Mr Yeo Shuan Chee is a Singaporean.
His wife is expecting their first child in a couple of months.
When Mr Yeo heard that his colleague, also a Singaporean, was considering balloting for a Build-to-Order (BTO) flat with his permanent resident wife who had also just given birth, Mr Yeo decided to give his own housing plans some thought.
His colleague was eligible to apply for up to a five-room flat, according to checks his colleague had made with the Housing Board’s website.
Mr Yeo decided to do the same.
“I also checked out the website,” he wrote in his letter to the Straits Times on Monday. “After keying in my particulars, I was dismayed to see that I am eligible to buy only a new two-room flat in a non-mature estate.”
This was despite having a higher salary than his colleague
“[So] why can’t I get a bigger home?” he asked.
“I then changed my wife’s details from work permit holder to permanent resident and, like magic, found that we could buy up to a new five-room flat with no restrictions.
“I would like to know how the HDB decides that I – a locally born Singaporean who has completed his full 13-year national service cycle – do not have the right to buy a flat of my choice just because my wife is a work permit holder.
“It is not our fault that her application for permanent residency had been denied.
“Does this make me – or my child to come – any less Singaporean?”
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The following is Mr Yeo’s letter to the Straits Times:
Can’t buy bigger flat as wife is a work permit holder
RECENTLY, a Singaporean colleague of mine told me that he was considering balloting for a Build-to-Order (BTO) flat as his wife, a permanent resident, had just given birth.
The location of the BTO launch is near my parents’ place and I have also been giving upgrading some thought, as my wife – a work permit holder – is expecting our first child in a couple of months.
My colleague checked the eligibility criteria on the Housing Board’s website and found that he was able to purchase up to a new five-room flat. I also checked out the website. After keying in my particulars, I was dismayed to see that I am eligible to buy only a new two-room flat in a non-mature estate.
My salary is higher than my colleague’s, so why can’t I get a bigger home?
I then changed my wife’s details from work permit holder to permanent resident and, like magic, found that we could buy up to a new five-room flat with no restrictions.
I would like to know how the HDB decides that I – a locally born Singaporean who has completed his full 13-year national service cycle – do not have the right to buy a flat of my choice just because my wife is a work permit holder.
It is not our fault that her application for permanent residency had been denied.
Does this make me – or my child to come – any less Singaporean?
Yeo Shuan Chee
