WHEN Bedok resident Betty Wong, 59, moved into the housing estate some 30 years ago, she was wowed by the project’s orderliness and convenience.

‘At that time we were very poor, so we were very excited to move into government flats,’ Madam Wong said, describing how her family had to draw water from a well, burn firewood, and even go through other people’s used charcoal for usable lumps.

‘It was so clean – not like the kampung we used to live in, which was dirty and always had a lot of mosquitoes,’ Madam Wong, an office tea lady, marvelled.

Previously, she and her nine siblings lived in a Changi kampung, then moved to a village in Bedok Road near the present-day Bedok Food Centre.

Their father was a cook for British colonial residents, while their mother did laundry and ironing.
Built in 1971, the Bedok housing estate gets its name from the bedoh, the slit-drum used to call Muslims to mosques for prayers.

The fishing village that was once there, as well as a coconut plantation at Siglap, were cleared in 1965 to make way for the government housing project.

Today, Bedok is one of Singapore’s largest housing estates, covering more than 2,000ha.

Its 59,000 flats are home to some 200,000 residents, many of whom were at a Housing Board exhibition next to Eunos MRT station yesterday to mark the housing agency’s 50th anniversary.

Madam Wong, her sister Wong Cheng Hee, 71, and her brother-in-law Yeo Sim Poh, 76, were among them.
They listened as the guest of honour, Senior Minister S. Jayakumar (East Coast GRC), spoke of the history of Eunos, Bedok and Marine Parade.

And they took a quiz on the history of the East Coast area, with questions like ‘Which is the first housing estate to be built on reclaimed land?’ (The answer: Marine Parade).

Today, most of the Wong sisters’ family members still live in the Bedok area.

‘When we moved in, my mother lived on the 14th floor, my brother was on the 17th floor, and my sister was on the 12th floor – the whole family was living under one roof,’ the older Madam Wong, a housewife, said.
She and her husband have lived in the same 10th-floor, three-room flat in Bedok North for three decades, while her married daughter lives near Tanah Merah.

Both the Wong sisters said they worried about the rising cost of housing affecting their children’s ability to buy flats.

But they like the facilities and amenities for the housing estate’s elderly population, such as wheelchair ramps at kerbs.

The HDB’s travelling exhibition to mark its 50th anniversary will be on display opposite Bishan MRT station from April 16-18, Choa Chu Kang MRT station from May 21-23, Woodlands MRT station from June 18-20, and opposite Tampines MRT station from July 23-25.

Source, Straits Times 23 March 2010

AROUND 12,000 Housing Board households in older estates will be selected this year for sprucing up under the Home Improvement Programme (HIP).

A similar number of flats, or up to 14 precincts each time, will be chosen each year from now on, said National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan yesterday.

Repairs will cover spalling concrete, leaky ceilings and the replacement of waste pipes, with the costs borne fully by the Government. Optional improvements, such as the upgrading of toilets, are heavily subsidised.
The programme was first announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in his National Day Rally speech in 2007. Since then, Mr Mah said, some 27 precincts have been selected for HIP, with all 12 that have been polled voting to adopt it.

The HIP will be a permanent fixture of the HDB’s upgrading programmes as it complements the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme (NRP), which upgrades an estate with better facilities based on residents’ feedback, he said.

Mr Mah was speaking at the completion ceremony of the first HIP precinct in Yishun Street 21, which covered nine blocks and 729 households.

He said: ‘Moving forward, more residents islandwide will benefit from this programme, with up to 14 precincts selected for HIP this year.’

A HDB estimate puts the number of households benefiting this year at between 10,000 and 12,000. Mr Mah did not reveal the locations of these precincts.

The HIP together with the NRP will rejuvenate middle-aged and mature towns, Mr Mah said. ‘In this way, we raise the standard of living and preserve the value of HDB assets for our people.’

The estimated HIP cost for the Yishun precinct was $11.3 million, with the Government footing about $10.9 million. For each flat, the Government will fund fully the essential improvement costs, which came up to $13,000 per flat.

What home owners pay for the optional improvements vary between types of flats. If a four-room flat home owner opted for all five optional changes, including upgraded toilets and the replacement of the entrance door, he would pay $825.

The Government will foot another $11,775. Together with the $13,000 funding for the essential repairs, the home owner would enjoy a total subsidy of $24,775. Those with three-room units would pay $550 and five-room flat dwellers pay $1,100 for the optional items, with the Government’s share being $12,050 and $11,500 respectively.

Singapore permanent residents pay the full upgrading cost.

Mr S. N. Nair, 73, opted for all five items. The retiree, who lives with his wife in a four-room flat, said that the upgrading of the toilet had made it both safer and cleaner for the couple who have been living there for the past 25 years.

