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Cabinet ministers K Shanmugam and Vivian Balakrishnan are each renting properties in Ridout Road in full compliance with the relevant procedures, the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) said in a statement on Friday, May 12.
SLA issued the statement in response to media queries after opposition politician Kenneth Jeyaretnam published social media posts in early May 2023 about both properties, which he described as "former colonial mansions".
Jeyaretnam is the secretary-general of the Reform Party.
The SLA statement did not list how much rent the two ministers were paying for the properties.
However, SLA added: "More details on this issue will be provided during the next parliamentary session in July 2023."
A May 6 blog post by Jeyaretnam questioned how each minister “could afford to pay the market rent for such a pricey property”.
His post cited a hypothetical rental price he derived from a market rental rate he claimed to have personally come across.
The post said: "These are former colonial mansions which are now owned by the government and should be rented by open tender every two years."
“I hope that SLA can shed some light on the auction process for these properties and what bids were received,” he also wrote.
What SLA statement revealed about the Ridout Road rentals
SLA's statement provided the timeline and the circumstances of how Shanmugam and Vivian rented their properties.
26 Ridout Road had been vacant for more than four years since December 2013 before it was tenanted to Shanmugam in June 2018, SLA said, adding that the minister was the only bidder for this property.
His offer, made through an agent, was higher than the guide rent, which was not disclosed to him.
Shanmugam, the Minister for Home Affairs and Law, notified a senior Cabinet colleague that he was making a bid for the property, the statement added.
Shanmugam renewed the tenancy for this property in June 2021 for another three years.
31 Ridout Road had been vacant for more than six years since July 2013 before it was tenanted to Vivian.
Vivian, who is the Foreign Affairs Minister, put in a bid in November 2018 that was above the guide rent, which was not disclosed to him, SLA said.
It added that he was the highest bidder.
Tenancy was granted with effect from October 2019 and Vivian renewed his tenancy in October 2022.
The guide rent is a reserve rent based on market rates determined by qualified valuers.
Top photos via K Shanmugam & Vivian Balakrishnan Facebook pages