TEMASEK REVIEW
Present Situation
Currently foreigners are allowed to purchase private condominium housing freely in Singapore. While there are rules to prevent the formation of racial enclaves in public housing, there are no rules on the forming of foreigners’ enclaves when units in private condominiums are sold. Recently there was suggestion to extend this rule to foreign permanent residents who are buying into resale HDB apartments.
Proposal
Similar rules should thus be promulgated to prevent foreigners’ enclaves from forming when they buy into private condominiums. In each private property launch, the Government should approve a cap on the number of units to be sold to foreigners, be they permanent residents or foreign investors. Similarly, an additional condition can be added to the new rules to limit the number of foreign buyers in each existing condominium project. or precinct. In this way, we will avoid the formation of foreigners’ enclaves in private residences.
Property Investment for Profit
This new ruling will also slow the flipping of housing units for a quick profit after each property launch as approval now has to be obtained before the sale can be transacted. Similarly, sale of condominium units to a local investment house should also be calibrated on an approved scale.
The current housing rules promulgated by the Singapore Government such as doing away of the deferred payment scheme and allocation of more 99-year leasehold land for housing development has not resulted in the curbing of runaway prices unlike the Chinese Government who are able to slow the runaway prices. (Perhaps Singapore officials should be sent to Beijing for training with their housing authority)
Fair and Honest Government
Rules made for public housing can be similarly enforced in the private housing market so that the Government may be seen as fair and honest. It is timely for such rules to be made before the situation makes it difficult to extricate and the Singapore Government can avoid spending millions of dollars launching new campaigns on training and retraining of housing officials as well as educating the public in the purchase of new homes.
Council Members for Private Condominiums
Besides new rules on the sale of housing units to foreign buyers, rules should also be drawn up to allow only Singapore citizens to hold office in residential councils or committees under the Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act 2004. As council members have influence on the running of a condominium and operation of facilities such as tennis courts, saunas, fitness room, swimming pool, karaoke rooms, barbeque pits, etc, it is important that only Singapore citizens be allowed to hold appointments in such councils.
Council members who are citizens can transmit the desired social mores and wholesome values to fellow residents in their everyday interactions. It is more likely that citizen members can lead the committee a little more vigorously during festive celebrations such as National Day Celebration, Chinese New Year, Deepavali, Hari Raya and Christmas. Is this the reason why so few Singapore flags are flown to celebrate National Day in private condominiums? Has MPs in each constituency thought deeply about the erosion of such values in our social defence which is a core value of our national defence?
Do we also get situations where councils do not allow their residents to wash their cars in the carpark because car washing is allowed only in petrol kiosk ‘back home’.
While values such as caring for one another, thrift and hard work are definitely a plus for our all-round development, certain manifestations should not be allowed to take root otherwise our people, especially the young may grow up thinking they are living in an enclave in a foreign land.
Gilbert Tan
