ST : State not obliged to help people go private

Sep 11, 2010

State not obliged to help people go private

DR GILLIAN KOH, senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies

'The Singapore Dream, in its materialist interpretation, is about opportunities to strive through sheer dint of hard work or enterprise to move OUT of this public housing space; it is not to be found in the Housing Board flat but outside of it. And yet, the HDB does concede room for executive condominiums, and now design, build and sell scheme flats, for the yuppies. And while we know that the sale of a flat might provide a good downpayment for a private apartment, the HDB is not obliged, its role isn't to help people upgrade to private housing in the first instance. The housing policy has to make sense and be sustainable in its own right.

'We must draw a line between the state and the market. The private property development sector must have its space too. Citizens should not expect the state to make it possible for people to leap into that private market.

'Choices have to be made. They will be uncomfortable, but if citizens and foreign residents wish to gain access to public housing, it is not unreasonable that they meet some conditions. The social compact is clear, it is a reasonable and reasoned position and it leaves a lot of room for the private sector to thrive.'