how land should be valued is moot because land cost does not come into the equation. I suspect some […]
HDB does not price new flats based on costs: Desmond Lee
Minister for National Development Desmond Lee recently gave a good explainer on the issue of land cost and HDB BTO Valuation in parliament. His explanation also covers why the HDB runs at a deficit of a couple or three billion dollars annually. Unfortunately, the parliament is a poor avenue for treating an important subject that […]