ST : More steps to ease housing woes: PM

Aug 30, 2010

More steps to ease housing woes: PM

Govt will announce today measures to cool private property market

By Li Xueying

THE Government will be introducing more measures to ensure public housing remains affordable and to cool the red-hot private property market.

Announcing this in his National Day Rally speech last night, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong gave some details of what will be done to make sure HDB flats remain affordable to Singaporeans, including those currently earning more than $8,000 a month.

But he held back on impending measures to rein in runaway private property prices.

Buyers and sellers will not be put on tenterhooks for long though. The announcement by the Ministry of National Development (MND) is due at 8am today.

'I don't want to go into the details tonight, otherwise you will remember nothing else about my speech,' he said, to laughter from the 1,500-strong audience at the University Cultural Centre.

'Tomorrow morning before the market opens, MND will put out their press statement and (MND Minister) Mah Bow Tan will hold a press conference.

'But our purpose is to make sure that in the long term, Singaporeans can own their homes and afford it, and it would be a gradually appreciating asset which will grow as Singapore grows, so that Singaporeans can benefit.'

The announcement was among a range of measures to address Singaporeans' anxiety over the influx of foreigners and immigrants.

The 'very hot topic' took up a major chunk of Mr Lee's three-hour address, delivered in Malay, Mandarin and English.

While acknowledging 'legitimate concerns which we take seriously' - fears over competition, crowding and the changing character of Singapore's society, he also spelled out why it is important for the country to stay open.

It needs to gain talent, garner reinforcements to grow the economy and make up for the population shortfall.

So the challenge is in balancing Singaporeans' concerns with these imperatives. As Mr Lee put it: 'How do we keep the door open while protecting the interest of Singaporeans? How do we welcome citizens while holding to our values?'

There are no ideal or permanent solutions, he acknowledged, and 'we will have to manage, monitor and adjust as we go along'.

He outlined what the Government is trying to do to limit the downsides.

Besides alleviating housing woes, it makes an important distinction between foreign workers and immigrants.

The former are transients who will leave when the job is done, said Mr Lee.

Significantly, he re-adjusted his estimate of the number of extra foreign workers Singapore will need this year. Where earlier he had projected 100,000, last night he revised it down to 80,000.

'We've recalculated, maybe we'll get by with a few less, perhaps 80,000 workers,' he said.

As for immigrants, the number is far smaller, and Singapore is 'very careful' whom it accepts.

Citizens will always come first, he assured his audience.

As a mark of this emphasis, he announced a new $9,000 award for NS men, more details of which will be released tomorrow.

To address complaints of congestion on public transport, Mr Lee reiterated measures already in the works to ease the crunch, such as the purchase of more trains and the building of more rail lines.

All in, these measures will cost $60 billion over the next 10 years.

Turning to education, Mr Lee expanded on the theme of inclusivity that he first brought up in his Rally in 2005: shaping the education system into one that enables students of different talents and abilities to maximise their potential.

Singapore is realising this vision, he said, but 'we can still do better'.

Among the new moves coming up is one to allow Normal (Academic) students to get a 'through-train' to polytechnic, skipping the O levels.

As for Express stream students, those in seven more secondary schools can get to be on the Integrated Programme whereby they go straight on to the A levels.

On the economic front, Mr Lee noted that while Singapore is attaining a spectacular 13 to 15 per cent in growth this year, the figure is 'less spectacular' when seen over the three years from 2008 to this year.

Averaged out, growth becomes 5 per cent a year over these three years.

But this is a 'realistic target'. 'For the next 10 years, if we can make 3 to 5 per cent growth on average every year, I think we're doing well,' he said.

Beyond bread and butter issues, Mr Lee also dwelt on the intangible 'Singapore spirit' that makes Singapore such an economic dynamo and a beacon for comers from many lands.

He defined the spirit as one based on values such as multiracialism, loyalty, shared responsibility and shared dreams.

It was seen in Singapore's founding fathers such as Dr Goh Keng Swee, he said, announcing the naming of two institutions - the Singapore Command and Staff College and a new centre of education - after the late deputy prime minister, who passed away in May.

The spirit can also be found in 33-year-old Alvan Yap, who is hearing-impaired but volunteers to teach deaf children in Timor Leste sign language.

With the Youth Olympic Games just ended earlier in the week, Mr Lee took the opportunity to voice his appreciation for the 30,000 staff and volunteers who made the Games possible.

While Singapore may be small, it is in a 'very strong position', he said, relating how a Canadian lady he met at the Games Village congratulated Singapore for having 'cleared the bar'.

'We've reinforced our talent, we've worked closely together, delivered results, won respect for Singapore.

'So with good leadership, and a close-knit team imbued with the Singapore spirit, we will seize the opportunities around us and take our nation to the next level,' he said.

xueying@sph.com.sg


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LONG TERM ASSET

'Our purpose is to make sure that in the long term, Singaporeans can own their homes and afford it, and it would be a gradually appreciating asset which will grow as Singapore grows, so that Singaporeans can benefit.'

PM Lee