Madam Massilah Ali, 40, who has been living in Yishun for the past 12 years with her husband and two daughters, said: ‘The pricing is also very reasonable and the best part is that we can pay using our CPF (savings).’

A HDB survey found that 99 per cent of the residents were satisfied with the HIP.

Mr Mah added that upgrading works will gradually be introduced to other towns as part of a long-term plan. ‘We will remake the heartlands, phase by phase, and I think you will eventually see new rejuvenated heartlands, whether it’s the old towns or middle-aged towns.’

Source, Straits Times 23 March 2010

RESIDENTS outside of Aljunied and Jurong can breathe easy for now, as most town councils say they will not be raising their conservancy fees just yet.

Aljunied and Jurong town councils announced two weeks ago that they will be increasing their service and conservancy (S&C) fees from next month, due to higher operating and maintenance costs.

However, 13 of the 14 remaining town councils say they will not be raising their fees just yet. The last town council – Hougang – did not respond to queries.

But some did say rising costs have made it increasingly difficult for them to maintain the status quo.

Aljunied and Jurong town councils had made known to their residents that they will raise monthly conservancy charges by between 50 cents and $4.50 for Singapore home owners, depending on the type of flat.

The increase for permanent residents and foreigners will be between $2.80 and $7.50.

Some of the 13 town councils The Straits Times spoke to said they were able to balance their budgets and thus will not raise S&C fees.

Just how do they do it?

Tanjong Pagar Town Council chairman Koo Tsai Kee said his council had set aside ’sufficient accumulated surpluses’ in both its operating and sinking funds.

Most town councils keep a sinking fund for future maintenance works and projects like the Lift Upgrading Programme.

Another chairman, Tampines Town Council’s Masagos Zulkifli, puts it down to ‘prudent cash flow management’ and also residents who have been punctual with their payments.

The town councils say they try to stretch their dollar, for example, by using energy-saving lights and increasing the productivity of their employees with the help of technology.

Said a spokesman for Marine Parade Town Council: ‘The town council is also mindful of the long-term maintenance costs needed when we consider installing additional facilities in the estates.’

But Ang Mo Kio-Yio Chu Kang Town Council chairman Inderjit Singh said it has become tougher to manage the budget.

‘Costs have gone up everywhere, significant of which is manpower cost. The costs of materials and contracts have also been steadily increasing. Utility charges also form a significant part of our costs, especially electricity,’ he said.

Hong Kah Town Council said 40 per cent of its operating expenses for its last financial year (2008/2009) went towards its utility bills.

Its spokesman said the tariff hike also cost the town council an additional $2.9 million.

Switching to energy-saving lights has helped to trim 10 per cent off its electricity bill.

Mr Singh said: ‘So far, we have managed to do everything at the highest quality without increasing any charges to the residents.’

But his town council will not rule out future hikes. ‘If we don’t (raise charges), we will run at a deficit, which is not tenable and will affect our quality of work if we cannot get the right resources because of the deficit,’ he said.

Mr Singh added that his town council had planned to raise charges a few years ago, but held back due to a goods and services tax increase.

It also held back last year due to the recession, and focused on controlling costs.

‘I hope residents will realise that we cannot not increase (our charges) in the coming years,’ he added.

West Coast Town Council chairman Arthur Fong said that while the newer flats in the town council district might require less repairs now, they will cost more down the road when repainting works are done.

Though he does not see a need to increase the S&C fees immediately, Mr Masagos said the Lift Upgrading Programme and town development programmes do ’cause a drain’ to the sinking fund.

It may not be entirely fair to compare town councils, Mr Singh and Mr Fong pointed out, as each one is different and operates independently of others.

The ages of the estates are different, and they have been maintained and improved at different rates as well.

‘The cost to maintain different types of properties of different ages means that comparing councils is not meaningful,’ said Mr Fong.

Even within a town council district, property types in the different divisions are different.

Precincts within the same division may also differ, resulting in different costs, schedules, and attention from the town council.

‘We have been very careful in that we try to do things in a no-frills way, but again, to manage the expectations of residents who are comparing with others is a constant challenge,’ Mr Fong said.

Source: Straits Times, 22 Mar 2010

I AM writing to commend the residents of Tampines Street 22 for extending a welcoming hand to new rental block residents who will soon become their neighbours. Their gesture demonstrates the unity that is needed to maintain the harmony we currently enjoy (‘New rental block? Neighbours say welcome’; last Thursday).

On the other hand, the discriminatory stance taken by certain residents of Tampines Street 83 and Pasir Ris Drive 6 when they learnt of the impending construction of rental blocks in their neighbourhood is appalling. With their years of education and living in a close-knit society like Singapore, these residents should have learnt to be more accommodating and understanding to residents who are not as well-off and fortunate as them.

I hope the rest of Singapore see the residents of Tampines Street 22 as a learning example and be more accommodating and generous to fellow citizens in rental flats.

Javern Sim

Source: Straits Times, 22 Mar 2010

AROUND 12,000 – that is the upper ceiling of the quota for homes to be upgraded annually under the government’s Home Improvement Programme (HIP) from this year onwards.

The annual target was announced by National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan yesterday during a community event in Yishun.

According to Mr Mah, HIP will cover some 14 precincts or around 10,000 to 12,000 homes every year. This nationwide upgrading initiative, first announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the 2007 National Day Rally, covers flats that were built in 1986 or earlier.

Close to 300,000 households in Singapore qualify for the programme, which covers compulsory improvements including repairs for ceiling leaks, as well as spalling or flaking concrete.

Homeowners can also opt for optional upgrades such as new toilets and metal gates.

The compulsory items are fully subsidised by the government while the other works are offered on a co-payment basis.

In 2009, the government sped up the pace of upgrading by committing $1 billion to HIP over a three-year period. Back then, authorities said they were hoping to take advantage of lower construction costs during the recession to refurbish some 33,000 units of older public housing.

More than 13,000 homes were spruced up from 2007 to 2008 and around 8,000 flats were upgraded under HIP last year.

Source: Business Times, 22 Mar 2010

FAR from their homes in Guangdong province 100 years ago, three clan leaders thought they would scrape together money to buy medical care for their clansmen.

They raised so much – $150,000 – that they built a hospital instead to give free care to anyone.

They also struck a sweetheart deal in their 99-year lease with the British colonial leaders to pay $1 every year in rent for Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital.

That lease expired on Feb 22, and the 6ha land in Serangoon Road was handed over to the Singapore Government. The hospital’s new annual rental bill: $1.4 million.

‘My heart was full of pain,’ said Ms Ling Bee Sian, the hospital’s director of operations, who signed the takeover papers last month with officials from the Singapore Land Authority (SLA).

‘It’s hard to imagine that this land doesn’t belong to us anymore.’

But far from gaining a new burden, the hospital is getting a big boost in its next phase of life.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) eyes it as an important component in its plan for Singaporeans to get integrated health care. So in September last year, it agreed to increase its subsidy to Kwong Wai Shiu, from $170,000 to what may amount to millions of dollars every year (see box).

It will pay a portion of the hospital’s patient expenses, as well as cover its rent for buildings within its compound that are used for patient care.

Until now, Kwong Wai Shiu, which is run by a voluntary welfare organisation, met its yearly operating costs of about $12 million mainly through public donations and patient fees.

Other plans are afoot for the 50-bed community hospital and 350-bed nursing home, whose patient base is largely the elderly and low-income.

It is in talks with another hospital to provide step-down nursing care to the hospital’s patients, said its vice-chairman Patrick Lee. This is in line with MOH’s plan for acute hospitals and step-down community hospitals to partner and provide seamless care for patients.

Also, with extensions, its new lease would be up by 2015, and the hospital may need to find another home then, depending on ‘the outcome of discussions and consultations with the Ministry of Health and other government agencies’, said an SLA spokesman.

The hospital hopes those talks will coalesce with its ambitions to double the number of its beds to 800 and hire more doctors and nurses. It now runs at 70 per cent occupancy because of the manpower shortage.

In 2007, Kwong Wai Shiu was recognised by MOH as a fully fledged community hospital. It also runs a rehabilitation centre and Traditional Chinese Medicine clinic.

Patients come via walk-ins, referrals and assignments by MOH’s Agency of Integrated Care, which coordinates their placement into appropriate facilities.

More than 90 per cent of its nursing home patients are above 65 years old, with the average age being 83.

Currently, a 30-day stay at the hospital costs between $1,350 and $1,800; and between $450 and $1,200 at the nursing home.

The hospital is in the midst of extracting financial and patient records for MOH to determine the size of the subsidy.

As as result of the agreement, the hospital also began means testing patients, to decide the level of subsidy that each should get.

However that goes, things will not change much for Mr Oh Boon Whay, a nursing home resident who suffered a stroke about 20 years ago.

The public assistance recipient, 80, is perhaps the kind of patient that the original founders wanted to ensure was not left destitute.

He has lived peacefully here alone since 1987. The former caterer and motorcycle enthusiast said: ‘It’s a good life here. Every morning I get up, go for a walk, read my newspapers. Time flies.’

Source: Straits Times, 22 Mar 2010