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Raj Joshua Thomas on public housing motions

15:23 Min

In Parliament on Tuesday (Feb 7), NMP Raj Joshua Thomas said he could not support the Progress Singapore Party’s motion on reviewing public housing policy because it was worded in a way that suggests the current policy does not deliver or even represent the objectives of affordability and accessibility. Mr Thomas made the point that affordable public housing should not be seen as cheap public housing and accessible public housing does not mean everyone can get a flat of their choice, devoid of considerations like the effect of location on cost, and the earning power of the buyer. Mr Thomas also addressed NCMP Leong Mun Wai’s proposal that HDB owners pay for the land cost of their flats only when they sell their flats. He pointed out the inherent problems with this idea, including the fact that the Government would become a de facto creditor to all HDB owners who have not sold their property. Mr Thomas said the plan will effectively still result in a raid on Singapore’s reserves and that even though Mr Leong said he was proposing a reset of housing policy, he was in fact proposing to turn the entire system that has underpinned Singapore’s financial stability on its head. Arising from this affair, said Mr Thomas, were also larger questions of democratic accountability, the nature of politics and political debate in Singapore.

In Parliament on Tuesday (Feb 7), NMP Raj Joshua Thomas said he could not support the Progress Singapore Party’s motion on reviewing public housing policy because it was worded in a way that suggests the current policy does not deliver or even represent the objectives of affordability and accessibility. Mr Thomas made the point that affordable public housing should not be seen as cheap public housing and accessible public housing does not mean everyone can get a flat of their choice, devoid of considerations like the effect of location on cost, and the earning power of the buyer. Mr Thomas also addressed NCMP Leong Mun Wai’s proposal that HDB owners pay for the land cost of their flats only when they sell their flats. He pointed out the inherent problems with this idea, including the fact that the Government would become a de facto creditor to all HDB owners who have not sold their property. Mr Thomas said the plan will effectively still result in a raid on Singapore’s reserves and that even though Mr Leong said he was proposing a reset of housing policy, he was in fact proposing to turn the entire system that has underpinned Singapore’s financial stability on its head. Arising from this affair, said Mr Thomas, were also larger questions of democratic accountability, the nature of politics and political debate in Singapore.

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