Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong has instructed the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) Office to issue a Correction Direction to opposition politician Kenneth Jeyaretnam, announced the Ministry of Finance (MOF) in a press release on Nov. 2, 2023.

The Correction Direction was issued in relation to Jeyaretnam's article published in his blog, The Ricebowl Singapore, on Oct. 22, and his reposts of the article on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X (formerly known as Twitter) on the same date.

The article in question was titled "Dear Lawrence Wong stop talking like you're a hot shot investment banker and start explaining to Singaporeans how the reserves benefit them".

As a result, Jeyaretnam is required to publish the correction notice on The Ricebowl Singapore as well as the social media platforms where he reposted the article.

False statements relating to NIRC

According to Factually, a government fact-checker website, Jeyaretnam's article contained falsehood in three areas.

The first pertains to the article's claim that most of the Net Investment Returns Contribution (NIRC) has been transferred into long-term funds and, therefore, does not contribute to actual spending.

However, the NIRC comprises the investment returns of Singapore's reserves, which supplement the annual Budget each year to fund public spending.

The NIRC was approximately S$22.4 billion for the financial year, which ended on Mar. 31, 2023.

Singaporeans can find out more about how Singapore's reserves and the NIRC have benefitted them on various platforms, including the MOF website and the CNA documentary on reserves.

Incorrect to state most of NIRC transferred into long-term funds

Additionally, it is incorrect for Jeyaretnam to state that most of the NIRC has been transferred into long-term funds, as "no proportion of the NIRC is earmarked" for specific spending items or for transfer into any specific funds.

Instead, a portion of the annual Budget as a whole may be used to top up funds.

The annual Budget is met by utilising the total revenue consisting of the NIRC and operating revenue.

Over the past five years, the NIRC has provided an annual revenue stream of about 3.5 per cent of GDP on average.

False to imply moneys transferred into long-term funds do not contribute to "actual spending"

Finally, it is also false for Jeyaretnam to imply that moneys transferred into long-term funds do not contribute to "actual spending".

Factually added:

"Moneys transferred to all funds, including long-term funds, contribute to the disbursements from such funds, and accordingly contribute to 'actual spending' which benefit Singaporeans."

False statements relating to Ridout Road rentals & HDB pricing

Besides the NIRC, Jeyaretnam also incorrectly claimed that the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) had given "preferential treatment" to Minister for Law and Home Affairs K Shanmugam and Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan by renting out 26 and 31 Ridout Road below market value while charging the Housing and Development Board (HDB) "inflated prices for land".

Factually cited findings from the review conducted by Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean into the matter and said that the rentals for both 26 and 31 Ridout Road were "based on fair market value" and "did not fall below market valuation".

There was no evidence that the ministers were given favourable rental rates due to their positions.

In addition, CPIB found that no preferential treatment was given to the ministers, and there was no evidence to suggest any abuse of position by the ministers for personal gain.

HDB does not pay inflated land price

SLA sells state land to HDB to develop public housing at the fair market value, which is assessed by the Chief Valuer (CV), not SLA.

As the CV makes the professional assessment "independently according to established valuation principles", SLA does not charge HDB "inflated prices" for the land.

Factually also gave clarifications in response to Jeyaretnam's claim that the government uses subsidies from the Budget for HDB purchases to enable HDB to pay a higher price for land.

The ministry added that the CV's valuation does not factor in housing subsidies or grants provided to HDB, and the intent of housing subsidies is to "keep flat prices affordable" rather than to increase land prices.

BTO flats pricing & HDB sizes

In response to Jeyaretnam's statement that Singaporeans pay "inflated prices for smaller and smaller HDB units", Factually said that BTO flats are not priced based on cost but priced to "ensure affordability".

It explained:

"HDB first establishes the market value of the flats by considering the prices of comparable resale flats nearby, which is influenced by prevailing market conditions, as well as the individual attributes of the flats. HDB then applies a significant subsidy to the assessed market values to ensure that new flats are affordable for flat buyers."

Furthermore, HDB flat sizes have not changed since 1997, even though household sizes have decreased

False statements relating to healthcare expenditures

Finally, there is "no factual basis" for Jeyaretnam to state that of the S$17 billion health expenditure, only S$8 billion was used as subsidies for Singaporeans.

Factually used healthcare expenditure and subsidies for Singaporeans over the last three financial years as examples.

Healthcare expenditure ranged from S$16.88 billion to S$17.32 billion per year, whereas subsidies ranged from S$9.54 billion to S$10.93 billion per year.

These numbers are reflected in the Government Budget Book, which is publicly available on MOF's website.

"Excluding Covid-19 expenditure, which is transitory, more than 70 per cent of total healthcare expenditure was spent on subsidies for Singaporeans," Factually said.

Jeyaretnam labels correction an "attempt to censor and stop" him

In a Facebook post published on Nov. 2, Jeyaretnam alleged that the correction order was an "attempt to censor and stop" him from commenting on matters of vital importance to Singaporeans.

He also alleged that the correction order "deliberately misrepresents" what he said about Ridout Road rentals, claiming that he had never said that SLA gave preferential treatment to Shanmugam and Balakrishnan.

Jeyaretnam has nevertheless put up a Correction Notice and a link to Factually on his blog.

Top images via Kenneth Jeyaretnam/Facebook & MOF/Facebook