We moved to a system where each HDB is priced differently to reflect its real value.

In the 1960s, most Singaporeans lived in over-crowded shop houses or squatter huts. People were poor and life was hard. There was no running water, no modern toilets, no expectation of a better future.

The immediate task of the Government was to tackle this housing crisis, and build homes in the shortest time possible. It would have been easier and simpler to build simple rental one and two-room flats to give people a roof over their heads, Mr Lee said.

But right from the start, Mr Lee Kuan Yew wanted a home-owning society to give every citizen a stake in the country. Mr Lee said ownership is critical because we were an immigrant community with no common history.

"Our peoples came from many different parts of Asia. Home ownership helped to quickly forge a sense of rootedness in Singapore. It is the foundation upon which nationhood was forged."

When HDB first launced the homeownership scheme in 1964, there were many skeptics.

"We had little reserves then. Singapore was still in Malaysia. Our future looked bleak. The post-war baby boom and the high unemployment added to our pressures. Our construction industry was low in skills and lacking in building management. Few believed a home-owning Singapore was possible."

"Against the odds, through grit and determination, we housed the nation progressively and systematically.

"By the end of the 1960s, 35% of the population was living in HDB flats. By the 1980s, HDB had housed 85% of the population. Few nations have managed to house its population in such a short span of time."

"Singaporeans know that the HDB flat gives them a tangible and valuable stake. If Singapore prospers, their flat values will appreciate and they will share in the growth. Home ownership motivates Singaporeans to work hard and upgrade to better flats for a better quality of living. The HDB story reflects the social mobility in Singapore. ... The home ownership programme is the success story of Singapore, shared by all Singaporeans.

From the 1980s...

"We moved to a system where each HDB flat is priced differently to reflect its real value. We cannot price a new flat in Punggol or Tanjong Pagar the same, because when they are resold, we know there will be a tremendous difference in price. From the 1980s, we moved towards a market-based system. By liberalizing the resale market and allowing HDB prices to move in tandem with the economy, we unlocked the value of HDB flats to allow citizens to share in the fruits of the nation’s growth. Home ownership of a HDB flat is a store of value that can be monetized when needs be."

"𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐞@𝐃𝐮𝐱𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 .. 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐝. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐃𝐁 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐦 𝐨𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐮𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬.

"The Pinnacle@Duxton is a strong testament to our tenacity and capabilities as a people, to get to where we are today.

"𝐖𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡. ... 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝."

- Excerpt from Mr Lee Kuan Yew's speech
KEY HANDOVER CEREMONY FOR THE PINNACLE@DUXTON, 13 DECEMBER 2009 

Housing and state land: the Government has a duty to all Singaporeans, both current and future generations.

The Government has a duty to all Singaporeans, both current and future generations, to dispose of and account for state land at fair value. Therefore, it is necessary for HDB to acquire such land parcels at market price, and reflect that in how it prices new flats.

Pricing state land at zero value or basing the sale price of flats on average household incomes would mean that the nation’s assets are not being accounted for.

The Singapore dollar is one of the most actively traded currencies in the world relative to our GDP

It's not as if the size of our reserves is an absolute secret. The size of reserves managed by MAS and Temasek is known and published. It's only the size of reserves under GIC's management that is not fully known. Still, it is not completely a secret.

There is such a thing as economic defence.

In the physical defence of our country, would you make public a full inventory of your weapons and armoury?

Isn't it sad when learned people cannot understand why the full size of our reserves should remain a secret?

I 'blame' the PAP for people's ignorance. I tell you why. The PAP Government has succeeded in protecting Singapore and Singaporeans from the full impact of every crisis thus far, so much so that Singaporeans lack the full experience of a crisis. They think overcoming a crisis is a breeze.

The Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 was a shocker that began in Thailand. The Thai baht was the target of intense speculative attacks just before it collapsed in July 1997. For a while, the Thai government managed to defend the currency. However on 2 July 1997, it announced that it would no longer intervene and would allow the baht to float. The sharp depreciation of the baht against the US dollar began that same day.

