Stop the presses: Two-room flats in sizes of 36 sq m and 45 sq m in Sembawang can be yours for just $10,000.
The price of two-room flats at the EastLace@Canberra and EastCrown@Canberra projects are actually priced at $70,000, less the Special CPF Housing Grant (SHG) of $20,000 that was introduced in 2011, and the Additional CPF Housing Grant of $40,000 for first time buyers. The big question is how many of the 3,497 new flats launched by HDB in the non-mature towns of Sembawang, Sengkang and Yishun are priced at this level.
The EastLace and EastCrown flats are not the cheapest in terms of overall price. In June 2010, the price tag for a two-room flat at Rivervale Arc was $68,000. Still, this is proof that housing can be truly affordable, if they have the political will to make it so.
The newly minted permanent secretary at the Law Ministry said it was vital to find ways to understand what the silent majority is talking about, "Otherwise, your policies and laws may well be shaped by a very loud and noisy minority." Which is a strange thing to say. As long as anyone can remember, policies and laws have always been shaped by the small but voluble coterie of elites ensconced in ivory towers. The Population White Paper may not carry any signatures, but you know where the perpetrators can be found. Hint: their pay starts at $300,000++.
Speaking at the promotion ceremony for elite public service officers at the Marina Mandarin Hotel, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said the Government faces a challenge of retaining the public's trust in a new and more challenging environment. “If we fail to manage public trust and if we end up with the deep scepticism about government seen in many other countries, it will reduce our space (to) manoeuvre." The latter will mean gerrymandering and all manner of manipulation of electoral boundaries will be more difficult to carry out. That's what the silent majority in this country is really talking about, the schemings to perpetuate the ruling class and protect their iron rice bowls. With the occasional crumbs for the peasants to nibble on, like a $10,000 public housing unit.
Tattler
*The writer blogs at http://singaporedesk.blogspot.com/