ABout Upgrading for Opposition Wards......
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June 11, 2006 (Straits Times - Short Extract)
Upgrading for all wards, but PAP ones first.
NATIONAL Development Minister Mah Bow Tan has come out to clear the air on the upgrading of opposition wards, saying that their lifts will be upgraded by 2015 at the latest, but PAP wards will still get priority.
Mr Mah said about 800 blocks in PAP wards are as old or older and have not been upgraded at all. They are located in areas such as Queenstown, Bukit Merah, Tiong Bahru, Marine Parade, Serangoon, Woodlands, Marsiling, Yishun and Kampung Ubi. 'I can't put the opposition blocks at the head of the queue, ahead of these 800. Surely not,' he said. To select precincts for upgrading, the ministry uses three criteria: the age of the blocks, the geographical spread to ensure upgrading is not concentrated in only a few constituencies and support for the Government. While acknowledging that many thought it unfair to link votes to upgrading, Mr Mah defended the policy as 'not unreasonable'.
He said the massive and costly upgrading programme was only possible because of the Government's policies, which generated economic growth and the Budget surpluses needed to fund it. And these policies could only be implemented if the Government received the people's mandate. 'We really need to be fair to the people who voted for the PAP candidate. Upgrading has been a major election platform for the PAP and those who support the PAP candidate expect their MPs to deliver on their promises.' -
full text..
NATIONAL Development Minister Mah Bow Tan has come out to clear the air on the upgrading of opposition wards, saying that their lifts will be upgraded by 2015 at the latest, but PAP wards will still get priority.
His comments will surprise those who thought that the policy of upgrading PAP wards first was ripe for change, after the ruling party failed to win back Hougang and Potong Pasir at the recent polls despite offering $180 million in improvement works for the two ageing estates.
After the election results on May 7, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the People's Action Party (PAP) would have to review its strategy in the opposition wards.
But in an interview with The Sunday Times on Friday, Mr Mah made it clear that this review would not affect the policy of giving lift upgrading priority to PAP wards. 'There is no change, that policy still remains. We've looked at it and we believe that that is still something we have to do,' he said.
Giving PAP wards priority does not mean that the Government intends to deprive opposition wards of upgrading, he added, although this point might have been lost in 'the heat and the noise of the elections'.
The Government has pledged that by 2015, all HDB blocks will have lifts that stop on every floor, with the exception of a small number of blocks whose designs make such works too costly.
Mr Mah said this includes blocks in opposition wards.
'We intend to honour this commitment, 2015, all eligible blocks will have their lifts upgraded,' he said.
The ramping up of the lift upgrading programme means a close to two-fold increase in the national upgrading budget over the next few years, to between $500 million and $600 million per financial year.
About 130 blocks in Hougang and Potong Pasir are eligible for improved lifts but they are not the oldest blocks to have gone without upgrading.
Mr Mah said about 800 blocks in PAP wards are as old or older and have not been upgraded at all. They are located in areas such as Queenstown, Bukit Merah, Tiong Bahru, Marine Parade, Serangoon, Woodlands, Marsiling, Yishun and Kampung Ubi.
'I can't put the opposition blocks at the head of the queue, ahead of these 800. Surely not,' he said.
To select precincts for upgrading, the ministry uses three criteria: the age of the blocks, the geographical spread to ensure upgrading is not concentrated in only a few constituencies and support for the Government.
While acknowledging that many thought it unfair to link votes to upgrading, Mr Mah defended the policy as 'not unreasonable'.
He said the massive and costly upgrading programme was only possible because of the Government's policies, which generated economic growth and the Budget surpluses needed to fund it.
And these policies could only be implemented if the Government received the people's mandate.
'We really need to be fair to the people who voted for the PAP candidate. Upgrading has been a major election platform for the PAP and those who support the PAP candidate expect their MPs to deliver on their promises.' -
dunno will come or not..just like WC 2010
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No $100m upgrading package for Hougang
(Full Text - 11 Jun 05, Straits Times)
HOUGANG constituency, which returned Workers' Party chief Low Thia Khiang to power in the recent elections, will not be getting the $100 million upgrading package that was offered to the residents during the elections anytime soon.
The $100 million package was seen as an incentive for the residents to vote for the People's Action Party candidate there, Mr Eric Low. But he lost to the incumbent opposition MP, Mr Low Thia Khiang, in the polls.
After the election, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong said that Mr Low Thia Khiang could still ask for the money as the Government had been prepared to put up a budget for it.
But Mr Mah told The Sunday Times that since Mr Low lost, Hougang will not get the money.
He said: 'The upgrading package that was offered for Hougang was part of the PAP candidate's programme for residents in the estate.