This immediately triggered panic among investors, and other regional currencies such as the Philippine peso, Indonesian rupiah and Malaysian ringgit also began to experience selling pressure.

The contagion extended its reach to South Korea, Hong Kong and China and in1998, the crisis had spread to Russia and Brazil as their economies saw a free-fall.

In countries most affected by the crisis, banks and other companies collapsed or had to be rescued, and many others were forced to downsize, resulting in massive unemployment. In Indonesia, the crisis even led to the resignation of then president Suharto.

As a small open economy Singapore is extremely vulnerable to external developments. The large and adverse economic shocks of the Asian financial crisis could potentially have had a devastating effect on the Singapore economy.

Singapore, however, withstood the financial storm lashing the region and the Sing dollar did not come under the kind of pressure that many other currencies faced. Singapore was sheltered. The PAP Government took various measures to keep Singapore competitive.

The result is that Singaporeans including learned Singaporeans are unable to imagine what a speculative attack on the Sing dollar can look like. The only people who fully understood what happened during the AFC were people in government and MAS, civil servants and Heng Swee Keat.

With every successful handling of a crisis, Singaporeans have come to take Singapore's success for granted, so much so 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝.

In normal times, the Singapore dollar is actively traded with a daily turnover estimated at US$37 billion! This is the volume in normal circumstances. ( US$9.5 trillion annually).

Can you imagine how much firepower you would need if the Sing dollar comes under speculative attack? The financial strength that the government would also need to take other measures as well to maintain investors' confidence so your financial institutions do not collapse? Otherwise, all you learned and rich people may just helplessly watch your own savings all gone in a second.

It's not even idealism that Lam Keong Yeoh displays.

 

377A is like an approaching train: K Shanmugam

 

There are 2 reasons for the repeal, Minister Shanmugam said.

The first reason is that there are no public order issues that are raised from such conduct, so it should not remain criminal.

"But I accept that MPs and others may disagree with that. Even though there are no public order issues, they may feel that there are other reasons for keeping the law. And I accept that people can and do legitimately have such views, and it is reasonable to hold such views."

There is a second reason and this second reason is NOT a matter of conscience. It is a policy question and 'requires each of us to THINK CAREFULLY, and APPLY OUR MINDS'.

"The second question is a matter of considering the consequences for Singapore, given that there is a clear legal risk that s 377A could be struck down.

And given that, having heard me, you know what the consequential legal risks are – in fact, this has been talked about in public – to the heterosexual family. Housing, education, other policies – they could all be at risk.

Knowing all these risks and refusing to take a position or be clear in how we will deal with it, is avoiding our responsibilities as MPs, basically passing it on to the Courts.

It is easier politically, but it is also worse for Singapore and Singaporeans.

To put it bluntly, that will be an abdication of duty. And it would be cynical if we, as MPs, did that. Because we would be putting, if we take this as a deliberate decision, political capital over doing what is good for Singaporeans."

Singaporeans who are opposed to the repeal because of the first reason must carefully consider the second reason for repeal. Herein are the things you hold dear and want to protect.

377A is indeed an approaching train. The Court of Appeal has said already that legal standard does exist (which is a good thing).

Upholding legal standard means that at some point in time in the future, it will have to rule that the law is unconstitutional if the Government chooses not to do anything about it.

Knowing that the risk of it being struck down in the future is real, and the consequences that will follow, do we really want the Government to do nothing, wait for the train to crash, and we become casualties?

The Court enforces laws without regard to social norms or value. This, we need to be clear.

We have seen in many places like India, Taiwan and the US, where challenges are brought before the court and same sex marriages legalised in this way.

The result is hostility and friction between opposing groups, and a deeply divided society.

If the Government does nothing and allow the same the thing that happened elsewhere happen in Singapore, our society will fray.

What many fear is that the character of our society will change after the repeal. This fear is addressed by the amendment to the Constitution to protect the definition of heterosexual marriage.

