SINGAPORE: An Reasonably priced Properties Scheme proposed by the Progress Singapore Celebration (PSP) is in substance a pay as you go rental scheme with an “option to buy”, mentioned Second Minister for Nationwide Improvement Indranee Rajah in Parliament on Tuesday (Feb 7).
She additionally mentioned that the scheme would raid Singapore’s reserves.
She was talking in a debate on two motions on public housing filed by the PSP and by Minister for Nationwide Improvement Desmond Lee.
Non-Constituency MP Leong Mun Wai (PSP) had tabled the primary movement, and in his opening speech proposed the Reasonably priced Properties Scheme.
The scheme proposes that flat patrons do not need to pay land price after they purchase a brand new flat from HDB. The cost of the land price can be deferred and paid provided that the flat is offered after the Minimal Occupation Interval, Mr Leong had mentioned.
“Hence as long as Singaporeans are leasing HDB flats for owner-occupation, they should not have to pay for the land cost. They should only pay the land cost when they take the HDB flats to be an investment and sell it for a profit,” he mentioned.
Ms Indranee mentioned that the PSP’s proposal nonetheless entails promoting state land cheaply, as taxpayers would bear the price of the land whereas the “user” stays there.
It will shrink the worth of the reserves every time land is used for public housing, and over time there can be much less sources to take care of crises and different public expenditure.
“Despite Mr Leong’s claims that he is not raiding the reserves, his proposal does exactly that,” she mentioned.
“Under the PSP model, those who choose not to sell their flats will enjoy a large subsidy at everyone else’s expense.”
Mr Lee additionally responded to the PSP scheme in his closing speech within the debate, saying that some folks must promote their flats as a result of their life circumstances change, and never simply to make cash.
“I think if the PSP ascribes to everyone who is a reseller that you must then punish them with a certain way of pricing on resale then I don’t think that is being fair to Singaporeans,” mentioned Mr Lee.
Mr Leong countered Ms Indranee, saying that not all of the land price could be misplaced and his scheme would make it “fairer” for the subsequent era, who can “enjoy their flats at the user price instead of the BTO price”.
“The Government’s appreciating asset narrative for the HDB flat has become untenable … it is counterintuitive also to believe that a system that relies on rising HDB prices can deliver affordability,” he mentioned.
LEONG DENIES “FLIP-FLOPPING”
Within the debate, plenty of MPs accused Mr Leong of adjusting his proposals about public housing a number of instances within the previous months.
Stated Ms Carrie Tan (PAP – Nee Quickly): “Since December final yr, Mr Leong stored altering his stance. He mentioned that we must always not the embody the price of the land within the costs …
“Yesterday he was additionally saying that we must always embody the land price however we are able to delay and pay it again after the homeowners have offered the flat.
“Within a few months, he changed his stance three times. Is this reliable?”
Mr Leong strongly denied that he had been “flip-flopping” in regards to the difficulty of land price, saying that the MPs criticising his scheme have misunderstood it.
Referring to a Fb put up on Dec 8, Mr Leong mentioned that the put up solely says “land costs should be taken out of the picture”.
“It should be quite clear from this that I have not called for HDB prices to be based on the historical cost of land,” he mentioned.
Defending his proposal for the Reasonably priced Properties Scheme, Mr Leong mentioned that the scheme takes land price out of the image for individuals who purchase flats for proprietor occupation.
“I did not pursue the matter up to now because I want to focus on the substance of the debate,” he mentioned. “But I categorically reject allegations that I have been flip-flopping.”
Mr Leong was additionally referred to as out for utilizing the phrase “condemned to living in HDB flat” in a reply he made on his Fb web page in response to a commenter who mentioned that Mr Leong’s public housing proposals will crash the property market.
Replying to a Fb person with the deal with Richard Weng, Mr Leong had written: “The resale market is just not as fragile as you assume. However the AHS is supposed to melt resale costs which have gone up by 30 per cent within the final three years. Slightly moderation is wholesome.
“There will continue to be solid demand from both Sporeans (sic) and PRs. Longer term under AHS, supply is expected to shrink so resale prices will hold. Sporeans are not condemned to living in HDB flat. On the contrary, now they have more CPF savings to buy private property if they want.”
Ms Tan identified that greater than 80 per cent of Singaporeans stay in HDB flats.
“How can Mr Leong Mun Wai say people are condemned to stay in HDB flats? What is wrong with staying in a HDB flat? So by saying so, does it mean that he has been trying to look down on those who live in HDB flats?” she mentioned in Mandarin.
Clarifying the matter later, Mr Leong mentioned he was replying to a different Fb person’s remark: “If anyone has taken offence by my choice of language, I retract the use of that word, but the quote that Ms Tan has taken is out of context.”
Ms Tan responded that the Fb person didn’t use the phrase “condemn”, and that was Mr Leong’s selection of phrase.
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