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Progress Singapore Party’s (PSP) Non-Constituency MP (NCMP) Leong Mun Wai said that while he was "completely exhausted" after a public housing policies motion debate that lasted 12 hours over two days, he was happy to have fought a good battle with her PSP colleague Hazel Poa and all the Workers' Party (WP) MPs.
All 11 opposition MPs voted for the PSP's motion calling for a housing policy “reset”, and rejected the Government’s motion, Leong noted in his Facebook post on Feb. 9.
The votes, which came after two days of debate that ended past 11pm on Tuesday (Feb. 8), saw 82 Members of Parliament (MPs) supporting the motion by the Government that Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats remain affordable and accessible, with 11 MPs voting against it.
As such, PSP came up with two proposals that would transform Singapore’s public housing.
The recommendations were made during the debate in Parliament on Feb. 6.
Affordable Housing Scheme
First, he proposed the Affordable Housing Scheme.
According to Leong, this design allows Singaporeans to buy a new flat at a “user price” which is equal to the construction cost plus a notional location premium.
This would mean that if a Singaporean stays in the same flat his entire life, he will only pay the user price.
“At the point of purchase, the ‘land cost’ for the flat will be made known and recorded with the HDB. If the Singaporean sells his flat in the resale market after the Minimum Occupation Period, he will have to pay this land cost with accrued interest based on historical mortgage rates to the Past Reserves before pocketing the net profit, hence he ends up paying the full price of the flat,” he said.
Leong added that under this scheme, Singaporeans would not need to pay for land costs so long they are leasing HDB flats for owner-occupation.
It would also make HDB return to its primary objective, which is to provide affordable homes for Singaporeans while CPF will return to its primary objective of providing savings for retirement.
Millennial Apartment Scheme
Under the Millennials Apartment Scheme, Leong proposed for the Government to keep a large stock of quality rental flats to provide young Singaporeans who desire more space and more independent living with more housing choices.
PSP proposed that the bulk of the Millennial Apartment would be at prime locations, near the Central Business District.
These apartments would be smaller and quality flats with affordable leases of two to five years targeted at younger families and groups of singles.
“Concentrating young Singaporeans together will allow those who are single to have more opportunities to socialise and perhaps marry, while those who are already married will have more time for their families because they live near their workplaces,” Leong said.
He added that the apartments “should be attractive” as it is near the workplace, have good amenities for families and has vibrant nightlife spots.
“HDB can also develop a network of shops around these Millennial Apartments to allow a more diverse range of businesses to operate near the Central Business District at lower rents. With these businesses and a vibrant young population, our Central Business District can become economically productive day and night,” he said.
Leong concluded in his post that PSP will continue to engage Singaporeans on the finer details of its proposed policies in the coming weeks and months.
Top images screenshot via TOC Facebook