Some will be sad at the repeal. Some will be angry. Some will be disappointed. What you can do and must do is to channel your energy to build strong families in the traditional definition.

The WP had a debate among themselves but did not adopt a party position.

6 out of 9 WP MPs supported repeal. 2 of them who supported repeal, did not support the Amendments to the Constitution which would give Parliament the right to define marriage.

Excerpt from Minister K Shanmugam's speech:

Articles 156 (3)(b) and (4) are the operating provisions.

They protect the ability of Parliament and Government to make laws and policies.

𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝟏𝟓𝟔 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐬’ 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 (𝟏) 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐱𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 (𝟐) 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

Ms Lim’s and Ms He’s position would mean that they accept that the courts can strike down the heterosexual definition of marriage, or to curtail the ability of Parliament and Government to make laws and policies based on this definition, and for society to live with the consequences after that.

377A: WP runs away from taking a position in contentious issues

 

The Whip is about the voting system. It in no way prevents any MPs from speaking their views.

MPs are free to speak their minds but when it comes to voting, they have to vote according to the party position. And the party position represents the policy direction the party has decided upon.

The PAP Govt had consulted various organisations and individuals over the years on 377A. There were more against repealing before until now where most are more conciliatory about it.

There is an urgency to protect our way of life with regards to a marriage between man and woman plus all issues surrounding it.

If the Courts came to a decision FIRST that 377A goes against our constitution or law, the Govt would not be able to stop what comes next.

So as a GOVERNMENT, the PAP has to MAKE A UNITED STAND on the repeal even though some of their MPs are against it.

Why?

Because a Govt has to make a firm decision and follow through. It cannot leave it to individual votes to carry out reforms or policy change that the Executive, having done all due diligence through engagements and consultations, have decided upon.

What’s good for Singapore cannot be based on an MP’s individual preference or bias. It has to be through studies and detailed considerations, devoid of extreme emotive and religious leanings. Hence the PAP MPs need to unite in their stand despite their differing opinions.

By lifting the whip, Pritam not only shows a weakness in his leadership of his team but also on his inability to make hard decisions for Singapore’s future. Imagine a WP Govt that leaves every policy decision to individual votes rather than an expertly considered direction already made. Singapore will no longer be nimble and decisive, and we will have an ineffective government. A stalled parliament is not a joke for a country with no natural resources.

Finally, if Pritam Singh had used the phrase “It’s your call” in this instant, we will all know that he meant it the way the dictionary meaning intended it to be.

Jamus Lim gets called out for blatant lying

 

We live in a VUCA world

We live in a VUCA world, so we should be careful which political party we elect to form the next government.

"𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐟 𝐰𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐝𝐥𝐲. 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞.
𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭.

𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬.

𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞, 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞.

𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐔𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐲, 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐲 (𝐕𝐔𝐂𝐀), 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, able to offer Outstanding Leadership - Be Visionary, Understanding (the complexity and challenges ), Credible, Capable and Capacity to deal with known unknowns and unknown unknowns, and Adaptability." 

The WP wants more to spend today, less to save for tomorrow

 Like how the recycling of land makes for a fair and just Singapore because every generation of Singaporeans can own their homes, the equal division (50:50) of NIRC to spend on current and future generations is a fair way of taking care of all Singaporeans.

Not less is spend on current Singaporeans. Not more is saved for future generations. 50:50. Fair and equal.

The WP wants more for today. They want more than just 60% to 70% of NIRC. They also want land sale proceeds.

Constitution allows the government to spend up to 50% of NRIC. For the past few years, the Government HAS spent almost 50%.

Let's do some simple math.

For FY2022, the NIRC is $21.6 billion representing approximately 50%.

If $21.6 b is 50%, then 100% is $43.2 b

If we follow WP's suggestion of using 60% of NIRC:

that's equal to $25.92.

On top of this, WP also want direct use of land sale proceeds.

Sales of land for FY2022 is estimated at $11.2 billion.

