The Minister for National Development Desmond Lee had instructed the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) office to issue a Correction Direction to Singapore Democratic Party's secretary-general Chee Soon Juan.

The Correction Direction pertains to Chee's statement on public housing policies which he made in a video posted on his Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok pages on Feb. 17, 2024, according to the Ministry of National Development (MND) and government fact-checking site Factually.

Concurrently, a Targeted Correction Direction was also handed to TikTok Pte. Ltd, and the company is required to communicate a correction notice to all end-users in Singapore that had accessed Chee's TikTok post containing the video in question.

Following the issuance of the Correction Direction, Chee had put up a correction notice on his social media pages on Feb. 22, 2024.

However, Chee added that while he had to comply with the order under POFMA rules, he "categorically" rejected "the government's interpretation/explanation on the matter".

He also said he would be exploring the option of "mounting a legal challenge" to the government's stance.

False claims contained in Chee's video

According to MND, Chee had wrongfully claimed in his Feb. 17 video that the government had rejected the idea of building flats that can accommodate multi-generational living in a reply to a Straits Times Forum Letter in January 2023.

The reply in question was penned by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) in response to a Forum Letter submitted by a reader named Roy Ong, who asked HDB to include larger flats in Build-To-Order (BTO) sales offerings.

In his letter, Ong said demand for larger flats had surged as people began working from home due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and some wanted to stay with their extended families as Singapore's population ages.

In response, HDB said while it needed to "strike a balance between the size of HDB flats and ensuring an adequate supply of flats", given Singapore's land constraints, the board would continue to build five-room and three-generation (3Gen) flats to meet the needs of larger families and multi-generation families who wish to live together.

However, Chee only drew attention to the first half of HDB's response above in his video while leaving out the latter half, said MND.

3Gen & five-room flats offered in recent BTO launches

MND further stated that 3Gen flats, which are generally sized at around 115 sqm with one extra bedroom compared to a typical five-room BTO flat, have been introduced since 2013 to allow multi-generational families to live together.

Specifically, 3Gen flats were offered in two of the four BTO launches in 2023, and five-room flats were offered in all those launches.

For the latest information on home ownership and public housing affordability, members of the public can visit MND's website here.

"We advise members of the public not to speculate and/or spread unverified rumours," said MND.

FSG Report emphasises "need to refresh Singapore Dream": MND

In addition to his statements on public housing, Chee also said in his Feb. 17 video that "the Singapore Dream is out of reach for many Singaporeans" while referencing the following segments from the Forward Singapore (FSG) Report:

"In the past, Singaporeans talked about chasing the Five 'C's — condo, car, cash, credit card, country club. Nowadays we no longer focus on the Five 'C's. But as a society, we continue to measure ourselves and others on the same old yardsticks — the size of our pay cheques or the property we own."

In response, MND said that the FSG Report serves to emphasise "the need to refresh the Singapore Dream" instead, as FSG engagements with young Singaporeans found that the term has expanded beyond material success.

The ministry also pointed to the following section from the FSG Report:

"From our engagements, it was clear that the idea of the Singapore Dream is not limited to material success. In particular, there have been discernible shifts in our youth's mindset. When young people today talk about careers and jobs, they often express a desire for meaning and purpose in what they do, not just for good salaries.

In other words, we want to embrace wider definitions of success. We seek a more inclusive Singapore Dream — one where we value every individual, support them in their diverse aspirations and pathways, and celebrate their achievements and successes together."

Top images via Chee Soon Juan/Facebook & MCI/YouTube

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