'The residents there decided that they are not ready to say 'yes' to the package. We will respect their decision.'
The minister said that though 130 blocks in Potong Pasir and Hougang were eligible for upgrading, there were about 800 blocks in other parts of Singapore that are older or as old that had not been spruced up in any way.
He said: 'To honour our commitment to the electorate, the Government will accord priority to blocks in the PAP wards.' -
bullocks~! nb~!
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Sigh... the more I read about this, the sicker I get in the gut with the antics of the ruling party.
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wah si beh unfair lor. 2 more elections and they MAY lose tampines to WP. sylvia, come to tampines!
-arms wide open- -
yea..the taxes they pay end up in the PAP pocketsOriginally posted by fudgester:Sigh... the more I read about this, the sicker I get in the gut with the antics of the ruling party.
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Nah.... they'll then claim that Tampines is 'getting too big' or come up with some other excuse and absorb it into another ward.Originally posted by sinicker:wah si beh unfair lor. 2 more elections and they MAY lose tampines to WP. sylvia, come to tampines!
-arms wide open-
Gerrymandering is the name of the game around here.
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MBT is still sore from losing PP to CST last time.
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I want her 2 be my MP!!!! for aljunied GRC!!!(if PAP dun divide the GRCs again)Originally posted by sinicker:wah si beh unfair lor. 2 more elections and they MAY lose tampines to WP. sylvia, come to tampines!
-arms wide open- -
next election is one GRC, 84 MPs!
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and wad they are doing is securing hougang and PP even mroe securely into the opposition hands as I am sure the residents would be fueled with spite.....and laig more they wun vote for PAP....
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crap siah.. my tiong bahru flat upgraded 6yrs ago also no lifts that stops at every floor..
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looks like they are not going to / have not learn to listen yet.
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Yesterday, Saturday news also got some post-election "surprises" for us voters....
June 10, 2006 - Straits Times
Not the time to restore CPF cuts: Boon Heng
He rules it out in the 'foreseeable future', citing wage cost concerns [b]
NOW is not the time for restoring the cuts made to the Central Provident Fund (CPF) rates, said labour chief Lim Boon Heng, who noted that workers are asking for it to be done. Yes, the economy is powering ahead and unemployment figures are down, which could make for convincing arguments to raise CPF rates. But what concerns Mr Lim is the low employment rate among older Singaporeans and the need to keep an eye on rising wage costs. Such increases could drive more companies to move overseas, resulting in more job losses.
[b]This, he said, is why existing CPF rates are not likely to change. 'For the foreseeable future, I do not see any prospects for higher CPF contribution,' he said in a commentary in the labour movement's publication, NTUC This Week. The CPF system was 'retuned' in 2003. Monthly contribution rates for workers aged below 50 and their employers was set at a range of 30 to 36 per cent in total.
The current rate stands below the maximum, at 33 per cent: 20 per cent for employees and 13 per cent for employers. Noting that the new rates are 'more sustainable', Mr Lim added: 'As they are lower than before, the scope for CPF cuts to get us out of future recessions is limited.'
This is also another reason to spur companies to move to a flexible wage system which is more responsive to the ups and downs in the economy and of business, he added. 'Employers in non-unionised firms should get their act together now. They should not expect to be bailed out again by a CPF cut,' he said.
Asked when CPF rates should be restored to 36 per cent, Mr Lim said it was tough call to make. 'The economic situation in the world is very volatile,' he said in an e-mail reply to The Straits Times. 'Therefore, it is very difficult to set a timeframe for any rise in the employer's contribution rate to CPF.'
But he hoped there won't be a need to change for a 'long, long time'.
'The only time I can think of when we may want an increase in CPF contributions is when the labour market is very tight, so tight that wages rise sharply. The rise in CPF contributions would then be to dampen inflationary pressures,' he said. Mr Lim, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, noted that some had asked for a restoration of the CPF rates. They did so last year when the state of the economy and unemployment improved. Likewise this year, after the National Wages Council noted that workers can expect larger pay packets.
But such calls by workers probably stem from their lack of understanding of what the retuning of the CPF was about, said Mr Lim.
'They think it is like previous cuts in CPF. So...it is our duty to explain.'
Hence, his commentary, which set out the reasons for CPF changes in 2003.
It was not a short-term measure to get out of the recession, but to establish a sustainable rate to meet three objectives: more competitive wage costs, create and save jobs, and to help older workers get jobs.
Now, as then, the same principles apply, said Mr Lim, NTUC's secretary-general. He is also convinced that when companies hand out better wage increases and higher bonuses this year, workers, especially the low-income, would prefer the wage increase to be paid out in cash rather than in the form of higher CPF rates. 'If we care for them, then we should not push for higher CPF contribution rates.'