So (11.2 + 25.92) = $37.12 billion

WP wants to spend $37.12 from NIRC and reserves (land) and leave $17.28 to reinvest for the future.

What if they want 70% of NIRC?

That will be $30.24 billion.
Add land sale of $11.2 billion.
The total they want to spend is $41.44 billion.

And how much of NIRC will be left to reinvest for the future? $12.96 billion.

This is what Leon Perera called 'slowing the growth' of reserves.

Slower growth means smaller returns. It's as simple as that.

You will have to pay higher taxes because you will have less from NIRC. 

You ask, so we retell. The AHTC saga was started by WP-appointed auditors and ended by WP-appointed Independent Panel.

This is one saga that has wearied Singaporeans for so long, we all wish to put it behind.

One Aljunied resident who had been overseas for 10 years asked many questions about what happened. This photo sums up the major events. It should be sufficient for him.

Briefly, it started with their own auditors flagging problems with account.

When the problems persisted, AGO audited their account and flagged problems of governance.

The court then directed the town councillors to appoint one of the Big Four to audit and fix problems.

WP appointed KPMG.

KPMG completed their report.

Through the courts, the town councillors were directed to appoint an independent panel to look into improper payment.

Pritam Singh appointed the independent panel to act on behalf of AHTC, saying it would be in the best interest of AHTC.

The independent panel reviewed the KPMG Report and then sued the 3 WP MPs who were the town councillors, along with a few employees.

So that's the story. It began with their own auditors flagging problems and ended with their own independent panel suing them.

Instead of answering so many questions in messages, we decided this is a better response because there could be others with similar questions.

50:50 division of NIRC takes care of both the present and the future Singaporeans in a fair way.

It is said that without a vision, the people perish. Visionary leaders take care of the present with their eyes on the future as well so that the people can be future-ready.

A 50:50 division of NIRC takes care of both the present and the future Singaporeans in a fair way.

PSP wants a 100% use of NIRC. The WP wants 60%, even 70% use of NIRC.

Today, the NIRC contributes more than $21.6 billion (FY2022) to the budget.

Our forefathers did not spend the NIRC.

𝐒𝐔𝐏𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐄 𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐒𝐄𝐓 𝐀𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐏

Suppose because they spent from the NIRC and as a result, today we have 20% less NIRC to spend.

20% of $21.6 billion is $4.32 billion.

The 2% GST hike is intended to raise $3.5 billion.

If our forefathers had the mentality of the WP, today, we will need to raise $7.82 billion instead of $3.5 billion because we have less in NIRC to spend.

The GST hike will have to be more than 2% to achieve $7.82 billion.

You will have to pay a hike of more than 4%.

You will be paying 11% GST or more instead of 9%.

This is what will happen if the WP's proposal to spend more from NIRC is adopted.

Spending more from NIRC means reinvesting less resulting in smaller growth (slow the growth, says Leon Perera) and therefore smaller gains for the future.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐏 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐚𝐱𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐝𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐍𝐈𝐑𝐂 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦.

𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬? They could be YOU in your twilight years. They are your children, children's children, family. relatives, friends.

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐖𝐄 𝐓𝐎𝐃𝐀𝐘?

1. Today, 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐟 of us working Singaporeans 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐱.

2. 80% of us who do pay income tax pays 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝟒%.

3. With the Enhanced GST Voucher Scheme, the 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐦 𝟑𝟎% 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐆𝐒𝐓 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝟑%.

4. The 𝐞𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐒𝐓 𝐡𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝟓 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 for lower and middle income households.

You will not find another country in the world

- where their citizens pay low-to-no income tax, single digit GST,

- and enjoy the best in the world in terms of housing, education, healthcare, public transport

- a country where the Government puts in effort to provide intensive, holistic help to those from the neediest and vulnerable families (KidsSTART, UPLIFT etc)

- a country where the Government expends great effort to help prison inmates (I know because a friend of mine works in prison school) achieve their potential.

The future will come. It takes political courage to do right not just by the present generation of Singaporeans, but by the future generations as well.

𝐀 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞.