Market price for land to build public housing but is it fair for citizens?
by Foong Swee Fong
Mdm Ho Ching is right in saying that “Singapore is a small island” and that “land is a common heritage for all our people”, meaning, the land on our small island belongs to all Singaporeans.
By extension, it means that all Singaporeans have a right to a roof over their head and to use the land to make a living, at a reasonable price.
However, in Mdm Ho’s and the government’s books, belonging to all Singaporeans means that when the land is sold at market price — the market, comprising not just Singaporeans, but practically people and corporations of the whole wide world - it’s proceeds should be locked in our Past Reserves for the benefit of Singaporeans.
Thus belonging to Singaporeans can be interpreted to mean Singaporeans have a right to the land on the one hand, and, the proceeds of the sale of the land to the market, should be locked up as savings for Singaporeans, on the other.
The question is: is it fair to Singaporeans that the price of land is chased to stratospheric levels due to big business and the government’s pursuit of growth at all cost — including, almost tripling the population since Independence, incessant inflow of foreign talents, low corporate tax rates, relentless pursuit of foreign investments, liberal policies that allow foreigners to buy property here — and Singaporeans are made to pay the so-called market price, which then goes into the Past Reserves?
Bear in mind, ordinary Singaporeans who buy HDB flats, by and large, did not benefit from the government’s growth-at-all-cost policies — big business, including many foreign ones, and their associates, did.
On the contrary, ordinary Singaporeans have to suffer the consequences including overcrowding, high cost of living, social friction and stress. They would rather the government shift from growth-at-all-cost to sustainable growth that benefit them directly rather than foreigners.
Land on this island belong to all Singaporeans. They should not have to pay obscene market price due to unfettered capitalism when they buy a subsidized flat.
Senior Minister of State for National Development, Sim Ann says that by drastically lowering Build-To-Order (BTO) prices to the point of almost disregarding land cost would end up hurting, instead of helping, Singaporeans.
She is both right and wrong at the same time.
Property investors will find the value of their investments dropping off a cliff and may well make the ruling party pay at the polls, but young Singaporeans looking for a first property, especially an HDB flat, will be very happy.
But more to her point that money will need to be found by the Government to replace the loss from the drastically reduced price of land for HDB — it will hurt the ruling party more than the people because it will have to fight for a mandate with less funds.
But as always, they will twist it around.
This piece was first published on Foong's Facebook page and reproduced with permission
